matsyasana

Matsyasana

Matsya – Fish; Asana – Pose

This asana is pronounced as mut-see-ahs-ana

The fish pose, if carried out in water, allows the body to float quite easily like that of a fish; hence the name.

How to do Fish Pose (Matsyasana)

1. Lie on your back. Your feet are together and hands relaxed alongside the body.
2. Place the hands underneath the hips, palms facing down. Bring the elbows closer toward each other.
3. Breathing in, lift the head and chest up.
4. Keeping the chest elevated, lower the head backward and touch the top of the head to the floor.
5. With the head lightly touching the floor, press the elbows firmly into the ground, placing the weight on the elbow and not on the head. Lift your chest up from in-between the shoulder blades. Press the thighs and legs to the floor.
6. Hold the pose for as long as you comfortably can, taking gentle long breaths in and out. Relax in the posture with every exhalation.
7. Now lift the head up, lowering the chest and head to the floor. Bring the hands back along the sides of the body. Relax.

Benefits of Fish Pose (Matsyasana)

• Stretches the chest and neck
• Helps relieve tension in the neck and shoulders
• Provides relief from respiratory disorders by encouraging deep breathing
• Tones the parathyroid, pituitary and pineal glands

Contraindications of Fish Pose (Matsyasana)

Avoid this posture if you have high or low blood pressure. Migraine and insomnia patients should also refrain from doing the Fish Pose. Those who have had serious lower-back or neck injuries are strongly recommended not to practice this pose.

pavanamukthasana

This yoga pose, as its name suggests, is excellent for releasing abdominal gas. Pavanamuktasana is pronounced as PUH-vuhn-mukt-AAHS-uh-nuh.

Pavana = wind, mukta = relieve or release, Asana = Posture or Pose

How to do Wind-Relieving Pose (Pavanamuktasana)

1. Lie on your back with your feet together and arms beside your body.
2. Breathe in and as you exhale, bring your right knee towards your chest and press the thigh on your abdomen with clasped hands.
3. Breathe in again and as you exhale, lift your head and chest off the floor and touch your chin to your right knee.
4. Hold it there, as you take deep, long breaths in and out. Checkpoint: As you exhale, tighten the grip of the hands on the knee and increase the pressure on the chest. As you inhale, loosen the grip. 
5. As you exhale, come back to the ground and relax.
   
6. Repeat this pose with the left leg and then with both the legs together.
7. You may rock up and down or roll from side to side 3-5 times and then relax.

Wind-Relieving Pose (Pavanamuktasana) forms a part of Padma Sadhana, a special sequence yoga poses, taught in Art of Silence (Part-2 Course) and DSN Course.

Benefits of Wind-Relieving Pose (Pavanamuktasana)

• Strengthens the back and abdominal muscles
• Tones the leg and arm muscles
• Massages the intestines and other organs in the abdomen
• Helps in digestion and release of gas
• Enhances blood circulation in the hip joints and eases tension in the lower back

Contraindications

Avoid practicing Wind-Relieving Pose (Pavanamuktasana) if you are facing the following health issues: high blood pressure, heart problem, hyperacidity, hernia, slip disc, testicle disorder, menstruation, neck and back problems, and after the second trimester of pregnancy.

sarvangasana

Sarvangasana

If you have had abnormal blood pressure, glaucoma, detached retina, chronic thyroid disorders, neck or shoulder injuries, consult your teacher and physician before doing the shoulder stand.

• Lie on your back. With one movement, lift your legs, buttocks and back so that you come up high on your shoulders. Support your back with the hands.
• Move your elbows closer towards each other, and move your hands along your back, creeping up towards the shoulder blades. Keep straightening the legs and spine by pressing the elbows down to the floor and hands into the back. Your weight should be supported on your shoulders and upper arms, and not on your head and neck.
• Keep the legs firm. Lift your heels higher as though you are putting a footprint on the ceiling. Bring the big toes straight over the nose. Now point the toes up. Pay attention to your neck. Do not press the neck into the floor. Instead keep the neck strong with a feeling of tightening the neck muscles slightly. Press your sternum toward the chin. If you feel any strain in the neck, come out of the posture.
• Keep breathing deeply and stay in the posture for 30-60 seconds.
• To come out of the posture, lower the knees to forehead. Bring your hands to the floor, palms facing down. Without lifting the head slowly bring your spine down, vertebra by vertebra, completely to the floor. Lower the legs to the floor. Relax for a minimum of 60 seconds.

Benefits

• Stimulates the thyroid and parathyroid glands and normalises their functions
• Strengthens the arms and shoulders and keeps the spine flexible
• Nourishing brain with more blood
• Stretches the heart muscles by returning more venous blood to the heart
• Brings relief from constipation, indigestion and varicose veins

chakrasana

Chakra - Wheel; Asana – Pose

The asana is pronounced as Chuck-rah-AH-sana

How to do Lying-down Body Twist (Chakrasana)

1. Lie on your back with arms horizontally stretched out in line with the shoulders.
2. Bend your knees and bring your feet close to your hips. The soles of the feet are fully on the ground.
3. Swing the knees to the left until the left knee touches the ground (the right knee and thigh are resting on the left knee and thigh). Simultaneously, turn the head to the right and look at your right palm.
   Checkpoint: Shoulder blades must touch the ground. While the body is twisted, there is a tendency for one of the shoulder blades to get lifted off the ground. One must work against this tendency for the stretch to be effective.
4. Feel the stretch in the thighs, groin, arms, neck, stomach and back as you hold the pose. With each exhalation, relax deeper into the pose.
5. After a few minutes, you may slowly turn the head back to the center, and straighten the torso and legs.
6. Mirror the pose on the other side.

Benefits of Lying-down Body Twist (Chakrasana)

• Stretches the spine and quadriceps.
• Brings deep relaxation to the body and mind

Contraindications of Lying-down Body Twist (Chakrasana)

Avoid this posture in case of spinal injuries.

shavasana

Shava - Corpse; Asana - Pose

The asana is pronounced as Shuh-vah-sana

This pose gets its name from the recumbent posture of a dead body. It is a position of rest and relaxation, and is usually practiced towards the end of a yoga session – a session that typically begins with activity and ends in rest; a space or pause when deep healing can take place.

How to do the Corpse Pose (Shavasana)

1. Lie flat on your back, preferably without any props or cushions. Use small pillow below your neck if absolutely required. Close your eyes.
2. Keep your legs comfortable apart and let your feet and knees relax completely, toes facing to the sides.
3. Place your arms alongside, yet a little spread apart from your body. Leave your palms open, facing upward.
4. Taking your attention to different body parts one by one, slowly relax your entire body bringing your.
5. Begin with bringing your awareness to the right foot, move on to the right knee (as you complete one leg, move your attention on to the other leg), and so on, and slowly move upwards to your head, relaxing each part of the body.
6. Keep breathing slowly, gently, deeply and allow your breath to relax you more and more. The incoming breath energizes the body while the outgoing breath brings relaxation. Drop all sense of hurry or urgency or any need to attend to anything else. Just be with the body and the breath. Surrender the whole body to the floor and let go. Make sure you don’t fall asleep!
7. After some time, about 10-20minutes when you feel fully relaxed, keeping your eyes closed, slowly roll onto your right side. Lie in that position for a minute or so. Then, taking the support of your right hand, gently sit up into a seated pose such as Sukhasana (Easy Pose).
8. Keep your eyes closed and take a few deep breaths in and out as you gradually become aware of your environment and the body. When you feel complete, slowly and gently open your eyes.

Benefits of the Corpse Pose (Shavasana)

• This posture brings a deep, meditative state of rest, which may help in the repair of tissues and cells, and in releasing stress. It also gives time for the yoga workout to sink in at a deeper level.
• This posture leaves you in a state of rejuvenation. It is the perfect way to end a yoga session, particularly if it has been a fast-paced one.
• It helps reduce blood pressure, anxiety, and insomnia.
• This is an excellent way to ground the body and reduce the Vata dosha(imbalance of the air element) in the body.

Contraindications of the Corpse Pose (Shavasana)

None (unless your doctor has advised you, for some medical reason, to avoid lying on your back).

konasana

Kona =Angle; Asana = Pose/Posture

(This posture is Pronounced as:konah-sanah)

How to do Angle Pose (Konasana):

1. Stand with your feet at a comfortable distance apart.Balance your weight equally on both the feet.
2. Breathing in, raise your arms overhead and join the palms together,interlacing the fingers to form a steeple position.Keep the arms touching the ears.
3. Breathing out, bend to the right.Put more attention on straightening the elbows,pressing the feet firmly into the ground,and moving the pelvis to the left.
4. Hold the pose. Feel the stretch on the side and,relax in this posture.Keep taking deep,gentle breaths.
   
5. Now breathe in and,return to standing position.
6. Breathing out,bring the arms down.
7. Repeat the pose bending to the other side.

Benefits of the Angle Pose (Konasana)

• Stretches the sides of the body and the spine.
• Tones the arms,legs,and abdominal organs.
• Helpful in relieving back pain.
• Increases the flexibility of the spine.
  

Contraindications of the Angle Pose (Konasana) 

• Spondylitis patients should avoid this pose.