41) What is the level of precision needed in Yoga Asanas ?

When it comes to yoga asanas the word "precision" or more specifically "antaomical precision" is mostly associated with the Iyengar System of Yoga . I have never been trained in the BKS Iyengar system of yoga and hence cant really vouch for the quality / effectiveness of such a high degree of anatomical precision needed during a yoga asana practice . Even if it is needed the question comes whether it is the job of the teacher to give such a long complex list of commands to the students to help him find such a high degree of anatomical precision or should the student discover for himself what is the best anatomical right position for himself ? Many such question exists .
The Iyengar System of Yoga has some of the world's best yoga teachers like John Schumacher(http://www.unitywoods.com/), Judith Lasater(http://www.judithlasater.com/), Dr.Krishna Raman ( http://www.krishnaraman.com/)and many others who appreciate BKS Iyengar System of Yoga and vouch for the effectiveness of its highly anatomical approach to yoga . But there are again some famous Yoga teachers like Vanda Scravelli ,Esther Myer , Victor Van Kooten who were once serious students of BKS Iyengar but later became critical of his highly anatomical approach to the asana practice and quit BKS Iyengar System to start their own yoga styles that encourages people to find what is the best way to do a posture with the teacher giving only the main pointers and not all the detailed anatomical instructions that happens in an Iyengar Yoga Class .Why even the great philosopher J.Krishnamurti started practicing yoga first with BKS Iyengar and later went for the more gentler Vinayasa based approach of Krishnamacharya as taught by his son Sri.Desikachar .

So now comes the question , who is right and who is wrong ?
There is no right or wrong approach here and it all boils to discover what is true for you . That is the beauty of yoga . The various styles and system offers us an excellent opportunity to choose what is best for us and what is the best style that we resonate with . Maharshi Patanjali in his Yoga Sutra gives the definition of Asana as "Sthira ( Steady) and Sukham ( Comfortable ) " .He does not elaborate further but these 2 things are to be met in a yoga practice i.e the posture should be steady as well as comfortable . How do you go building both these things and up to what extent you go about building both these things depends upon the competency of the teacher as well as the dedication of the student .

Coming to the Sivananda System of Yoga - Swami Vishnu devananda did not focus on elaborate instructions with regard to Asana practice nor he gives too much space for the student to discover what is true for himself as he felt both these approaches are quite complicated for a student who is just a common man i.e who has many things to do apart from yoga practice and who cant dedicate full time in to this . He wanted to keep things simple and except for some basic instructions with regard to Asana practice he did not not focus on detailed descriptions . Since the Sivananda System of Yoga is more ideal for a group practice for common people it is more ideal to keep the instructions simple and less and hence it is the way it is and many people are happy with the system .
But in case a student is fully in to yoga and willing to dedicate his time and energy in to this practice full time then he needs to go beyond the Sivananda System of simplicity and discover what is true for him i.e the highly anatomical precision approach of BKS Iyengar or the more holistic approach of Vanda Scravelli .

Conclusion : Do what is best and true for your situation and no need to get fanatical with a particular approach .

40) Order of Sequence of Yoga Asanas

There is always a confusion among students as to why the order of sequence in yoga asanas is different each yoga system .In some yoga systems like the Sivananda it starts with the Head Stand and then comes shoulderstand and the standing poses comes in the end while in some systems the sequence starts with the Standing postures while head stand and shoulder stand comes in the end .Some systems have the Soorya Namaskar as the main warming up sequence while in some systems there is no Soorya Namaskar at all . Even among those that have soorya namaskar there is a difference in the way the Soorya Namaskar is done like some have 12 steps , some 14 and 10 etc .So why these differences ? Kindly note that each and every system is equally right in its own approach and there is no rigid rule as to how the postures are to be sequenced . Problem comes only when you mix sequences from each system blindly . Each yoga system has its own uniqueness and it is better those uniqueness are respected and left as it is . Beyond a point it does not matter which system you follow as the journey becomes more inward and you need to bring more awareness in to your practice .That is one reason why Swami Vishnu devananda made the Sivananda Asana System a simple one with just the standard soorya namaskar and 12 basic postures . This sequence is easy to remember and it has the essence of all the major postures and gives a complete yoga workout and this system is uniformly practiced around all the Sivananda Centres and Ashrams world wide and it does not matter whether u are in Chennai , New York or London , the same sequence applies to all .
So better to practice one system regularly and go deeper in to it instead of just switching one system to another frequently . All that matters is that at the end of the practice you must feel refreshed and energized . For this you must learn from a proper teacher who teaches the system well respecting your body condition and giving you alternative variations in case you are unable to do a particular posture in the standard way .