Anantāsana (Sleeping/Reclining Vishnu): Lie on your side, supporting your head with the bottom arm or hand. Stretch the body into a long line, with hips and feet stacked vertically. Bend the top knee, and bring it towards your shoulder. Holding that foot with your hand or a strap, extend the leg upwards. Open the foot … [Read more…]
2.47 By lessening the natural tendency for restlessness and by meditating on the infinite, āsana is mastered. The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali, translation by Swami Satchidananda The question of “meditating on the infinite” in āsana practice has continued to occupy my mind this week. I’ve been reflecting on how I teach the āsanas. When I … [Read more…]
Lately, I’ve been reading the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali. This ancient Indian text was written about 400 CE in Sanskrit. It contains 196 aphorisms – sūtras, or “threads” – that present the essence of yoga. It is a concise manual, at times enigmatic in its conciseness, that begins with the premise that 1.2 Yoga is … [Read more…]
Tāḍāsana (Mountain pose): Stand with your feet together or hip width apart, the outside edges of your feet parallel. Spread your toes. Spread your weight evenly through the feet, front to back, and side to side. Lengthen your spine, drawing the tailbone downward and the crown of the head upward, slightly tucking the chin. Expand … [Read more…]
Shavasana (corpse pose): Lie down on your mat, on your back, arms and legs apart, palms turned upwards. Let the feet be as wide as your mat. Draw your shoulders away from your ears, and your tailbone toward your heels; this lengthens the spine on the mat. Close your eyes. Relax your body. Shava = corpse; Asana … [Read more…]
As promised, here is a brief explanation of what is meant by the term “Sivananda yoga.” First of all, it is not a different style of yoga. It is traditional hatha yoga, as taught by Swami Sivananda (1887-1963) and his disciple Swami Vishnudevananda (1927-1993). As a physical practice, it is a set sequence of: opening … [Read more…]