My Yoga System-- Simple Asanas
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Transcript of My Yoga System-- Simple Asanas
MYYogaSystem--SimpleAsanas
NKSrinivasan
Introduction
IhavebeeninlovewiththeYogasystem--mainlyasanas
andpranayama--sincemyschooldays.Ilearnedthe
basicSuryaNamaskarorsunsalutationfrommyunclewho
wasanadeptandaregularpractitioner.Hewasalso
muscularlybuilt.
Later,afterIsawafewpeoplepractisingtheasanasin
distantChennai[Oldname:Madras,India},includingT.
Krishnamacharya,Istartedpractisingonmyown.
[ThirumalaiKrishnamacharyaisconsideredFatherof
ModernYogaandistheguruofthreefamousyoga
teachers-BKSIyengar,PattabhiJoisandIndraDevi.
IndraDeviwascalled"FirstLadyofYoga"inthe
west.]
IalwaysadmiredtheIyengaryogaofShriBKSIyengar.
[Imethimforthefirsttimelastyear--2012--inhis
InsitituteinPuneandspoketohimforafewminutesin
Tamil.heis94yearsoldnow.]Ifindthathismethodof
yoga[Hathayoga]canbemodifiedorsimplifiedtosuit
ourneeds,asithasbeendonebymanymodernyogis,
especiallywomenpractisingtheyogaintheWest.His
book"TheLightonYoga"isthestandardtextIrely
upon.
OfcourseIhavereadorconsultedadozenbookson
Yogaduringmypracticeextendingovermorethan55
years.[IalsoreadseveralbooksinTamillanguageon
yogaandinteractedwithSwamiGitanandaofPuduchery.]
[IncidentallyIamalsoanIyengar---thatis,Ibelong
totheVaishnavasectofIyengarsbybirthinSouth
India.MywifehastheclannameofThirumalai--thesame
clanasThirumalaiKrishnamacharya.]
Ihavebeenthinkingabouta'minimalsetofasanas"for
abusypersonandforseniors,leadingtomaximum
benefits.Ifonecando"Suryanamaskar"orSun
salutations",thatwouldsuffice.Buteventhisisnot
easyformanybeginnersandseniorpersons.HenceI
developedmyownsystemofyoga.
Somegeneralprecautionsandwarnings
1.Donotpractiseyogawithoutgoingthroughproper
medicalcheckup.
2.Avoidmuchofyogaifyousufferfromheartailments
andhighbloodpressure.Askyouryogateacher.
3.SomedevelopretinaldetachmentduetoYoga.
4.Ifyouhadhernia,consultaphysicianbefore
startingsomeyogapostures.
5Thosewithvertigoordizziness,shouldavoidcertain
posesorasanas.
6Pregnantwomenshouldconsultaphysiciananda
trainedyogateacherbeforestartingyoga.
Ustrasana--CamelPose
Butifyouareanormalpersonwithsomeflexibilityin
yourlimbsandmuscles,youcanpracticewithsome
directionorguidanceofateacher.Youmaytrysimple
poses,learnedfromabookorDVDorvideoclips.Iam
inmyseventhdecadeandpractiseyogadaily.
GeneralInstructions
1Donotpractiseyogaonanemptystomachorfull
stomach,loadedwithfood.Let2hourselapseafterheavy
mealbeforeyoudoYoga.Ifyouhadbreakfast,letan
hourelapsebeforedoingyoga.
2Alwayswearlooseclothingwhiledoingyoga.
3Repeatyogaposturesonly2or3times...donot
overdo..Yogaasanasarenotrepetitiveexercises.[Ihave
seensomebookssuggestingthatyourepeat6or8
times.Thatisnotrequired.Evendoingonceonlyis
sufficientformanypersons;butinbeginningstages,
youmayliketorepeatforlearningtheposture.]
4Eachposeyouholdormaintainonlyfor10secondsto
1minute.Advancedyogiscandoforabout2to3
minutes.[Inancienttimesyogiscouldmaintaincertain
posesforahourorso.Butthisisnotrecommendedfor
modernpersons.]
5Controlledbreathingisimportant,whichyoushould
learnfromateacher.Ujjayipranayamaistobelearned
byseriousstudents.
Neverpractisepranayamawithoutinstructionfroma
teacher.
6Restfor1minutebetweentheasanas.
7Practisedailyataboutthesametime.
8Wenormallytake15or16breathsperminute.Soa
countofbreathsbecomesaneasymethodfortimingyour
poses.Thuseightbreathswouldbeabout30seconds.
9Ingeneral,standingposesandbackbendposesare
morestrenuous.Youmaypractiseotherposesfortwo
weeksbeforeattemptingthesehardposes.
AdhoMukhaSvanaAsana
BenefitsofYoga
Therehadbeenseveralbooksandarticlesonthis
aspect.Iwillmakeabriefnoteonthis.
Twoimportantthingstoimprovewithyogaare:
1yourbreathingsystem--
2Yourspine
Infactthemainbenefitsofyogaflowfromthesetwo
systems--lungsandspinalcord.
Yogahasbeenfoundtobenefitpeoplewithlungproblems
andthosewithlowerbackpain.Infactmanyapproacha
yogateacherforrelieffromspinalproblems.
Youcanimproveyourdigestionsystemeasilythrough
yoga.Itwillhelpmaintainagooddigestivesystemto
prettyoldage....assumingthatyoualsofollowa
sensibledietaryhabits.
Ingeneral,yogaimprovestheflexibilityofyour
musclesandjoints.Yogahelpstoavoidorreduceold
ageproblemslikejointpains,kneepainsandarthritis.
Withtheseimprovements,comeotherbenefitslike
balance,goodcirculationofblood,muscularstrength
andcalmnessofmind.
{Iamunabletosayanythingdefiniteaboutweight
reductionforobesepersonsthroughYoga.Butageneral
statementgiveninYogaliteratureisthatyoga
stimulatessluggishglandswhichproducevarious
hormones.Thesehormonesaffectthebasalmetabolicrate
andmayhelptobalanceyourweight.Forinstance,a
sluggishthyroidglandmayleadtoincreaseinweight.
Yogacanhelptoactivateendocrineglandsandcanhelp
tocontrolyourweightandavoidobesity.]
MYSYSTEMOFYOGA
Inexploringforaminimalsetofyogaposesorasanas
forgeneralhealththatwouldbemostsuitablefor
seniors,Iconcludedthatthefollowingsetofasanas
wouldbetheoptimalsystem:
*Sukhasana[Meditativepose]
*Tadasana
*Adho-mukha-svana-asana
*Balasana[Restingpose]
*Ustra-asana
*Vajrasana
*Virabhadra-asana
*ArdhaMatsyendrasana
*Vrikshasana
*Savasana[meditativepose]
Onlythissetoftenasanas.
Againeachcanberepeatedtwice.
Notethatineachoftheseposes,thereare
variations--fromeasytodifficultoradvanced
positions.Choosetheeasyformfirst.Practisefora
weekortwo.
Certainprops,supportsandbelts,assuggestedbyBKS
Iyengar,canbeused.Supportwithchairsmaybehelpful
too.Ifnotanythingelse,useawallforsupportand
alignment.
Practiseeachposefrom10secondsto2minutesexcept
SavasanaandSukhasana--youcanmaintaintheseposesfor
5to10minutes.
Lastly,itisimportanttostartaYogasessionwitha
shortchantorprayer,aswedoformostimportant
activitiesinIndia.[Youcanselectyourownchantor
prayer.]
OneTip:Youmaycheckyourbloodpressure10minutes
afterayogasessionandkeeparecordwithdate.Youmay
alsocountyourpulserate.
Notesontheseposes
Toexplainfurther,thissetof9asanas,except
savasana,arebasedontwomainposes:
forwardbending"downwardfacingdogpose"
-adho-mukha-svanaasanaandthebackbendingUstrasana
[Camelpose].Thesearemyfavoriteonesforgeneral
benefit.Otherasanasinthissetfitinwellwiththese
twoasanas.Vajrasana[Heropose]istheinitialseatingposition
forotherasanas.
Vrikshasana[Treepose]helpstoimprovebalanceand
maybehelpfultoreducejointproblemsandarthritis.
BalasanaorChildposeisarelaxingpose--canbedone
atanytimeduringtheday,especiallyafteratiringday
intheofficeorafteralongdrive.
Amongtheseasanas,Veerabhadraasanaorwarriorposeis
abitdifficult;butpracticegentlyVirabhadra1pose
intheearlystages;themmoveontoVirabhadra2and
Virabhadra3.
Savasana,thecorpsepose,the10thone,istherelaxing,
meditativepose.Thisposecanbepractisedbyallandis
anexcellentmethodforreducinghypertensionorhigh
bloodpressure.Youshouldpractisethisfor5to10
minutes.Keepyourmindcalmduringthesavasana.
Thisasanaisthelastonetobedoneinasession.
Asimple,easysequenceisasfollows:
Vajrasana-->Balasana-->Adho-mukha-svanasana-->
Urdhvamukhasvanasa-->balasana.
hero(thunderbolt)-->child-->downwarddog-->
upwarddog-->child
Ihavenotincludedtheposes--Bhujangaasana[Cobra
pose]orDhanurasana{bowpose}andseveralothers.
Trikonasana[Trianglepose}isnotincludedasthis
mightturnouttobedifficultorharmfultosome
persons.Youmayaddtheseposesatyourdiscretion
basedonyourfitnesslevel.
Theheadstandsorinversionsarenotincluded,asthey
cancauseseverestrainformanyandmaycauseeye
problemslikeretinaldetachment.Itisbettertoavoid
themaftertheageofforty.Youmaydothemifyouare
guidedbyanexperiencedyogateacher.
OptionalPoses
Afteryougainsomeexperiencewithyoga,youcanadd
theseposesforrelaxationandforadditional
benefits:
*Ardhabhujangasana--half-cobraorsphinxpose
*Natarajapose--
*Paschimottanaasana
*Uttanaasana
*Salabhasana
*Dandasana-Plankpose
*BaddhaKonasana
*ViparitaKarani
[AnoteonViparitaKarani---Itisan"inverted
action"pose--aneasysubstitutefordifficultinverted
poseslikeSarvangaasana[shoulderstand].Youliftyour
legsandreclinethemonawall--called"leg-on-wall
pose".Itissimpletoachievethispose.Askyour
friendtohelpyouwiththispose.
Stayinthisposeinitiallyfor5minutesandthen
extendtoabout20minutesafterafewweeks.
Acomfortablevariationofthisposeistolieflatand
placethelegsonachairoracot,bendingyour
knees.Yourthighswillbevertical.
Breathenormallyandkeepyourmindcalmduringthis
longsessionforthispose.Torelax,youcancoveryour
eyeswithaneyepadornapkin.
Thebenefitsofthisposearemany--Icanwritea
separateessayonthat.Ifyouhavevaricoseveins,you
maydothis,ifyoudonothavecontra-indicationsfor
thispose.Theresultsmayvary,buttheveinsmay
disappearinamonth.
Itisgoodfortheheart.Itishelpfulfor
digestion.Itcancuregastritis,constipationand
bloatingofthestomach.Itcanreducebackpainand
alsoarthritis.
ViparitaKaraniiscreditedwithgivingayouthful
appearance.Readalsoaboutcontra-indicationsforthispose.Those
withhighbloodpressure,migrane,retinal
problems,Glaucomaandothereyecomplicationsshould
avoidthispose.]
Contact:[email protected]
References
Thoughthereareliterallyaboutahundredbookson
yoga,Iamsuggestingonlyafew.Therearemanyother
excellentbooksaswell.
1BKSIyengar--LightonYoga[YogaDipika][A
standardtextand,inmyopinion,'TheBibleofYoga".
2SwamiVishnudevananda--TheCompleteIllustratedBook
ofYoga--ThreeRiversPress.
3BKSIyengar---IyengarYogaforbeginners..DK
Publishing
3HansrajYadav--Yogaforstudents--BharatiyaVidya
Bhavan,Mumbai[2002]
4SilvaMehtaandShyamMehta--Yoga-TheIyengarWay
--AlfredKnopf,NY.[Ausefulinstructionalmanual.]
5ApaPant---SuryaNamaskar--OrientLongmans,1998
6IndraDevi--Yogaforyou.[1948]
7PhulgendraSinha-Yogacureforcommon
diseases--OrientPaperbacks,NewDelhi.
8SuzaFrancina--NewYogaforhealthyaging--[2007]
9AGMohanetal--YogaTherapy.....Shambala[2004]
10GaryKraftsow---Yogaforwellness...,Penguinbooks
(1999)
11YogaJournal&TimothyMcCall--Yogaasmedicine
--Bantambooks.
12SivanandaYogaCentre--Yoga-101EssentialTips--DK
pub;[Apocketreferencebook].
13JamesHewitt-TheCompleteYogabook--Schokenbooks
14SwamiSatyananda--Asana,Pranayama,Mudra,
Kriya--BiharSchoolofYoga,Munger,India[Note:IndraDevi[1899-2002]wascalledthe"Firstlady
ofyoga"andherbook"YogaforYou"introducedYogain
Americaaround1948andlaterinArgentina.]
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YogaTherapy
Yogacancurecommonailmentsaswellaschronic
diseaseslikeasthma,backpain,migraine,diabetesand
arthritisandseveraldegenerativediseases.Yogacure
impliesfollowingstrictdietregulations,includinga
vegetariandiettobeeffective.Iamnotexperiencedin
thisbranchofyogaandoneshouldconsultan
experiencedyogatherapist.Thereferencebookscited
heremaybehelpful.
RestorativePoses
Thereareseveralrestorativeposes,especiallyfor
seniorcitizens---torelax,toreducestressesandto
rejuvenateand,perhapsconferlongevity!
BesidestheeasySavasanaorCorpsepose,onecando
severalrecliningorsupineposes.Theseposesbegin
with"supta"intheirnames.Twomostimportantonesare
:
"suptabaddhakonasana"and"suptavirasana"..Maintain
theseposesfor3to5minutesforgreatbenefits,but
beginwithonly1minutepractice.
Anotherrestorativeposeforallis:ViparitaKaran
ior"Legonthewall"tobedoneforabout10minutes.
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Seethewebsiteof"YogaJournal"fordetailed
instructiononeachasana.
[Severalwebsitesandvideoclipscanhelpyou.]
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