Tadasana - Mountain Pose

by Yoga Journal



Stand with the bases of your big toes touching, heels slightly apart (so that your second toes are parallel). Lift and spread your toes and the balls of your feet, then lay them softly down on the floor. Rock back and forth and side to side. Gradually reduce this swaying to a standstill, with your weight balanced evenly on the feet.

Firm your thigh muscles and lift the knee caps, without hardening your lower belly. Lift the inner ankles to strengthen the inner arches, then imagine a line of energy all the way up along your inner thighs to your groins, and from there through the core of your torso, neck, and head, and out through the crown of your head. Turn the upper thighs slightly inward. Lengthen your tailbone toward the floor and lift the pubis toward the navel.

Press your shoulder blades into your back, then widen them across and release them down your back. Without pushing your lower front ribs forward, lift the top of your sternum straight toward the ceiling. Widen your collarbones. Hang your arms beside the torso.

Balance the crown of your head directly over the center of your pelvis, with the underside of your chin parallel to the floor, throat soft, and the tongue wide and flat on the floor of your mouth. Soften your eyes.

Tadasana is usually the starting position for all the standing poses. But it's useful to practice Tadasana as a pose in itself. Stay in the pose for 30 seconds to 1 minute, breathing easily.

A new look for your eyes

By Jeanne Ricci

Often the first part of the body to show signs of aging, the skin around the eyes has few sebaceous glands to produce oil and keep the skin supple. But with a little Ayurvedic knowledge, you can fend off some unsightly problems.

Dark circles. Ayurvedic practitioners believe that poor eating habits are reflected in the face, especially in the undereye area. Mary Jo Cravatta, an Ayurvedic practitioner in San Rafael, California, says eating too quickly, consuming a lot of caffeine and cold drinks, and skipping breakfast can stress the digestive system, making it difficult for the body to absorb nutrients. Dark circles can also be caused by anemia and lack of sleep, says Monisha Bharadwaj, author of Beauty Secrets of India (Ulysses Press, 2000).

Internal solution: Consume warm foods and beverages, and eat at least one tablespoon of ghee or olive oil every day to aid digestion, Cravatta says. Eating, exercising, and going to sleep at the same time each day will help regulate bodily functions and improve general health. Cravatta also recommends sleeping or meditating with a hot-water bottle on the abdomen to soothe the digestive organs.

External solution: Bharadwaj recommends putting slices of raw potatoes or apples on the area for 15 minutes every other day. She says the starch in potatoes and the potassium, B and C vitamins, and tannin in apples all help fade dark circles.

Puffiness. "Puffiness around the eyes occurs when the process of digestion is disturbed," Cravatta says. If you regularly eat in front of the television or computer, chances are that you aren't chewing and digesting food properly. Puffiness can also be caused by allergies, fluid retention, and the accumulation of overly emollient night creams, Bharadwaj says.

Internal solution: Chew your food thoroughly. To reduce fluid retention, limit your salt intake. Bharadwaj also recommends drinking a glass of hot water in the morning to kick-start the kidneys and draw retained water from the tissues.

External solution: Stimulate the tissues around your eyes with this self-massage recommended by Cravatta: With your ring finger, apply light pressure on the inside corner of your eye socket. Move your finger in a circular motion up to the area below the brow, then around and down below the eye, staying on the bone of the eye socket. Make five rotations.

Crow's feet. Squinting, dry skin, and sun damage can cause the fine lines at the corners of the eyes known as crow's feet.

Internal solution: Avoid excessive alcohol consumption, which is dehydrating.

External solution: Wear sunglasses to avoid squinting and to protect the delicate skin around the eyes from harmful UV and UVA rays. Also, you can try dabbing almond oil gently on the skin at the corners of your eyes.

Parsvottanasana (Intense Side Stretch)

By Richard Freeman



Stand with your feet about one leg-length apart. Turn the right foot out 90 degrees and the back foot in 20 to 60 degrees. The back foot should be angled just enough to maintain all three of its arches (the transverse, inner, and outer arches) and to allow for the rotation and counter-rotation required to milk the internal essence of the posture. Line up the heel of your front foot with the heel of your back foot. Square your hips in the direction of your leading foot, and tone the thigh muscles of the back leg. Next, press the palms together in Prayer Position behind the heart. To do this, roll the shoulders completely forward, crawl the hands up the lower thoracic spine with the palms turned out, and then roll the shoulders back to bring the palms together. Now inhale, toning both legs and body as if preparing for a backbend. Exhaling, fold forward, stretching the chin out over the spreading toes of the right foot. Gradually work the chin toward the shin without straining or compressing the upper portion of the neck at the base of the skull.

Notice the two intertwined rotations, or spirals, in the front leg in Parsvottanasana: the primary spiral, which you have to do to get into the pose, and the counterspiral, which you add in order to balance the pose and bring your awareness inside. The counterspiral doesn’t destroy the primary spiral; it wraps around it. Once both are set, you squeeze them into each other. The primary spiral is the external spin at the head of the femur, which takes the outer edge of the hip joint back; the counterspiral is the internal spin that grounds through the inner edge of the foot and the root of the big toe.

Next, draw the kneecaps up while micro-bending the legs to keep the hamstrings toned. This action draws the pubic bone back while simultaneously keeping the coccyx curling down into the perineum. This switches on the pelvic floor, which almost feels as if it were humming, giving you more refined control over your joints and creating integration and harmony throughout your body.

When the hip joint of the leading leg is fully drawn back, you’ll use your abdominal muscles (the external obliques and rectus abdominis) to create the final, crowning action: Twist the kidney area on the left side down and around toward the inner knee of your right leg. At the same time, apply an external rotation in the back leg as a complement to its primary inward spiral. Doing this will activate the pelvic floor while you release the palate. Refine the posture for at least five breaths. Inhale to come out. Pause for a breath or two before you do the pose on the left side with the same care as on the right.

Head to knee forward bend (Janu Sirsasana)

by Yoga Journal

1. Sit on the floor with your buttocks lifted on a folded blanket and your legs straight in front of you. Inhale, bend your right knee, and draw the heel back toward your perineum. Rest your right foot sole lightly against your inner left thigh, and lay the outer right leg on the floor, with the shin at a right angle to the left leg (if your right knee doesn't rest comfortably on the floor, support it with a folded blanket).

2. Press your right hand against the inner right groin, where the thigh joins the pelvis, and your left hand on the floor beside the hip. Exhale and turn the torso slightly to the left, lifting the torso as you push down on and ground the inner right thigh. Line up your navel with the middle of the left thigh. You can just stay here, using a strap to help you lengthen the spine evenly, grounding through the sitting bones.

3. Or, when you are ready, you can drop the strap and reach out with your right hand to take the inner left foot, thumb on the sole. Inhale and lift the front torso, pressing the top of the left thigh into the floor and extending actively through the left heel. Use the pressure of the left hand on the floor to increase the twist to the left. Then reach your left hand to the outside of the foot. With the arms fully extended, lengthen the front torso from the pubis to the top of the sternum.

4. Exhale and extend forward from the groins, not the hips. Be sure not to pull yourself forcefully into the forward bend, hunching the back and shortening the front torso. As you descend, bend your elbows out to the sides and lift them away from the floor.

5. Lengthen forward into a comfortable stretch. The lower belly should touch the thighs first, the head last. Stay in the pose anywhere from 1 to 3 minutes. Come up with an inhalation and repeat the instructions with the legs reversed for the same length of time.

Savasana

By Andrea Ferretti, sequence by Sarah Powers

Come into Corpse Pose with your palms facing up or with your hands resting on your abdomen. Place the legs wider than the hips and relax your buttocks, legs, and feet. Invite ease in your mind and body, making this the most nourishing posture of all.

Full forward bend

By Andrea Ferretti, sequence by Sarah Powers

Gently bring your legs back together. Bend forward at the hips, curving your spine into a forward bend. If you have sciatica or if your hips tilt backward, eliminate this pose and lie on the floor with your legs up the wall.

Dragonfly

By Andrea Ferretti, sequence by Sarah Powers

Bring your legs into a straddle, exhale, and bend forward from the hips. Place your hands on the floor in front of you, or rest on your elbows or on a support like a bolster or folded blanket. If it feels natural, come all the way down onto your belly. If your knees are unstable, back off the pose and engage the quadriceps from time to time. Attempt to hold this pose for 5 minutes or more.

Half Dragonfly

By Andrea Ferretti, sequence by Sarah Powers

Sit on a blanket or cushion with your right leg outstretched and the sole of your left foot pressing into your inner right thigh. Move your left knee back a few inches. If the knee does not rest on the floor, place a cushion under it. As you exhale, bend your spine over your right leg, placing your hands on either side of it. Do both sides before moving on.

Child Pose

By Andrea Ferretti, sequence by Sarah Powers

When it feels appropriate to move again, place your hands under your chest, and on an inhalation, lift your upper body away from the floor. As you exhale, bend your knees and draw your hips back toward your feet in Child’s Pose.

Seal

By Andrea Ferretti, sequence by Sarah Powers

This pose is similar to Sphinx but creates more of an arch in the lower back. Begin on your belly, propped up on your hands with your arms straight. Place your hands about 4 inches in front of the shoulders. Turn the hands out slightly, like seal flippers. Distribute your weight evenly across your hands to avoid stressing your wrists. If it’s tolerable, relax the muscles in the buttocks and legs. If not, contract them from time to time to relieve the intense sensations. Your ability to remain muscularly soft may take a few months of practice. Be patient, but do not endure sharp or electrical sensations. Stay for 3 to 5 minutes. On an exhalation, lower yourself down slowly. Remain still and breathe into the whole spine as you rest.

Sphinx

By Andrea Ferretti, sequence by Sarah Powers

Lie on your belly with your legs outstretched. Place your elbows on the floor shoulder distance apart and about an inch or so ahead of the shoulder line. Place your hands straight forward or hold on to your elbows. Rest here without slumping into your shoulders or lifting them up. Let your belly and organs drape toward the floor as you relax your buttocks and legs. If your back feels sensitive, engage your outer buttocks and inner legs all or part of the time to lessen the strong sensations.

Saddle

By Andrea Ferretti, sequence by Sarah Powers

Sit on your shins and lean back on your hands. (If this is already too much for your knees, skip this pose.) Lower yourself slowly onto your back, keeping your lower back in an exaggerated arch. If your quadriceps feel strained, rest your shoulders and head on top of a bolster or a folded blanket. Otherwise, come down onto your elbows or upper back, allowing your knees to spread apart if you need to. If there is too much pressure on your ankles, place a folded towel or blanket underneath them. To come up, place your hands where your elbows were. Engage your abdominal muscles and inhale as you lift yourself up.

Butterfly Pose

By Andrea Ferretti, sequence by Sarah Powers

Sit on a blanket or cushion. With your weight on the front edge of your sitting bones, bend your knees, press the soles of your feet together, and let your legs drop out like butterfly wings. Take your heels at least a foot away from your hips. With your hands on your ankles, bend forward from the hips to your appropriate edge, then relax your upper spine and let it round. Rest your head in the arches of the feet, on top of the stacked fists, or cupped in the hands while the elbows rest on the feet. If you can, stay for 3 to 5 minutes in all of the poses in this sequence. Inhale as you come up, then stretch your legs forward and lean back on your hands. Pause for a few moments in a neutral position after each pose.

Neat Feat

By Julie Gudmestad

Question: What do you have when one or both feet are off the ground? Answer: A balance pose. And what happens to the foot (or feet) when relieved of the primary duty of bearing weight? No longer needed to form the foundation, the nonweight-bearing foot is, sadly, often forgotten as the practitioner focuses on balancing. A forgotten foot loses its vitality, becoming a limp appendage instead of forming the icing on the cake of a beautiful, strong pose.

Yoga, of course, presents us with a wide variety of balance poses, whether they are arm or standing balances, which help keep our centering and balancing reflexes sharp. (Note: If both arms are on the floor, it's an inversion or arm balance. If one foot is on the floor, it's a standing balance. If one foot and one hand are on the floor, it could be either. For example, Vasisthasana [Side Plank Pose] is an arm balance, while Ardha Chandrasana [Half Moon Pose] is a standing balance.) In any case, the more challenging the pose, the more likely the student's attention will be totally focused on balancing, with no attention to spare for the details of alignment. Therefore, teachers are wise to start early balance pose work with the easier poses, such as Ardha Chandrasana, rather than the very challenging arm balances. Then bring awareness of the NWB (nonweight-bearing) foot into the pose as soon as the student can balance for more than a few seconds.

Get the Feel

There are several tools teachers can use to train students to bring vitality into their feet. Since you know that students can't see their feet in most balances (Sarvangasana, or Shoulderstand, and the feet-forward arm balances are among the few exceptions), it's helpful to have them practice good, balanced foot alignment in a position that allows them to see their feet. This will link the kinesthetic knowledge (learning by feel) with the visual (what the proper alignment looks like).

One good way to do this is to start by sitting, either in a chair or on the floor, with one or both feet stretched out in front. Point the toes strongly, and notice that the calf and Achilles tendon (which joins the big calf muscles to the heelbone) are short and compressed, while the front of the ankle is stretched. Now reverse the action, pushing out on the heel and pulling the toes back, and note that the Achilles and calf are lengthened and stretched, while the muscles and tendons on the front of the ankle and shin are shortened and contracted. In a well-balanced foot, neither the front nor the back of the ankle should feel compressed or stretched. Rather than going to one extreme or the other, the middle position is optimal. Imagine that you're pressing out evenly into all four corners of the foot, which are the bases of the big and little toes (anatomically the first and fifth metatarsal heads) and the inner and outer heel.

This exercise is wonderful for teaching balance between the heel and ball of the foot, and it should be practiced more than once to cement the kinesthetic knowledge. However, the pronation/supination balance may need a little more attention, as it's the harder piece for most students to learn.

Learned Activity

While standing, your foot supinates when the medial (inner) foot, including the arch, lifts up, and the lateral (outer) foot is heavy. Pronation is just the opposite, with the arch dropping and the lateral foot lifting. A normal NWB foot tends to supinate when relaxed, so students need to learn to actively pronate their feet in balance poses. While they are sitting, looking at their feet, ask them to press out the base of the big toe and inner heel so the big and little toes are the same distance away from the hip. The main muscle that counters the natural supination of the NWB foot is the peroneus longus, which originates on the fibula (next to the tibia, or shinbone, on the outer calf) and sends a long tendon across the outer ankle and under the sole of the foot to attach to the medial arch. One of its attachments there is on the first metatarsal base (opposite the metatarsal head), so it has the power to press the metatarsal head down into the floor while standing. Trying this while sitting will give students a feel for what their bones and muscles can accomplish in standing poses. After spending most of their time wearing shoes, many students need reminders and frequent practice to learn how to engage the peroneus longus.

Integrate Your Awareness

After devoting undivided attention to the balance and alignment of the feet, it's time to integrate that awareness into balance poses. Try this yourself: When you're balanced and stable in your pose, visualize and feel that you're sending energy out through your leg to the four corners of each foot, and then out beyond each corner. Your leg strength will help you balance as you press out, and you may notice an increased lift out of the pull of gravity. That's energy that brings vitality to every cell, wakes up your feet, and helps you engage just the right muscles to balance the front and back ankles and inner and outer foot. At that point, your pose becomes fully alive and whole, with your awareness touching every cell.

Fearless Backbends

by Jason Crandell

Because we spend so much of our day hunched over a computer or moving forward, moving backward into a backbend is an unfamiliar feeling. And since our bodies and minds prefer to stick with the status quo, practicing backbends may trigger physical and psychological resistance. It's normal to feel frustrated, awkward, or even uncomfortable during your exploration of Cobra Pose and other backbends. Resistance is a natural part of breaking habits and moving into the unfamiliar, so be patient and compassionate with yourself. You aren't alone in your difficulty. With a little patience, curiosity, and practice, you'll learn how to navigate through your resistance. Here are a few suggestions for dealing with aversion and difficulty in backbends.

BEAR WITNESS Without immediately responding, observe the range of feelings that arise as you practice backbends. If there is a sharp, localized pain in your body, stop immediately. However, if you encounter mild physical or psych-ological resistance, be with it.Try witnessing your response to difficult feelings. Not only will you begin to see that resistance passes and transforms, you'll learn mindfulness, which is at the heart of the yoga practice.

SLOW DOWN Many of us go too far, too fast in our yoga practice. We prefer to accelerate through the learning, sensing, feeling process, and skip straight to the doing process. If you're having difficulty in a backbend, minimize the size of your backbend until it feels evenly distributed and healthy. Remember, you are searching for an even, graceful arc, not a visual spectacle. Besides, it's better to injure your ego than your body.

REPEAT REGULARLY The only way to learn a new pattern in the body and mind is to practice it consistently. Do backbends that feel appropriate to you as often as possible. Incorporate them into your yoga routine and daily life. You can do small backbends—like clasping your hands behind your back, lifting your chest, and simply stretching—sitting in your chair at work, waiting for the train, or standing in line at the grocer.

BE BRIEF It may be daunting to think about staying in a backbend for 30 seconds. But is it still scary if you hold it for, say, five seconds? Repeating your backbends more often and holding them for a very brief moment is an effective way to reduce your aversion.

BASK IN THE BEND Backbends are thought to be energizing, uplifting, and stimulating. After you finish a backbend, take a moment as you breathe to notice if your energy has changed. You may notice sensations immediately after a pose or later in the day—it will vary from day to day.

Jason Crandell would like to thank Nina Zolotow for her expertise and guidance. Contact him at www.jasonyoga.com.

Upward Bow (Wheel Pose)- Urdhva Dhanurasana

by Yoga Journal

Urdhva Dhanurasana

Step 1: Lie supine on the floor. Bend your knees and set your feet on the floor, heels as close to the sitting bones as possible. Bend your elbows and spread your palms on the floor beside your head, forearms relatively perpendicular to the floor, fingers pointing toward your shoulders.

Step 2: Pressing your inner feet actively into the floor, exhale and push your tailbone up toward the pubis, firming (but not hardening) the buttocks, and lift the buttocks off the floor. Keep your thighs and inner feet parallel. Take 2 or 3 breaths. Then firmly press the inner hands into the floor and your shoulder blades against the back and lift up onto the crown of your head. Keep your arms parallel. Take 2 or 3 breaths.

Step 3: Press your feet and hands into the floor, tailbone and shoulder blades against your back, and with an exhalation, lift your head off the floor and straighten your arms. Turn the upper thighs slightly inward and firm the outer thighs. Narrow the hip points and lengthen the tailbone toward the backs of the knees, lifting the pubis toward the navel.

Step 4: Turn the upper arms outward but keep the weight on the bases of the index fingers. Spread the shoulder blades across the back and let the head hang, or lift it slightly to look down at the floor.

Step 5: Stay in the pose anywhere from 5 to 10 seconds or more, breathing easily. Repeat anywhere from 3 to 10 times.

Get a Leg-Up on Varicose Veins

By Anna Soref

It's time to get dressed for yoga class, and you're faced with a wardrobe decision: Will it be the leotard, the shorts, or the leggings? If you're one of the 50 percent of people who suffer from varicose veins, the leggings will probably win out. But with a little help from the plant world, the bulging blood vessels could be a thing of the past, leaving your wardrobe options wide open.

Varicose veins are caused by damage to the valves which prevents vascular flow from moving in one direction, as it usually does. This in turn causes the blood to pool and the vein to swell. Aside from being unattractive, these swollen veins can cause extreme pain and lead to more severe problems.

To counteract this effect, Mindy Green, director of education for the Herb Research Foundation in Boulder, Colorado, recommends taking herbs that increase circulation, such as horse chestnut, gotu kola, and butcher's broom. Their ability to treat varicose veins has been confirmed in numerous studies conducted in Europe, where these herbs are widely used. A study published in the British medical journal The Lancet, for instance, found that 50mg of horse chestnut extract taken twice a day proved just as effective as using the expensive and cumbersome leg-stockings often recommended by doctors.

Green says to follow the manufacturer's dosage instructions for these herbs as their strength may vary, "especially with horse chestnut, which can be toxic when overtaken."
Green also suggests applying horse chestnut tincture directly to the skin daily as a preventative measure, and adds that compresses with astringent herbs such as white oak bark or witch hazel have a toning effect.

Many health practitioners recommend spending as much time as possible with the legs elevated to get the blood moving. Yoga postures such as Viparita Karani (pictured above), with the legs up against a wall, are ideal. Standing and sitting for too long (especially with legs crossed) can aggravate symptoms, so take frequent stretching and walking breaks when working at a desk.
Studies also demonstrate that a diet high in flavonoid-rich foods such as berries can help prevent the development of varicose veins and maintain vein wall integrity.

A tea made from buckwheat, high in the bioflavonoid rutin, has been shown to alleviate symptoms. Also, indulge in high-fiber fruits and vegetables to enhance overall circulation and supply vitamins and minerals necessary for healthy and beautiful legs.

Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose - Viparita Karani

by Yoga Journal

The pose described here is a passive, supported variation of the Shoulderstand-like Viparita Karani. For your support you'll need one or two thickly folded blankets or a firm round bolster. You'll also need to rest your legs vertically (or nearly so) on a wall or other upright support.

Steps

Before performing the pose, determine two things about your support: its height and its distance from the wall. If you're stiffer, the support should be lower and placed farther from the wall; if you're more flexible, use a higher support that is closer to the wall. Your distance from the wall also depends on your height: if you're shorter move closer to the wall, if taller move farther from the wall. Experiment with the position of your support until you find the placement that works for you.

Start with your support about 5 to 6 inches away from the wall. Sit sideways on right end of the support, with your right side against the wall (left-handers can substitute "left" for "right" in these instructions). Exhale and, with one smooth movement, swing your legs up onto the wall and your shoulders and head lightly down onto the floor. The first few times you do this, you may ignominiously slide off the support and plop down with your buttocks on the floor. Don't get discouraged. Try lowering the support and/or moving it slightly further off the wall until you gain some facility with this movement, then move back closer to the wall.

Your sitting bones don't need to be right against the wall, but they should be "dripping" down into the space between the support and the wall. Check that the front of your torso gently arches from the pubis to the top of the shoulders. If the front of your torso seems flat, then you've probably slipped a bit off the support. Bend your knees, press your feet into the wall and lift your pelvis off the support a few inches, tuck the support a little higher up under your pelvis, then lower your pelvis onto the support again.

Lift and release the base of your skull away from the back of your neck and soften your throat. Don't push your chin against your sternum; instead let your sternum lift toward the chin. Take a small roll (made from a towel for example) under your neck if the cervical spine feels flat. Open your shoulder blades away from the spine and release your hands and arms out to your sides, palms up.

Keep your legs relatively firm, just enough to hold them vertically in place. Release the heads of the thigh bones and the weight of your belly deeply into your torso, toward the back of the pelvis. Soften your eyes and turn them down to look into your heart.


Stay in this pose anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes. Be sure not to twist off the support when coming out. Instead, slide off the support onto the floor before turning to the side. You can also bend your knees and push your feet against the wall to lift your pelvis off the support. Then slide the support to one side, lower your pelvis to the floor, and turn to the side. Stay on your side for a few breaths, and come up to sitting with an exhalation.

Supported Shoulderstand - Salamba Sarvangasana

by Yoga Journal

Fold two or more firm blankets into rectangles measuring about 1 foot by 2 feet, and stack them one on top of the other. You can place a sticky mat over the blankets to help the upper arms stay in place while in the pose. Then lie on the blankets with your shoulders supported (and parallel to one of the longer edges) and your head on the floor. Lay your arms on the floor alongside your torso, then bend your knees and set your feet against the floor with the heels close to the sitting bones. Exhale, press your arms against the floor, and push your feet away from the floor, drawing your thighs into the front torso.


Continue to lift by curling the pelvis and then the back torso away from the floor, so that your knees come toward your face. Stretch your arms out parallel to the edge of the blanket and turn them outward so the fingers press against the floor (and the thumbs point behind you). Bend your elbows and draw them toward each other. Lay the backs of your upper arms on the blanket and spread your palms against the back of your torso. Raise your pelvis over the shoulders, so that the torso is relatively perpendicular to the floor. Walk your hands up your back (toward the floor) without letting the elbows slide too much wider than shoulder width.


Inhale and lift your bent knees toward the ceiling, bringing your thighs in line with your torso and hanging the heels down by your buttocks. Press your tailbone toward your pubis and turn the upper thighs inward slightly. Finally inhale and straighten the knees, pressing the heels up toward the ceiling. When the backs of the legs are fully lengthened, lift through the balls of the big toes so the inner legs are slightly longer than the outer.


Soften the throat and tongue. Firm the shoulder blades against the back, and move the sternum toward the chin. Your forehead should be relatively parallel to the floor, your chin perpendicular. Press the backs of your upper arms and the tops of your shoulders actively into the blanket support, and try to lift the upper spine away from the floor. Gaze softly at your chest.


As a beginning practitioner stay in the pose for about 30 seconds. Gradually add 5 to 10 seconds to your stay every day or so until you can comfortably hold the pose for 3 minutes. Then continue for 3 minutes each day for a week or two, until you feel relatively comfortable in the pose. Again gradually and 5 to 10 seconds onto your stay every day or so until you can comfortably hold the pose for 5 minutes. To come down, exhale, bend your knees into your torso again, and roll your back torso slowly and carefully onto the floor, keeping the back of your head on the floor.

Supported Headstand - Salamba Sirsasana

by Yoga Journal

Use a folded blanket or sticky mat to pad your head and forearms. Kneel on the floor. Lace your fingers together and set the forearms on the floor, elbows at shoulder width. Roll the upper arms slightly outward, but press the inner wrists firmly into the floor. Set the crown of your head on the floor. If you are just beginning to practice this pose, press the bases of your palms together and snuggle the back of your head against the clasped hands. More experienced students can open their hands and place the back of the head into the open palms.

Inhale and lift your knees off the floor. Carefully walk your feet closer to your elbows, heels elevated. Actively lift through the top thighs, forming an inverted "V." Firm the shoulder blades against your back and lift them toward the tailbone so the front torso stays as long as possible. This should help prevent the weight of the shoulders collapsing onto your neck and head.

Exhale and lift your feet away from the floor. Take both feet up at the same time, even if it means bending your knees and hopping lightly off the floor. As the legs (or thighs, if your knees are bent) rise to perpendicular to the floor, firm the tailbone against the back of the pelvis. Turn the upper thighs in slightly, and actively press the heels toward the ceiling (straightening the knees if you bent them to come up). The center of the arches should align over the center of the pelvis, which in turn should align over the crown of the head.

Firm the outer arms inward, and soften the fingers. Continue to press the shoulder blades against the back, widen them, and draw them toward the tailbone. Keep the weight evenly balanced on the two forearms. It's also essential that your tailbone continues to lift upward toward the heels. Once the backs of the legs are fully lengthened through the heels, maintain that length and press up through the balls of the big toes so the inner legs are slightly longer than the outer.

As a beginning practitioner stay for 10 seconds. Gradually add 5 to 10 seconds onto your stay every day or so until you can comfortably hold the pose for 3 minutes. Then continue for 3 minutes each day for a week or two, until you feel relatively comfortable in the pose. Again gradually add 5 to 10 seconds onto your stay every day or so until you can comfortably hold the pose for 5 minutes. Come down with an exhalation, without losing the lift of the shoulder blades, with both feet touching the floor at the same time.

Meditation 101

By Claudia Cummins

To give meditation a try, sit comfortably, set a timer for 10 minutes, and explore one of the following strategies. And consider yourself forewarned: Meditation is a delightfully simple practice, but that doesn't mean it's easy!

Just sit. Commit to doing nothing more than sitting quietly and watching what happens. Don't pick up the phone, don't answer the doorbell, don't add another item to your to-do list. Just sit and observe the thoughts that arise and pass through your mind. You will likely be surprised by how difficult it is to sit quietly for 10 minutes. In the process, though, you may learn something important about the qualities of the restless mind and the ever-changing nature of life.

Listen to the sounds of life. Close your eyes and tune in to the sounds percolating both within and around you. Open your ears and adopt a receptive attitude. At first, you'll likely hear only the most obvious noises, but over time, you'll discover new layers of sounds that you had previously tuned out. Challenge yourself to observe what you hear without clinging to it or resisting it. Notice how the world feels more alive as your awareness of the present deepens.

Practice bare attention. Notice the raw sensations of the present moment—feelings of warmth and coolness, hardness and softness, pressure and ease. Which parts of your body are in contact with the earth? How does the shape of the body shift with each inhalation and exhalation? How does your experience change over time? Cultivating an awareness of the present moment will foster a more serene and attentive mind, one that is able to settle into the here and now.
Follow the breath. Attach your mind to the breath. While you're breathing in, note that you're breathing in, and while you're breathing out, focus on the exhalation. Don't manipulate the breath in any way; simply watch it with your mind's eye, just as you would follow a tennis ball bouncing from one side of the court to the other during a particularly engrossing match. When you find that your mind has strayed, as it inevitably will, gently refocus it on the breath and begin again.

Use a mantra. Choose a favorite word, phrase, prayer, or fragment of a poem, and repeat it slowly and softly. Let its rhythm and meaning lull you into a quiet, contemplative state of ease. When you notice that your mind has wandered off to other thoughts, simply redirect it back toward the words you've chosen as your touchstone and rededicate your awareness to them.
Practice kindness. As you sit quietly, focus your inner attention on someone you know who might benefit from an extra dose of kindness and care. In your mind's eye, send this person love, happiness, and well-being. Soften your skin, open the floodgates of your heart, and let gentle goodwill pour forth.

Adho Mukha Svanasana - Downward Facing Dog

by Cyndi Lee

Downward Dog is a home-base asana, one in which we can explore the challenge of being alert and attentive as well as the comfort of returning home. This is the essence of yoga: waking up and letting go at the same time. Think about staying present with your experience in every Down Dog and at the same time finding a sense of spaciousness within the pose's familiarity. After 5 breaths, begin the entire sequence to the other side.

Bharadvajasana

by Cyndi Lee

From Vajrasana, shift your hips to the right and sit down on your right hip. As you inhale, lift your arms up; as you exhale, twist to the right. Let your arms float down, turning the left palm up and slipping the fingers under your right thigh. Place your right fingertips on the floor behind your tailbone. Imagine that the spine is a barber's pole and twist around it. Feel this spiral of energy extending up above you and down below you. Stay in this twist for 5 breaths, then come back to Vajrasana.

Ustrasana - Camel Pose

by Cyndi Lee

Release your arms from Gomukhasana and place your hands on the floor on either side of your knees. Rock forward and, on an inhalation, lean onto your hands so you come slightly off the ground. During the split second you are airborne, uncross your legs and land lightly on the tops of your shins in Vajrasana (Thunderbolt Pose). Lift your hips directly over your knees and tuck your toes under. Feel your weight drop down through your toes and knees. Move your pelvis forward slightly as you press the thighs back. On an inhalation, lift the chest and look up, up, up. Begin to bend up and over a huge imaginary beach ball, so the spine extends evenly. Move the spine in toward the back of the heart to open the chest and maintain space in the lower back. Take hold of your ankles. (If you can't reach them, place your hands on blocks alongside your feet.) If you're able to keep your shoulder blades firm, your head should drop back easily. If that doesn't feel good, keep your head lifted and look forward. Stay here for 3 breaths, then press down into your feet as you come back up on an inhalation, bringing your head up last. Rest in Vajrasana for a moment or two. Repeat 1 or 2 more times and end in Vajrasana.

Gomukhasana - Cow Pose

by Cyndi Lee

From Down Dog, shift your weight forward and place your right knee on the floor between your hands. Bring your left knee directly behind it and sit down between your shins, stacking your knees and moving into Gomukhasana. Lift your left arm up, externally rotate it, bend your elbow, and place your palm down your back between your shoulder blades. Then internally rotate your right arm, bend it behind your back, and reach it toward your left hand. If your hands don't reach, make the connection by using a yoga strap or belt. Notice if your elbows are splaying outward or if the top one is falling forward. Try to move your upper arms and elbows toward the midline, even in this pretzel-like position. This pose is a great preparation for backbends, because it opens the sacral area, creates softness in the groins, and opens the triceps and shoulders. In this pose, go inward mentally and energetically for 5 to 8 breaths.

Urdhva Mukha Svanasana - Upward facing dog

by Cyndi Lee

From your belly, place your palms in line with your chest and come to the tops of your feet. On an inhalation, lift everything up off the floor except the feet and hands, coming into Upward-Facing Dog. Even though your legs are apart, look for a magnetizing energy between them, sending a charge up the spine. Allow the spine to sink into the back of the heart to open the chest. Move the inner edges of the shoulder blades down and toward each other, once again creating space, this time in the neck. Soften and draw the front of your throat in lightly to create even more space in the back of the neck. Stay here for 2 breaths, then push yourself back into Down Dog and hold for 3 breaths.

Anantasana - Side Reclining Leg Lift

by Cyndi Lee

From Vasisthasana, slowly let your hips get heavy and bring them down onto the floor. Lower all the way down and lie on your right side. Bend your right arm and use it to support your head; try to find a Mountain Pose–like alignment. Then externally rotate your left leg and bend your knee. Take hold of the big toe with the first two fingers of your top hand and, on an exhalation, extend the leg up toward the sky. Your top leg will likely go forward on a slight diagonal line. See what you can learn from the rocking and rolling quality of this pose. Can you draw in and expand out at the same time without tension? Look for the answer in your physical alignment and notice how that affects your breath and your mind. Work on this pose for 5 to 8 breaths, then release the top leg and roll over onto your tummy.

Vasisthasana - Side Plank Pose

By Cyndi Lee

From Downward Dog, bring your feet together. Draw your shins toward each other and in toward your midline; this action creates a subtle internal rotation and a sense of space between the thighs. As you shift onto the outside of your right foot and balance on your right hand, draw your tailbone down into this space. Shifting from Down Dog, in which the sitting bones are wide, to a pose in which there's a more integrated relationship between the pubis and the tailbone is another way to establish a midline connection, this time between the front and back bodies. Next, slowly unravel the left side of the body, just as you did in Ardha Chandrasana. If your hand is in line with your mouth, it's in the right place. Feel how pulling into your center gives you the confidence to expand out into space. Stay here for 3 breaths.

Virabhadrasana III - Warrior III

by Cyndi Lee

From Ardha Chandrasana, shift your pelvis so it faces the floor. Internally rotate your left leg as you pull your right outer hip crease back; at the same time, sweep both arms forward alongside your ears, coming into Warrior III. Imagine that your arms begin at the bottom of your back ribs; from there, reach out through your fingers. Tone your belly by gently drawing your abdominals in; lift the hip points up toward your bottom ribs to fill the back of your waist. With a strong awareness of your center, reach out through your head and tailbone equally. Hold for 3 to 5 breaths.

Ardha Chandrasana - Half Moon Pose

By Cyndi Lee

Start in Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose), with your hands pressing firmly into the mat and your heels reaching toward the floor. Turn your left heel down and step your right foot between your hands. Place your right hand about 8 inches in front of your right foot (on the floor or on a block) and your left hand on your left hip. On an inhalation, lift the left leg up and straight back, coming into Ardha Chandrasana. As you exhale, spin your left ribs, armpit, fingers, and your face up toward the sky. Move the tailbone and pubic bone toward each other to create a powerful connection from which you can extend through the arms, legs, and crown of the head—you should feel as though you're radiating out like the rays of the moon on a dark night. Feel your energy reaching past your fingertips and try to ride the movement of this big balancing pose for 5 breaths before moving on.

Finding a comfortable cross-legged position

By Esther Myers

Sitting cross-legged is an important part of yoga practice and is commonly used for breathing and meditation practices. It requires flexibility in the back thighs, back of the pelvis, and inner thighs, as well as external rotation of the hip joints. These are all very strong muscles that can take a long time to stretch. Whether you sit in a simple cross-legged posture like Sukhasana or a more difficult pose like Padmasana (Lotus Pose), developing the flexibility to sit easily is a gradual process.

And it’s important to note that everyone has a different anatomical structure in their hips, which may potentially inhibit this kind of movement. If this is the case for you, then trying to work up to Padmasana (Lotus Pose) is an inappropriate goal. I encourage you to try other poses that may be more comfortable, like Vajrasana (Thunderbolt Pose), sitting on your heels, Virasana (Hero Pose), sitting between your heels, or Gomukhasana (Cow Face Pose). You can also meditate sitting on a chair. The chair should be firm, your back straight, and your feet on the floor or supported on a book or cushion.

If you choose to sit cross-legged, it is important to have your knees level with or below your hips. If you are having difficulty maintaining an erect spine while sitting cross-legged, begin by sitting on the edge of a cushion, bolster, or rolled blanket. For additional support, place rolled blankets or bolsters under your knees. (You may find that with the knees supported, the inner groins relax and that when you take the supports away, your knees drop further easily.)

Tightness in the inner thighs and hips is often connected to tension in the deep muscles of the abdomen (like the psoas). You can begin to release your pelvis by practicing breathing deeply into your abdomen. Focus on the rise and fall of your belly as you inhale and exhale. In all of the poses that follow, imagine the exhalation releasing out of your pelvis and through your legs, helping the thighs to relax and let go.

Standing poses, especially Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II Pose), and Parsvakonasana (Side Angle Pose), will help open the hips. Leg stretches lying on your back, Supta Pandangustasana (Reclining Big Toe Pose), taking the lifted leg both up and to the side will also stretch your legs.

Raja Kapotasana (King Pigeon Pose) forward bend is also an excellent hip opener. Supta Baddha Konasana (Reclined Bound Angle Pose), lying on your back with your feet together and knees apart is a good resting pose that will allow your hips to gradually open. Put a folded blanket or a bolster under your feet, so that your back is resting on the floor. In both of these poses, allow yourself to relax into the stretch, letting gravity help you to sink into the floor as you exhale.

Sitting poses that will help are: Janu Sirsasana (Head-to-Knee Forward Bend), Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose), and Upavistha Konasasana (Open Angle Pose). Learning to stay longer in these poses will help the flexibility in your hips; however, you need to be careful not to overstretch your lower back. Setu Bhanda Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose) and Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose) are good counter-poses.

Esther Myers' 10 years as a student of Vanda Scaravelli inspired her to find her own unique, organic approach to yoga. Esther has taught classes across Canada, Europe, and the United States, and has extensive experience training teachers. She is coauthor of a practice manual for beginners and author of Yoga & You. She has produced two videos, Vanda Scaravelli on Yoga and Gentle Yoga for Breast Cancer Survivors, both of which are available through Shop YJ.

Yoga to Cultivate Compassion,Gratitude, and Joy

By Timothy McCall, M.D

One reason yoga is a powerful means to build mental health is because its aim is higher than traditional psychology's. Psychology, like its counterpart modern medicine in the physical plane, tends to view mental health as the absence of negative states such as depression or anxiety. In contrast, yoga, as a holistic science, views health as representing a high level of physical, psychological, and spiritual well-being. (Luckily, there is a movement afoot, led by such pioneers as psychologist Dr. Martin Seligman, to bring more focus on what they are calling "positive psychology.")

Rather than simply help you feel less sad or anxious—which yoga can also do (see Yoga for Depression, Parts I and II and Yoga for Anxiety and Panic Attacks, the practice can put you in touch with sukha, a deeper sense of calm or ease. Yoga teaches that joy, or ananda, lies deep inside each of us, and its various tools are simply a means to get at what's already there, so you can experience it fully. Yoga also addresses such issues as meaning, life purpose, and your connection to others and the world around you, which can have profound effects on happiness and health.

But beyond personal well-being, yoga seems to facilitate the development of qualities such as compassion, forgiveness, equanimity, and a desire to help others. Spiritually evolved beings seem to have boundless compassion for the suffering of others and a remarkable ability to forgive those who trespass against them (think of the Dalai Lama or Nelson Mandela). Just looking into the eyes of some yogis, you can sense their inner gratitude and joy. The question is, how do you get there (or closer to there)? And for yoga teachers and therapists, how can you help your students reach this state?

While the asanas are a great place to start—and almost everyone would benefit from including at least some asanas in their practice—I believe that combining the physical postures with other yogic tools is an even more effective way to grow spiritually. Tools as diverse aspranayama, meditation, philosophical understanding, and selfless service (or karma yoga) help you grow in joy, compassion, and equanimity, working synergistically to deepen the effects.

The Breath
The mind, according to yogic teachings, is the cause of most suffering. Yogis began systematically studying the mind, and the tricks it plays, thousands of years before the field of psychology was even invented. Probably the most important tool the ancients uncovered for taming the runaway mind was the breath. Simply slowing your breathing and making it smoother and more regular can relax the nervous system and, when the nervous system is relaxed, the mind often follows. In sutra I.34, Patanjali suggests that by focusing on the exhalation in particular, such spiritual qualities as cheerfulness, equanimity, and compassion can be developed.

People who are stressed, as well as those who are unhappy, angry, or worried about "getting theirs," tend to live in a state of physiological arousal. Their sympathetic nervous systems ("fight or flight") may be activated most of the time. Slow, regular breathing tends to shift the balance to the more relaxing and restorative parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), which all by itself can help people tap into the joy that lies at your core. Prolonging the exhalation relative to the inhalation can be an even more powerful way to increase PNS dominance.

Suggest students with less experience gradually lengthen their exhalations, slowly working toward a 1:2 ratio, with the exhalation twice as long as the inhalation. For those who are ready for it, add a brief retention after the exhalation to deepen the effects. Be cautious, though: If you push pranayama farther or more quickly than you should, it can agitate the nervous system, potentially exacerbating precisely what you are trying to help.

Warn your students that although pranayama techniques may not look like much, they can do serious damage to the nervous system and to the psyche when they are improperly applied.

Particularly dangerous are fancy ratio breathing and prolonged breath retention—the very tools that may be most intriguing to enthusiastic new students. Any straining, air hunger, or gasping during the practice signals they are pushing things too far. Likewise, restlessness, agitation, or difficulty sleeping in the hours or days after practicing are warning signs of overaggressiveness.

When practiced with patience and care, however, yogic breathing can be a doorway to peace of mind and personal transformation.

Surround Sounds

By Alan Di Perna
Drop in on a yoga class anywhere in America, and chances are good that you'll hear a melody wafting from a nearby boom box or stereo. Be it Sanskrit mantras, soft synthesizer textures, or even contemporary indie hits, music is often an integral part of yoga instruction in the West.

But Krishnamacharya, the father of modern yoga and teacher of B.K.S. Iyengar, K. Pattabhi Jois, and T.K.V. Desikachar, did not hold trance dances for his students. "Even 15 years ago in the United States, you didn't hear music in yoga class," says Sharon Gannon, the cofounder of Jivamukti Yoga Center in Manhattan. Gannon and her partner, David Life, played a pioneering role in bringing music into the yoga studio. Musicians themselves (check out Neti-Neti by their group, Audio Letter), Gannon and Life helped foster the careers of Jai Uttal and Krishna Das, among others. They worked closely with musician Bill Laswell in creating his Asana series of albums and the Meta record label. Gannon says she and Life are merely applying bhakti yoga to asana practice, by introducing devotional chanting and live music in class.

"David and I studied yoga scriptures, and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika in particular emphasizes music. It says the whole purpose behind hatha yoga is to purify the nadis (energy centers) so that you can hear the inner, primal sound current—the sound of Om. Listening to certain kinds of music can help you develop this capacity for hearing. And so the playing of music became part of the method of yoga that David and I teach."

Aadil Palkhivala, a teacher who has practiced yoga since his childhood in India, thinks differently. For Purna Yoga—a method he synthesized from classically based traditions including Iyengar Yoga, Ayurveda, and the teachings of Sri Aurobindo and others—Palkhivala has chosen quiet.

"There is a very big place for music in the world, but there is no place for music in yoga class," he says.

"My teaching is designed to help the student find his or her own nature—the divinity within," Palkhivala continues. "And that cannot be done while music is playing. Music becomes an impediment—a distraction. Many people need that distraction because they're so caught up in their own minds. But I would ask, why are we so afraid of silence?"

Of course, silence is not what all yoga teachers are trying to avoid when they turn up the volume. "If you're teaching yoga in a health club, music is a must," says Beth Shaw, founder of YogaFit Training Systems Worldwide. "Music can help mask exterior sounds from weights, cardio machines, and people talking outside."

Shaw has created several YogaFit CDs, compiling tracks by everyone from tribal trance dance innovators Gabrielle Roth & The Mirrors to ambient electronic artists like The Essence and Solar Moon System. Most YogaFit CDs include tunes for warming up, working out, and cooling down so instructors don't have to change CDs during class. Shaw says with CDs teachers can stop checking the clock: "When the music starts to slow, you know it's time to cool down and do deep, relaxing stretches."

Decisions about playing music are highly individualized. While it seems pretty certain that music during practice isn't traditional, many contemporary teachers and students are trying to balance the classical wisdom of yoga with the realities of modern life. Fortunately, for those who do opt to play background tunes, there is an abundance of music recorded for yogis with Western ears.

Check out the newest Deva Premal album, Dakshina (White Swan); Bill Laswell's most recent entry in his Asana series, Ohm Shanti (Meta); Midnight Flower, by Drala (Dharma Moon); or YogaFit's Sunset in Santa Fe. And if you don't want to practice to them, these CDs still make great listening.

A Woman's Lifeline

By Nora Isaacs

Yoga has been a lifelong companion for Catherine de los Santos (shown at left in Eka Pada Rajakapotasana, or One-Legged King Pigeon Pose). She's loved movement since she was a child, and she started attending formal yoga classes at the University of Idaho at age 17. After learning more about the spiritual aspects of yoga in B.K.S. Iyengar's Light on Yoga, she committed herself to a daily practice. At the time she had no idea that yoga would help her weather so many physical and emotional challenges. In her energetic 20s, when de los Santos started teaching yoga, asana practice helped her to calm herself. During her 30s, it boosted her confidence. When hot flashes hit in her 40s, various yogic practices helped her manage them. Now 55, de los Santos says that yoga has helped her get through menopause and the emotional upheavals that came when her parents died.

"I think the key is to not stop practicing. That's what I tell my students," says de los Santos, who owns and teaches at Darshana Yoga studio in Palo Alto, California. "Weaving your poses around your life is a good idea." In the pages that follow, four women in the midst of life's very different stages—adolescence, the childbearing years, perimenopause, and postmenopause—give examples of how to do just that.

"Yoga has important elements for all phases of a woman's life," says Louann Brizendine, a neuropsychiatrist at the University of California at San Francisco and the founder of its Women's and Teens' Mood and Hormone Clinic. "During times of radical hormonal changes, women feel least inclined to practice yoga, but that's when we need it the most." Those changes in body chemistry can wreak havoc on your mood. But according to Brizendine, who wrote The Female Brain, there is good evidence that during a practice like yoga, your body releases chemicals into the bloodstream that bring you a sense of well-being and contentment.

A consistent yoga practice supports women physically, emotionally, and spiritually—but adapting your practice to meet your needs at each juncture is vital. While you can enjoy a challenging yoga regimen at any age, you'll get the most from a practice tailored to the present—in other words, customized for your stage in life and how you're feeling on any given day. Taking time to be aware of what's happening in your life, in your body, and with your emotions is the key to getting the most from what yoga can offer you, all through your life.

Setting Your Life in Motion

What's Happening Inside. The first stage of massive hormonal changes takes place during the turbulent years of adolescence, when the brain's neurochemical circuitry is getting established and both brain and body go through the undulating levels of estrogen and progesterone that make adolescent girls fertile. The fluctuating hormones of puberty can result in impulsive behavior, as the amygdala, a part of the limbic system involved with emotions, is infused with hormonal fuel. And the general hormonal flux can bring on buzzing energy, mood swings, and troubled skin as well as a new focus on communication, social connections, and sexuality. Girls are increasingly sensitive during this time and often unsure of how to deal with sexual attention from others. Yoga can help teens be more at peace with their bodies, according to yoga teacher and Yoga Journal contributing editor Carol Krucoff. "The practice of postures, breathing, and meditation helps achieve emotional equilibrium," she says, "allowing teens to truly hear the messages of their own heart and make choices that resonate with their personal values."

Starting a Practice. Christiane Northrup, a physician and the author of Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom, thinks adolescence "lends itself to a strenuous yoga practice"—a vigorous sequence of Sun Salutations and vinyasa flow to allow teens to channel their intense energy. But yoga for teens shouldn't be all jumping around, cautions Krucoff, who has seen firsthand how difficult it is for teens to be still in Savasana (Corpse Pose). "They've grown up texting while watching TV, IM'ing while listening to CDs," Krucoff says. "They are so wound up and stressed out, they don't know how to just be." Start off with a dynamic sequence to release energy, then quiet the body and mind with seated poses and forward bends.

Real Experience. As 19-year-old Lindsey Smith, who is the model on these pages, can attest, learning to watch the breath and stay in the moment can improve concentration, help teen girls interact with others more mindfully, and empower them with the tools to ride the emotional wave of their monthly cycle more smoothly. Mastering difficult poses can build self-esteem, and restorative poses can help with PMS.

Smith says yoga saved her during the "traumatic, emotional roller coaster" of her senior year of high school. The stress of applying to college was isolating. "I felt so alone. I was a mess," she recalls. Then she signed up for yoga classes offered through the PE program at her alternative high school. "With the first pose, my body thanked me. I built strength. My body and mind became more flexible, and stress melted off," says Smith, now a freshman at Stanford University. "Yoga was the emotional and physical healing I needed."

Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana

by: Yoga Journal

Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana - Upward Facing Two-Foot Staff Pose

1. Begin by preparing as you would for Urdhva Dhanurasana (Upward Bow Pose). Lie on your back, feet on the floor, heels under the knees, and step your feet a little wider than your hips. Bend your arms and place your palms on the floor by your ears, fingertips facing the shoulders, shoulder-width apart. Pause for a moment to focus and tune in to your breathing.

2. As you exhale, press your knees away from your torso and lift your hips, shoulders, and head from the floor as you straighten your arms. Widen and draw your shoulder blades toward your tail bone to lift your shoulders and lighten the load on your arms.

3. Bend your arms and place the crown of your head on the floor between your hands and feet, keeping your elbows shoulder-width apart and directly over your wrists. To ensure that your neck does not become compressed, exhale, press your hands into the floor, and again draw your shoulder blades toward your tail bone. Keep your chest open and lifted.

4. On your next exhalation, slide one hand past your ear to cup the back of your head, bringing your weight onto your forearm. Repeat the same action with the other arm, interlacing your fingers behind your head (you may be more successful in these arm movements if you lift onto your tiptoes).

5. With a powerful exhalation, press down through your inner elbows and wrists and lift your chest to raise your head off the floor. As your head lifts, press your inner heels down. Of course, your head may seem glued to the floor; if that's the case, continue to hold the pose where you are.

6. If you do manage to lift your head, the pose may actually become easier, since this movement allows your upper arms to directly support your weight, easing the demand on your muscles. But be careful not to strain the shoulder joints by pushing them beyond your elbows. Avoid this over extension by keeping your weight evenly distributed between your elbows and wrists, and by not allowing your elbows to slide more than shoulder-width apart. It is absolutely fine to remain in this position, with your head raised and your heels directly below your knees.

7. In the full pose, however, you walk the feet away from your hands until your legs are nearly straight; then plant your inner feet and exhale as you stretch down through your calves and push to straighten the legs completely.

8. Place the crown of your head back on the floor inside the cup of your hands, press your elbows into the floor and draw your shoulder blades toward your tail bone to help your shoulders stay lifted. Your middle back will be asked to extend more deeply.

9. Come out of this asana with great attention. First, walk your feet back under your knees. Remain on your crown and return your palms to the floor next to your ears. Again check to make sure your hands are directly under your elbows. Push with your hands to lift the head and tuck your chin and tail bone in as you roll your spine back down to the floor, tail bone touching last. Consciously slow your breathing down until you are once again at rest and can feel the powerful calm that is the product of balanced backbends.

Yoga Therapy for Colds and Flu

by: yogabasics.com

While we all are bound to suffer from the occasional cold or flu, the practicing yogi/yogini is less likely to come down with the sniffles, and when he/she does, tends to have a much faster recovery rate. This is true because of yoga’s known abilities to regulate the immune system, keeping it strong and healthy to withstand infections, and yoga’s ability to boost immune function with specific yogic practices. Yoga’s stress reducing abilities is one of the primary reasons a regular practice of yoga helps prevent and cure the common cold. Stress is known as a major contributing factor to catching a cold or flu, as stress hormones cause the thymus to shrink in size, causing it to poorly function as a producer of immune cells. Besides the general calming effects of most yoga poses, restorative poses and forward bends are especially calming to the nervous system, helping to reduce whole-body stress. The following poses are known to be especially calming to the body and mind: child, shavasana, supine bound angle pose, seated forward bend, and seated head to knee.

Any type of physical activity will give a boost to the immune system, and yoga, with its inherent stress reducing and immune enhancing properties, will both provide a short-term boost and a long-term strengthening of the immune system. In addition to a general yoga practice, specific yoga postures can be used to target specific organs of the immune system to further enhance yoga’s immune boosting abilities.

Chest opening upper back bends will activate the primary organ of the immune system, the thymus gland, located in the center of the chest. The most beneficial postures for this purpose are Cobra, Pigeon, Fish, Boat, Bow and Bridge. Since the thymus gland is located at the fourth chakra center, chanting “yum,” this chakra’s bija mantra, while performing these poses can further activate the thymus gland .

Inversions increase the passive circulation of the lymphatic system, which is responsible for the production and circulation of the immune cells to defend the body from the viruses and bacteria. Inversions such as shoulderstand, headstand, plow and legs up the wall pose, will all help improve the flow of lymph and immune cells through the body. Twists and hip openers activate secondary organs of the immune system: the spleen and the lymph nodes in groin and armpits. These organs are the production sites for the immune cells, so using yoga poses to target these organs during a cold or flu would be especially beneficial. Use twists such as seated twist, prayer twist, and knee down twist, and hip openers such as bound angle, seated angle, and pigeon to activate these organs to keep them healthy and strong.

Lion pose is a specific yoga posture that activates the immune glands of the tonsils and the lymph nodes in the neck. Performing lion pose at the very beginning of a sore throat can dramatically stop and prevent the sore throat from progressing. Another specific yogic technique that helps prevent and cure colds, especially sinus related infections, is Jala Neti (nasal irrigation). Jala Neti is the use of a Neti pot to pour water through the nasal passages, flushing out the bacteria or germs that can cause infection.

Many practicing yogis/yoginis follow a yogic diet, which can also help to prevent and cure the common cold. A yogic diet’s emphasis on whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes naturally provides the body with the proper nutrition and the abundance of antioxidants that the immune system needs to function optimally. A yogic diet is also naturally free or low of sugar, caffeine, alcohol, and fat—all of which are known to suppress various immune functions.

These various practices and poses of yoga are an excellent way to keep the immune system healthy and strong to prevent and quickly recover from the common cold or flu. If you do come down with a cold or flu, it is important to rest, drink plenty of fluids, eat simple wholesome foods and to practice some gentle yoga poses. If after three to four days there is no change in your symptoms, or a worsening of symptoms occurs, please seek medical attention from a qualified health care practitioner.

Corpse Pose -Savasana

by: Yoga Journal

1. In Savasana it's essential that the body be placed in a neutral position. Sit on the floor with your knees bent, feet on the floor, and lean back onto your forearms. Lift your pelvis slightly off the floor and, with your hands, push the back of the pelvis toward the tailbone, then return the pelvis to the floor. Inhale and slowly extend the right leg, then the left, pushing through the heels. Release both legs, softening the groins, and see that the legs are angled evenly relative to the mid-line of the torso, and that the feet turn out equally. Narrow the front pelvis and soften (but don't flatten) the lower back.

2. With your hands lift the base of the skull away from the back of the neck and release the back of the neck down toward the tailbone. If you have any difficulty doing this, support the back of the head and neck on a folded blanket. Broaden the base of the skull too, and lift the crease of the neck diagonally into the center of the head. Make sure your ears are equidistant from your shoulders.

3. Reach your arms toward the ceiling, perpendicular to the floor. Rock slightly from side to side and broaden the back ribs and the shoulder blades away from the spine. Then release the arms to the floor, angled evenly relative to the mid-line of torso. Turn the arms outward and stretch them away from the space between the shoulder blades. Rest the backs of the hands on the floor as close as you comfortably can to the index finger knuckles. Make sure the shoulder blades are resting evenly on the floor. Imagine the lower tips of the shoulder blades are lifting diagonally into your back toward the top of the sternum. From here, spread the collarbones.

4. In addition to quieting the physical body in Savasana, it's also necessary to pacify the sense organs. Soften the root of the tongue, the wings of the nose, the channels of the inner ears, and the skin of the forehead, especially around the bridge of the nose between the eyebrows. Let the eyes sink to the back of the head, then turn them downward to gaze at the heart. Release your brain to the back of the head.

5. Stay in this pose for 5 minutes for every 30 minutes of practice. To exit, first roll gently with an exhalation onto one side, preferably the right. Take 2 or 3 breaths. With another exhalation press your hands against the floor and lift your torso, dragging your head slowly after. The head should always come up last.

Plank pose

by: Yoga Journal

1. Start in Adho Mukha Svanasana. Then inhale and draw your torso forward until the arms are perpendicular to the floor and the shoulders directly over the wrists, torso parallel to the floor.

2. Press your outer arms inward and firm the bases of your index fingers into the floor. Firm your shoulder blades against your back, then spread them away from the spine. Also spread your collarbones away from the sternum.

3. Press your front thighs up toward the ceiling, but resist your tailbone toward the floor as you lengthen it toward the heels. Lift the base of the skull away from the back of the neck and look straight down at the floor, keeping the throat and eyes soft.

4. Plank Pose is one of the positions in the traditional Sun Salutation sequence. You can also perform this pose by itself and stay anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Yoga For Insomnia

by: yoga.org.nz

Yoga will benefit your sleep in many ways. The quality of your sleep will improve because of the stimulatory effect yoga has on the nervous system, and in particular the brain. The practice of certain yoga postures will increase the blood circulation to the sleep center in the brain, which has the effect of normalizing the sleep cycle.

You will need less sleep because yoga increases the elimination of toxins from the body and rejuvenates the entire body right down to cellular level. The practice of breathing allows for more oxygen in the body providing clarity in the mind.

It has been claimed that on average, for every minute you put into yoga you will need one minute less sleep. This makes yoga an excellent time investment.

Yoga will help you fall asleep sooner and improve the quality of your sleep so that you need less. You will have a more restful sleep because of the relaxing aspect of yoga and the subsequent relieving of stress, tension and fatigue.

You will wake up every morning ready to go instead of wishing you could stay in bed.

Yogic cure for obesity

by herbo-chem.com

Obesity is becoming a common health hazard and leads to many other diseases like coronary heart disease , high blood pressure, diabetes, psychosomatic disorders and a shorter life span. The main cause of obesity is excessive eating. The best method to control weight is to reduce the intake of protein, carbohydrates and fat and increase the supply of mineral and vitamins, and also increase exercises.

Yogic Cure

The natural way to lose weight involves body purification ( nature cure), yogasanas, and mental and spiritual management. The biggest advantage of this system of cure is that the individual does not have to undergo fasting and feel any weakness. Also the reduction of weight is gradual so that the person does not feel any loss of strength. Due to gradual reduction there is no sagging of facial skin and conditioning of the body takes place simultaneously . The yogic method may take longer in correcting excessive weight as compared to gimmicks claiming to reduce weight in matter of days and weeks through usage of various pills, gadgets etc. , which cause various disorders and do serious physical- mental harm to the users. The yogic method reduces weight in a lasting and a permanent way. It does not cost a penny. There is no disturbance in normal way of life.

Recommended Asana :


Surya Namskar (Sun salutation) - exercises every part of the body. 6-8 sets daily help a lot.
Uttanpadasan ( Raising the legs) - reduces obesity of thighs, hips and other parts of the body.
Urdhavhast- Uttanasan (Raising half arms) - reduces fat from lower part of body.
Katichakrasan ( Hip twist) - develops sleek waist.
Hastuttanpadasn ( Hands touching raised legs) - reduces fat of abdomen , hips , thighs and arms. Sarvangasan ( Shoulder stand) - strengthens lungs and heart.
Halasan (Plough pose) - makes legs flexible.
Naukasan (Boat pose) - strengthens shoulders, neck, back and legs.
Dhanurasan (Bow pose) - benefits abdomen.
Shavasan ( Corpse pose) - relaxes the body.

Each asana should be practiced 5 times with retaining each position from 10 -15 seconds. You should relax between 2 asana. All or some of the asana in which you feel comfortable can be done.

Breathing for Relaxation

By Claudia Cummins

Beginning students often ask for instructions on the "right" way to breathe. Alas, there's no single answer to that question, since the optimal breathing pattern at any given moment depends on the type of practice. Restorative yoga focuses solely on relaxation, though, and emphasizes breathing that creates calm and serene states of being. When you settle into restorative poses, try the following techniques for cultivating breathing patterns that are hallmarks of relaxation and well-being.

MOVE THE BELLY WITH THE BREATH. When we are at ease, the diaphragm is the primary engine of the breath. As we inhale, this domelike muscle descends toward the abdomen, displacing the abdominal muscles and gently swelling the belly. As we exhale, the diaphragm releases back toward the heart, enabling the belly to release toward the spine.

KEEP THE UPPER BODY QUIET. During high-stress times, it's common to heave the upper chest and grip the muscles in the shoulders and throat. When we're at rest, the muscles of the upper chest remain soft and relaxed as we breathe, and the real work occurs in the lower rib cage. To promote this type of breathing pattern, consciously relax the jaw, throat, neck, and shoulders, and envision the breath sweeping into the deepest parts of the lungs as you breathe in and out.

BREATHE EASY. Although some breaths may be deeper or faster than others, when we're relaxed, the alternating rhythm of the inhalations and exhalations feels like a lullaby—smooth, soft, and uninterrupted by jerks and jags. Consciously relaxing into this wavelike, oceanic quality of the breath deepens our sense of peace and ease.

LENGTHEN THE EXHALATIONS. When we feel stressed, our exhalations tend to grow short and choppy. When we're relaxed, though, the exhalations extend so completely that they are often longer than the inhalations. Some teachers even instruct that if we're deeply relaxed, each exhalation will be twice as long as the inhalation. To facilitate this, try gently extending each exhalation by one or two seconds.

PAUSE AFTER EACH EXHALATION. In our most relaxed state, the end of each exhalation is punctuated by a short pause. Lingering in this sweet spot can be deeply satisfying and can evoke feelings of profound quiet and stillness.

LET THE WHOLE BODY BREATHE. When we are at ease, the whole body participates in the breathing process. Imagine a sleeping baby: When he breathes in and out, the belly swells and releases, the hips rock to and fro, the shoulders bob, and the spine gently undulates. This offers a mini-massage for the muscles and organs of the whole body, and turns each breath into a soothing melody that further calms and quiets every cell within.

Utkatasana (Chair Pose) - step by step

by: Yoga Journal

1. Stand in Tadasana. Inhale and raise your arms perpendicular to the floor. Either keep the arms parallel, palms facing inward, or join the palms.

2. Exhale and bend your knees, trying to take the thighs as nearly parallel to the floor as possible. The knees will project out over the feet, and the torso will lean slightly forward over the thighs until the front torso forms approximately a right angle with the tops of the thighs. Keep the inner thighs parallel to each other and press the heads of the thigh bones down toward the heels.

3. Firm your shoulder blades against the back. Take your tailbone down toward the floor and in toward your pubis to keep the lower back long.

4. Stay for 30 seconds to a minute. To come out of this pose straighten your knees with an inhalation, lifting strongly through the arms. Exhale and release your arms to your sides into tadasana.

Point of Concentration: Halasan

by: yogsansthan.org

-The spine in this pose is stretched up to three inches more than its length. As a result it becomes more resilient and healthy. It also aids in lengthening the size of the body.

- As the bones do not release calcium they do not suffer from faulty holes and rigidity. Besides, this asan helps supplying adequate quantum of blood into bones.

- All the glands, thyroid, parathyroid, kidneys, spleen, liver, pancreas, adrenal, seminal etc. get contracted in this asan. When we return to the original position they get expanded. This way, these glands are benefited internally.

- By stretching the spinal cord all the nerves connected with the spine and the muscles are stimulated in such a manner that one is absolutely relieved of fatigue. Body gets relaxed and doubly energized.

- Since the lungs are pressed from inside they release maximum quantity of carbon dioxide. When we come back to the starting position, they are filled with fresh oxygen and as a result their functional capacity is stimulated.

- In the final position of this asan, the flow of blood is pointed towards the coronary vessel. This feeds heart and the shape of the heart is not unnecessarily enlarged due to the flow of blood towards the face it gains in luster. The pressure on throat will improve the function of the vocal cord.

- The pressure exerted on palms and arms relieves the shivering of hands and strengthening of shoulders.

- Since all the organs of the abdomen are pressed inside, they get strengthened.Due to its impact on pancreas, diabetes is cured. It gives relief in gastric troublesand constipation.

- All the muscles from the toes to buttocks are toned up and benefited.

- Helps in reducing obesity.

- Cures sterility.