“The ability to be comfortable in a posture and
to be firm and attentive in it is the essence of asana.” - Yoga Sutra
Asanas are bodily positions that exercise the body and encourage relaxation. These movements stretch the muscles to release pent-up tension and encourage strength and flexibility in the joints and spine. The Asanas bring strength, grace and suppleness. It tones up the glands and internal organs, improve the circulation, regulates weight, delays ageing- an important
part of yoga – increases vital energy and teaches the art of relaxation. Asanas or performed in a specific sequence that begins with warming up the body. The set continues with seated and forward bends, standing postures, inverted poses, back bending postures, twists, and ends with a resting pose. In general the warm -up exercise increases circulation and improves blood flow to the entire body. Seated poses help to create stability, proper spinal alignment, while the forward bends increase the spine’s flexibility, and calm the physiology. Backbends create mobility and suppleness in the spine and at the same time are invigorating. Inverted poises stimulate the endocrine system and allow for increased circulation, while twists aid digestion, elimination, and tone the spinal column. Asanas are performed in a particular sequence, designed to exercise all the major muscle groups in the correct order, to encourage good circulation and to flush toxins out of the body. A sequence of postures is important because it first prepares the body in order to warm it up and remove stiffness. It progresses to invigorate, strengthen, and stretch the entire body. This is why it is valuable to practice in an orderly sequence, as each pose is a preparation for the following posture or a counterbalance for the preceding one. All of these postures are succeeded by the resting pose and breathing exercises, which bring increased awareness, orderliness, and balance.
Breathing in Postures The ability to coordinate your movements with your breathing so they function as one is a fundamental theme in yoga. It is more than merely coordinating them, however. It is understanding they are the same. Breath and movement are one. The breath creates and fuels the movement - just as the movement shapes and changes the breath. Yoga is not mechanical, and proper breathing will bring an increasingly creative sense to your practice. The breath brings the poses to life, and with your breathing you establish the tone of your practice. You feel the breath inspiring the movement. And as you let the breath move through you, your yoga will become a truer, more authentic, unique expression of you. There are a few very simple guidelines for breathing in postures. Imagine your lungs as a pair of balloons. They fill as you breathe in and empty as you breathe out. As they fill they rise and float, becoming taller and rounder. They expand in all directions - upward, downward, sideways, forward, and back. You can feel the air going backward into your back, forward into your chest, sideways from just below the armpits, and up, elongating your spine. Any movement that enlarges your chest or lengthens your spine, expanding the balloons, is enhanced by an inhalation. Any movement that compresses the balloons, reducing lung volume, naturally squeezes the air out and should be an exhalation
Harmonising Breath in Movement
While raising the arms – Breathe In
While lowering the arms – Breathe Out
hile bending forward – Breathe Out
While bending backward – Breathe In
While moving legs towards the trunk – Breathe Out
While moving legs away from the trunk – Breathe In Any time the body is folding and becoming more compact, the movement is done on the exhalation.
Any time there is an unfolding, a straightening of the body or an opening of the chest, the movement is done on the inhalation.
Twisting motions that takes place in the lower spine are done on exhalation.
Twisting motions that takes place in the upper spine are done on inhalation.
Postures that curve your spine backward and open the chest are done with inhalation.
The breathing is Co-ordinated with the movement so that if inhalation or exhalation takes 5 seconds, the movement also takes about the same time.
Be aware of the breath while doing the Asanas. The breath must be slow and even. Without forcing or making yourself uncomfortable, work toward a deeper, slower, and more flowing breath as you hold and deepen your postures. You will notice that if you are at all frightened, tense, or uncomfortable, parts of you will resist, your breathing will be strained and erratic, and it will feel as though you are working against yourself. Deepening the breath, however, will expand you from inside. It will also increase your intake volume of air and lengthen the time span of each breath. More air will give you more energy, and lengthening the time span of each breath will encourage a sense of calm. Being energetic and calm, your body will open with minimal resistance. You have probably noticed how shallow and constricted your breathing becomes when you are anxious, fearful, uncomfortable, or off-center. Emotions affect breathing. And just the opposite can happen in yoga, especially in postures that work the diaphragm through deeper twisting, backward bending, or tight forward folds. Your breathing will become shallow and rapid, and at first this can make you anxious, or uncomfortable. But by learning to sustain your extensions with a slower, deeper, and more regular breath, you can maintain a relaxed attitude of mind. This will encourage your body to open at its optimum pace. In any case, do not be bound by these suggestions. They are guidelines not rules. Understand them, acquire a feeling for them, and then use them to your advantage. Feel yourself expanding and drawing in life energy as you inhale, relaxing inside as you exhale. And become familiar with the inner sense of how your body wants to move and breathe. It will always tell you what to do. Experiment with the suggestions, discover what feels natural, and always be guided from within. These guidelines are not rigid, and occasionally in more advanced postures there may be exceptions. But they work pretty well. As you learn more about yoga you develop a feeling for it, and feelings become the most important criterion. Once you have a feeling for what you are doing, whatever feels best generally is the best. Meanwhile, these guidelines will help develop an inner feeling for breathing in postures Always feel as though you are learning something new. Be glad that you have the time and inclination to practice. Be thankful & grateful to yourself for having discovered yoga. And celebrate your realisation that the energy, enthusiasm, and attention you bring to yoga now will benefit all other moments of your life as well. Practice with passionate calm.
part of yoga – increases vital energy and teaches the art of relaxation. Asanas or performed in a specific sequence that begins with warming up the body. The set continues with seated and forward bends, standing postures, inverted poses, back bending postures, twists, and ends with a resting pose. In general the warm -up exercise increases circulation and improves blood flow to the entire body. Seated poses help to create stability, proper spinal alignment, while the forward bends increase the spine’s flexibility, and calm the physiology. Backbends create mobility and suppleness in the spine and at the same time are invigorating. Inverted poises stimulate the endocrine system and allow for increased circulation, while twists aid digestion, elimination, and tone the spinal column. Asanas are performed in a particular sequence, designed to exercise all the major muscle groups in the correct order, to encourage good circulation and to flush toxins out of the body. A sequence of postures is important because it first prepares the body in order to warm it up and remove stiffness. It progresses to invigorate, strengthen, and stretch the entire body. This is why it is valuable to practice in an orderly sequence, as each pose is a preparation for the following posture or a counterbalance for the preceding one. All of these postures are succeeded by the resting pose and breathing exercises, which bring increased awareness, orderliness, and balance.
Breathing in Postures The ability to coordinate your movements with your breathing so they function as one is a fundamental theme in yoga. It is more than merely coordinating them, however. It is understanding they are the same. Breath and movement are one. The breath creates and fuels the movement - just as the movement shapes and changes the breath. Yoga is not mechanical, and proper breathing will bring an increasingly creative sense to your practice. The breath brings the poses to life, and with your breathing you establish the tone of your practice. You feel the breath inspiring the movement. And as you let the breath move through you, your yoga will become a truer, more authentic, unique expression of you. There are a few very simple guidelines for breathing in postures. Imagine your lungs as a pair of balloons. They fill as you breathe in and empty as you breathe out. As they fill they rise and float, becoming taller and rounder. They expand in all directions - upward, downward, sideways, forward, and back. You can feel the air going backward into your back, forward into your chest, sideways from just below the armpits, and up, elongating your spine. Any movement that enlarges your chest or lengthens your spine, expanding the balloons, is enhanced by an inhalation. Any movement that compresses the balloons, reducing lung volume, naturally squeezes the air out and should be an exhalation
Harmonising Breath in Movement
While raising the arms – Breathe In
While lowering the arms – Breathe Out
hile bending forward – Breathe Out
While bending backward – Breathe In
While moving legs towards the trunk – Breathe Out
While moving legs away from the trunk – Breathe In Any time the body is folding and becoming more compact, the movement is done on the exhalation.
Any time there is an unfolding, a straightening of the body or an opening of the chest, the movement is done on the inhalation.
Twisting motions that takes place in the lower spine are done on exhalation.
Twisting motions that takes place in the upper spine are done on inhalation.
Postures that curve your spine backward and open the chest are done with inhalation.
The breathing is Co-ordinated with the movement so that if inhalation or exhalation takes 5 seconds, the movement also takes about the same time.
Be aware of the breath while doing the Asanas. The breath must be slow and even. Without forcing or making yourself uncomfortable, work toward a deeper, slower, and more flowing breath as you hold and deepen your postures. You will notice that if you are at all frightened, tense, or uncomfortable, parts of you will resist, your breathing will be strained and erratic, and it will feel as though you are working against yourself. Deepening the breath, however, will expand you from inside. It will also increase your intake volume of air and lengthen the time span of each breath. More air will give you more energy, and lengthening the time span of each breath will encourage a sense of calm. Being energetic and calm, your body will open with minimal resistance. You have probably noticed how shallow and constricted your breathing becomes when you are anxious, fearful, uncomfortable, or off-center. Emotions affect breathing. And just the opposite can happen in yoga, especially in postures that work the diaphragm through deeper twisting, backward bending, or tight forward folds. Your breathing will become shallow and rapid, and at first this can make you anxious, or uncomfortable. But by learning to sustain your extensions with a slower, deeper, and more regular breath, you can maintain a relaxed attitude of mind. This will encourage your body to open at its optimum pace. In any case, do not be bound by these suggestions. They are guidelines not rules. Understand them, acquire a feeling for them, and then use them to your advantage. Feel yourself expanding and drawing in life energy as you inhale, relaxing inside as you exhale. And become familiar with the inner sense of how your body wants to move and breathe. It will always tell you what to do. Experiment with the suggestions, discover what feels natural, and always be guided from within. These guidelines are not rigid, and occasionally in more advanced postures there may be exceptions. But they work pretty well. As you learn more about yoga you develop a feeling for it, and feelings become the most important criterion. Once you have a feeling for what you are doing, whatever feels best generally is the best. Meanwhile, these guidelines will help develop an inner feeling for breathing in postures Always feel as though you are learning something new. Be glad that you have the time and inclination to practice. Be thankful & grateful to yourself for having discovered yoga. And celebrate your realisation that the energy, enthusiasm, and attention you bring to yoga now will benefit all other moments of your life as well. Practice with passionate calm.