The Three Gunas are:
1) Rajas or Rajasic Energy: Forward-Backward Movement
ex: Downward Dog, Right Leg Lunge, Downward Dog, Left Leg Lunge.
These Asanas inherently feel Rajasic--strong, intentional, willful. Another way of describing the Rajasic Guna is Inward-Outward movement. I can see the inward focus of Downward Dog, with head to the floor and hips to the sky, and then, with incredible strength and purpose, Right Leg Lunge, heart lifted, head and gaze to the sky--inward then outward in a forward-backward way.
2) Tamas or Tamasic Energy: Upward-Downward Movement
ex: Mountain Pose, down to Powerful Pose, down even further into a
squat, then up to Powerful Pose again, return to Mountain Pose with hands at Namaste.
Here the focus becomes deep and inward and simultaneously the head extends while the feet root into the earth. It feels slow, sure, quiet.
3) Sattva or Sattvic Energy: Side to Side Movement
ex: Warrior Two, Half Moon Pose, then Side Angle Pose
This energy movement is full of grace, clarity and balance. To me it almost feels like the perfect center, if the Three Gunas were presented on a scale. Rajas would be far left, Tamas would be far right, and perfectly balanced on the fulcrum would be Sattva.
I imagine that all of these energies drive our actions and affect our temperament day to day. The Gunas are symbiotic, which means you can't have one without the other. But each posture we assume is dominated by one of these three expressions or energies. What Guna are you in right now?
