• Sun Salutation Yoga Poses I
• Yoga Poses
• Power Yoga

Surya Namaskar Steps

Surya Namaskar Steps Continued

• Sun Salutation Yoga Poses II
• Yoga Poses
• Power Yoga

How to do Supta Baddha Konasana

1. To start the pose, go into Baddha Konasana (butterfly pose or cobbler’s pose). Now, with a deep exhalation, lower your back onto the floor; but, lean on your hands, first. Support your neck and head on a rolled up Yoga blanket or bolster, if necessary. When leaning back on your forearms, make use of your hands to release your lower back and spread the back of your pelvis and upper buttocks all the way through your tailbone.

2. Now, grip your upper thighs, then slide your hands along your outer thighs from your hips toward your knees and spread your outer knees away from your hips. Next, slide your hands down your inner thighs, from your knees to your groins and picture your inner groins sinking into your pelvis. Push your hip joints together and, while your back pelvis broadens, your front pelvis should contract. Place both arms on the floor, at a 45 degrees angle from the sides of your body, palms facing upward.

3. In the beginning, hold the pose for about a minute. Slowly extend your stay p to 5 and then 10 minutes. To exit the pose, press your thighs together with your hands, roll over onto any side and, gently, push yourself away from the mat.

Benefits of Supta Baddha Konasana

• Stretches knees, inner thighs and opens up the groins
• Stimulates the abdominal organs, the prostate gland, ovaries, bladder and kidneys
• Improves general circulation by stimulates heart functioning
• Helps relieve symptoms of stress and tension, mild depression, menstruation and menopause
• Excellent preparation for pregnant women before childbirth (better use Yoga bolsters)
• Quietens the mind
• Provides relief to wheelchair bound patients.
• Relieves mild depression, PMS and menopausal symptoms

Supta Baddha Konasana Contraindications

• Hip or shoulder injury.
• In case of knee or groin injury, do this pose only with support of a Yoga blanket under your outer thighs
• Post-partum, avoid this pose till the muscles of the pelvic area, which had become loose for child birth, have returned to their pre-pregnancy tightness.

• Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose)
• Supta Virasana (Reclining Hero Pose)
• Supta Padangusthasana (Reclining Big Toe Pose)

How to do Supta Padangusthasana

1.    To begin with, lie on your back on the mat, legs stretched straight.

Feel free to support your head on a folded Yoga blanket. With a deep exhalation, bend your right knee, draw your thigh into your torso and hug it to your belly. Press the front of your left thigh strongly into the mat, and push firmly through your left heel.

2.    Hitch a Yoga belt or strap around the arch of your right foot and hold it in both your hands. With a deep inhalation, straighten the knee and press your right heel up toward the ceiling. Move your hands down the strap till your elbows are completely stretched. Keep your hands as high on the belt as possible, widen your shoulder blades across your back and your collarbones away from your sternum.

3.    Now stretch up through the back of your right heel, and once you have fully stretched the back of the leg, between your heel and sit bone, lift through the ball of your big toe. Starting with your right leg, perpendicular to the mat, release the head of your thigh bone more deeply into your pelvis. As you do so, draw your foot slightly closer to your head; this way, you will increase the stretch on the back of your leg.

4.    Now, pin the top of your left thigh to the mat and, with a deep exhalation, swing your right leg out to the right and hold it a couple inches off the mat. Continue rotating your leg as you feel your outer thigh turn away from the right side of your body. Now, try and take your right foot in line with your right shoulder joint. With a deep inhalation, take the leg back up to vertical. As you do this, ease your grip on the belt; this way you will be challenging the muscles of your hip and inner thigh to do the work.

5.    Hold the pose in a vertical position of your right leg for 30 – 60 seconds and in a side position for the same length of time. Once you return to the vertical position, let go of the belt, hold your leg in place for half a minute or so then, with an exhalation, slowly release it. Repeat the same on your left, for an equal length of time.

Benefits of Supta Padangusthasana

• Stretches and strengthens the thighs, hips, groins, hamstrings, calves and knees
• Stimulates the abdominal organs and prostate gland and improves digestion
• Relieves sciatica, backache and menstrual discomfort
• Therapeutic for flat feet, high BP and infertility

Supta Padangusthasana Contraindications

• Headache
• Diarrhoea
• In case of high BP, keep your neck and head elevated on a folded Yoga blanket

• Supta Virasana (Reclining Hero Pose)
• Supta Baddha Konasana (Reclining Bound Angle Pose)
• Padangusthasana (Big Toe Pose)

How to do Viparita Karani Yoga Pose

1. To start, sit with your feet pointing to a wall about 5 to 6 inches away from it. Your head and shoulders should rest lightly down on the folded Yoga blanket. With a deep exhalation, in one smooth movement, swing your legs up and back then bring them to rest on the wall and place your palms below your hips, supporting them, elbows and upper arms on the mat. The first few times you try this, you just might, embarrassingly, slide off and plop down onto the mat. Don’t let this discourage you. Keep trying; either lower your head support or move it further off the wall, a little, till you gain some fluidity with the movement, then move closer to the wall.

2. Your sit bones shouldn’t touch the wall. Rather, they should be “sinking” down into the gap between the wall and your mat. The front of your torso should gently arch from your pubis to the top of your shoulders. Now, bend both knees, push your feet into the wall and raise your pelvis a couple inches.

3. Raise your sternum toward your chin, rather than push your chin against the sternum. Open up your shoulder blades and widen them away from your spine. Your legs should be relatively firm, just about enough to keep them vertically in place. Soften your eyes and drop them to look down into your heart.

4. Hold the pose for 5 – 15 minutes. When exiting the pose, do not to twist off your support. Rather, push back and slide your legs and feet onto the mat then turn to one side. Alternately, you may bend your knees and push both feet into the wall to raise your arms off the mat. Then slide the Yoga blanket away with one hand, lower your pelvis to the mat and turn to one side. Rest on that side for a couple breaths then exhale and come up into a sitting position.

Benefits of Viparita Karani Yoga Pose

• Relieves cramped or tired feet and legs
• Gently stretches your front torso, back legs and back of the neck
• Calms the brain and helps relieve mild backache

Viparita Karani Yoga Pose Contraindications

• Serious eye problems, such as glaucoma.
• In case of back or neck problems only do the pose under the supervision of an experienced Yoga instructor.
• If your feet start to tingle during the pose, bend your knees, touch both soles together, and slide the outer edges of the feet down the wall, taking your heels nearer your pelvis.
• Many Yoga instructors maintain that Viparita Karani, being an inversion, should not be done during menstruation. Yet others say the pose is okay even during menses. So, at such times, please consult your Yoga instructor.

• Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana (Upward Facing Two-Foot Staff Pose)
• Pincha Mayurasana (Feathered Peacock Pose)
• Sethu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose)

How to do the Child Pose

1.    To start the pose, kneel on your mat. Now, squat and touch both big toes together then separate your knees hip width.

2.    With a deep exhalation gently drop your head and body down on the mat between your thighs. Tighten your hip points toward your navel and stretch your sacrum across the back of your pelvis, so that they snuggle down onto your inner thighs. Raise the base of your skull away from your neck and elongate your tailbone away from the back of your pelvis.

3.    Place your hands on the floor beside your thighs, palms facing upwards. Release the fronts of your shoulders down to the floor. Feel the weight of the front of your shoulders pull your shoulder blades wide across your back.

4.    Child Pose is a resting pose. Feel free to retain it for 30 seconds to 1 or even 3 minutes. You can also use the pose for a taste of a deep forward bend in which your torso comes to rest on your thighs. To exit the pose, first stretch your front torso then inhale and rise from the tailbone, as it presses down and into your pelvis.

5.    Remember, Balasana is a simple relaxation Yoga pose that can become quite active through breathing techniques. It will, once again, give you that taste of surrender involved in a forward bends as your attention is drawn withinward. A lot of practitioners use this between Yoga poses in class, at practice sessions, or whenever they need to take a break and relax until they are able to mobilize enough energy for what is to follow. It is excellent before and after hectic meetings.

Benefits of Balasana

• Gently stretches the spine, thighs, hips, and ankles
• Calms the brain and relieves symptoms of stress, tension and fatigue
• Helps relieve neck and back pain if do with torso and head supported

Child Pose Contraindications

• Pregnancy
• Diarrhea
• In case of knee injury, best avoid Balasana unless you are doing it under experienced supervision.

• Ananda Balasana (Happy Baby Pose)
• Supta Baddha Konasana (Reclining Bound Angle Pose)
• Bhujapidasana (Shoulder Pressing Pose)

How to do Supta Virasana

1. To begin, sit in Virasana (Hero Pose) buttocks on the mat, between your feet. With an exhalation, lean on your hands, then on your forearms and elbows and, finally, slowly lower your back to the mat. Keep gazing at the ceiling.

2. If your groins are tight, they will pull your front pelvis toward your knees and make your ribs jut sharply up toward the ceiling, causing your lower back and belly to become tense. So, press your front ribs slightly down with your hands and raise your pubis toward your navel. This will stretch your lower back and help drop it to the mat. If it does not, hoist yourself onto a higher support with the help of a folded Yoga blanket. Then place your hands and arms on the mat, angled around 45° from the sides of your body, palms facing upward.

3. You can lift your knees slightly away from the mat. This will help soften your groins. In fact, you can even use a thickly folded Yoga blanket to raise your knees a couple inches off the mat. Also, feel free to allow a little space between your knees, so long as your thighs are parallel to each other; but, don’t let your knees splay apart any wider than your hips. This will put undue strain on your lower back and hips.

4. In the beginning, hold the pose for 30 – 60 seconds. Slowly, extend up to 5 minutes. To exit the pose, press your forearms into the mat and rise up on your hands. Then lift your torso up into Virasana, with the help of your hands. Lead with your sternum, as you rise up, not with your chin or head. Then, exit Virasana in the recommended manner.

Benefits of Supta Virasana

• Stretches and strengthens the abdomen, thighs and deep hip flexors (psoas), ankles, knees, and arches
• Gives relief to tired legs
• Helps improve digestion
• Relieves symptoms of menstrual pain

Supta Virasana Contraindications

• In case of serious knee, ankle or back problems, don’t do this pose without the assistance of an experienced Yoga instructor.

• Supta Baddha Konasana (Reclining Bound Angle Pose)
• Supta Padangusthasana (Reclining Big Toe Pose)
• Virasana (Hero Pose)

Full Boat Pose: Step by Step

1.    To start the pose, sit on the floor with both legs stretched straight out in front of you. Now, press both hands slightly into the mat behind your hips. Your fingers should point toward your feet; firm up your arms. Lean back a little and raise the top of your sternum. While doing this, see that you don’t arch your back. Continue stretching your front torso between your top sternum and your pubis. You should be resting on your tailbone and two sit bones.

2.    With a deep exhalation, bend your knees and raise your feet off the mat. Your thighs should be around 45 – 50 degrees relative to the floor. Pull your tailbone into the mat and raise your pubis toward your navel. If you can, slowly straighten both knees, lifting the tips of your toes a little above the level of your eyes. If you can’t do this, keep your knees bent, maybe lifting and keeping your shins parallel to the floor.

3.    Let your arms stretch straight out alongside your torso, parallel to your body. Spread your shoulder blades across your back then strongly reach out through your fingers. If you can’t do this, keep your hands on the floor next to your hips or take hold of the back of your thighs.

4.    Your lower belly should be firm and flat, not hard and thick. Press the heads of your thigh bones toward the mat. This will help you anchor the pose and raise the top of your sternum. Breathe normally. Tip your chin a little toward your sternum so that the base of your skull lifts a little away from the back of your neck.

5.    In the beginning hold the pose for 10 – 20 seconds. Slowly and progressively increase the time to 1 minute. With a deep exhalation, let go of your legs and with an inhalation, come up to sit upright.

Benefits of Full Boat Pose

• Strengthens and stimulates the thyroid and prostate glands, the abdomen, kidneys, intestines, hip flexors, and spine
• Helps relieve anxiety, stress and tension
• Helps improve digestion

Full Boat Pose Contraindications

• Pregnancy
• Menstruation
• Low BP
• Insomnia
• Heart trouble
• Headache
• Diarrhea
• Asthma
• In case of back or neck injury, sit leaning against a wall and do this pose. As you tilt your torso backward, make sure to rest the back of your head against the wall.

• Kapotasana (King Pigeon Pose)
• Marjaryasana (Cat Pose)
• Sethu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose)

How to do Phalankasana

1. To start the pose, go into Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Dog Pose). Then, with a deep inhalation, draw your torso forward till your arms are at right angles to the floor and your shoulders are right above your wrists, body parallel to the floor.

2. Now press the base of your index fingers into the mat and press your outer arms inward. Compressing your shoulder blades against your back slowly spread them away from your spine. Likewise, move your collarbones away from your sternum.

3. Push your thighs up toward the ceiling, but gently shove your tailbone back down toward the mat, as you stretch it toward your heels. Lift the base of your skull away from the back of your neck and gaze down, placidly, at the mat. Keep your eyes and throat soft.

4. Phalankasana is one of the positions in the long-established Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation) sequence. You can also do the pose as a standalone asana and retain it for anywhere from 30 – 60 seconds.

5. To help strengthen your arms even more in the pose, try looping and securing a Yoga belt or strap around your upper arms, a little higher than your elbows. Push your inner arms out against the belt. Release your outer arms from your shoulders down to the mat, and raise your inner arms from the bases of your index fingers to your shoulders.

Benefits of Plank Pose

• Strengthens the wrists, arms, back and spine
• Tones up the muscles and organs of the abdomen

Plank Pose Contraindications

• Carpal tunnel syndrome

• Dolphin Plank Pose
• Pincha Mayurasana (Feathered Peacock Pose)
• Bakasana (Crane Pose)

This Yoga pose looks deceptively simple and easy and a lot of people tend to consider it an easy pose. But what, at first, looks simple and easy, eventually turns out to be rather difficult. The goal of Savasana (Corpse Pose) is to relax the body and mind to make them perfectly still and tranquil. Not only should your body be motionless, calm and composed, but even your mind should be quiet, like the surface of a still, tranquil lake. The result is a deep and profound relaxation that carries into all your life’s activities and all daily circumstances. Remember, every aspect of Savasana is very important and, at every stage of the practice, great attention should be paid to every minute detail.

How to do Savasana

1.    Start the pose sitting on your mat, knees bent, feet stretched out. Now, turn on to on side, preferably your right, and, with the support of your arms, gently lie on your side then turn on to your back.

2.    Raise the base of your skull away from the back of your neck with your hands and, if you wish, support the back of your neck and head on a folded Yoga blanket. See that your ears are right in the center of your shoulders, not tilting to any one side.

3.    Rest your hands on the floor, palms facing the ceiling, about six inches away from your body. Both your shoulder blades should be resting uniformly on the floor. Lift the lower tips of your shoulder blades diagonally into your back toward the top of your sternum, then drop them gently; from there, spread your collarbones.

4.    In addition to calming your body in Shavasana (Corpse Pose) you’re also relaxing your sense organs. So see that the root of your tongue is softened, your nostrils, eyes, particularly the bridge of your nose around your eyebrows, your ears, and forehead are all soft and relaxed. Let your eyes sink to the back of your head, then slowly turn your gaze downward towards your heart.

5.    Now, gently, start with your toes, move up your legs and torso, fingers, arms and cover each and every part of your body giving yourself autosuggestions as follows: “I am relaxing my toes…….. my toes are totally and completely relaxed.” This way, cover your whole body, mind and heart.

6.    Practise this for 15 – 30 minutes every day. To exit, first gently roll onto your right side, take 2 or 3 breaths and, with an exhalation press your hands into your mat and raise your body, dragging your head slowly behind it. Remember, your head must always come up last.

Benefits of Savasana

• Calms and relaxes the whole body as well as the brain and relieves stress, tension and mild depression
• Helps alleviate fatigue, headaches, and insomnia
• Helps to lower High BP

Corpse Pose Contraindications

• In case of back injury or discomfort, better do the pose with knees bent and feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart
• During pregnancy keep your head and chest raised on a bolster.

• Matsyasana (Fish Pose)
• Sethu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose)
• Viparita Karani (Legs up the Wall Pose)