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FOUNDATIONAL ASANAs Asana is the Sanskrit word for Yoga Posture, or Yoga Pose. It means a lot more than that, but let's just use that simplified definition for our purposes in teaching you Hatha (physical) yoga. The poses listed on this page are the FOUNDATION for you yoga practice. They are the basic poses which most of the other Asanas build upon. Master these basics before moving on. They SEEM simple at first. Like many things that seem simple to begin with, experienced yogis and yoginis go back to the basics regularly to maintain the balance, spinal alignment, and equilibrium required for all the other postures. There are a lot of postures we could call "basic", but this site lists only a few which can be clearly described in text. Reading about yoga on this web site is no substitute for going to class. This site can introduce you to the basic concepts, and familiarize you with some techniques, but a Certified Yoga Instructor can assist you in the poses, ensure that your alignment is correct, and teach you by demonstrating the poses, verbally guiding you into the poses, physically adjust misalignments when you are in the poses, and assist you to go into the pose more deeply. Read the guidelines on the Asanas - Poses Page before beginning. Samasthiti (Equal Standing Pose) Tadasana (Mountain Pose) Dandasana (Staff Pose) SAMASTHITI - Equal Standing Pose - This pose helps you learn to stand with good posture. At the start of my beginning yoga classes, I explain that yoga is more about standing on your own two feet than it is about standing on your head. It is an old saying among yogis and yoginis (male and female practitioners of yoga) and it is true. Distributing the weight of your body equally and evenly on your two feet, with your spine straight and tall, is one of the healthiest lessons you can learn here. I will guide you into this step by step. This posture is one of the foundations of your yoga practice, so learn this well before moving on. Some people want to skip this step, thinking "I know how to stand properly." Do you? Here is your chance to make sure you are not damaging your body on a daily basis with just the simple act of standing still. First - to see if you distribute your weight evenly on your feet - check the bottom of your sneakers or shoes. Are they worn down more on the heel or the toe? Inside or outside edge of the sole more worn? A tiny shift in the balance of your weight off-center creates a habitual mis-step. Eventually, walking with weight unbalanced will damage your feet, ankles, knees and hips. Common areas of injury for runners, who take many steps, often with weight unbalanced. Stand with your feet about 1 or 2 fists width apart. In India, this posture is taught with the feet together. India is a squatting culture, and the average Indian Body has the femurs rotated out further in the hip sockets, due to increased hip flexibility and openness from squatting. The feet together pose is not as natural for the average Western Body, and forcing this pose can cause damage to the knees (many people compensate for lack of flexibility in the hips by torquing the knees). So, feet about 1-2 fists width apart (about 6 to 8 inches for most of us) is a natural position. We want the center line of the foot (about your middle toe) to be centered under the ASIS bones - the Anterior Superior Iliac Spine bones of the Pelvis. Anatomy lesson: Anterior means "the front of the body". Superior means the "top" one (closer to the head than the foot). The Iliac Spines are small protuberances at the front of the pelvis. You can find them by feeling the bony front of your hips about 4 inches above your legs - you feel bumpy bone on the front of the pelvis. This is your iliac spine. Center your feet under the ASIS bones, as best as you can. Now lift your toes and spread them WIDE. Keeping the toes spread wide, place the toes back down, one at a time, beginning with the little toe and ending with the big toe. "Wider is better" for stability of the feet. Now we will find the exact center of the foot for our balance. Rock in a SUBTLE, small motion from the heel of your foot to the balls of your toes (do not rock so hard you are losing balance - just a very small motion). Try to find the exact center line of your foot between the front and back of the foot. It will be somewhere under the arch of the foot. Once you find that center line, stop rocking and take a moment to ingrain that point in your memory. Now begin a subtle rocking motion from the outside to inside edges of your foot, looking for the exact center between the right and left sides of your feet. When you find it, stop rocking and remember that line. Now find the point where the front/back center line and left/right center line intersect - the EXACT center of your foot - and center your body weight over that point - like steel rods running through your body and ending at that exact point in your foot. Now with the feet stable and weight in the center of the foot, draw your focus upwards. Knees directly over your ankles. Hips directly over the knees. Ribs over the pelvis. Shoulders lined up over the hips. Shoulders down and back, arms lengthened by the sides of the body. Crown of your head reaching up towards the sky - elongating the spine, making the spine as even and long as you can. Lengthen through the waist by lifting up your rib cage. This is the structural position for Samasthiti. For the muscular portion, we will engage Mulabhanda, also known as Core Lift. This "lock" engaged in the body will be explained in another section of this web page. If you are unfamiliar with Core Lift, we will engage the muscles of the body to give some support to your Psoas Muscle. First, engage all the muscles of your legs - think of lifting the arches of your feet and your kneecaps to engage all the muscles of your legs. Now pull in (contract) your abdominal muscles. Squeeze the buttocks (gluteal muscles) together. Weight balanced evenly between front and back of the body, and between the right and left. Shoulders down and back, rib cage lifted, long waist, nice long spine, crown of the head reaching up. Samasthiti - Equal standing pose. TADASANA - Mountain Begin in Samasthiti. Inhale the arms up to shoulder height, pivot the palms of the hands upward towards the ceiling, and continue inhaling the palms up overhead. Elbows are STRAIGHT. You may have the arms in a V (Victory) position, or in prayer position (palms together, fingers pointing up) overhead. Do not have the arms in prayer position if you need to bend your elbows to do so. Elbows are straight - keeping the "lines of energy" open in the body (lengthening nerve endings, veins and arteries, lengthening muscles and joints). Breath deeply, keeping the chest and rib cage open, and your heart open. Give your lungs a lot of room to expand. Keeping the spine straight and your alignment proper, relax into this position. This is Tadasana, The Mountain. Precautions: Take care if you have high blood pressure, heart conditions, recent or chronic surgery, inflammation, or injury of any kind. No long holdings of postures. Keep the arms low or hands on waist, elbows bent.
DANDASANA - The Staff Pose Sitting tall, legs out in front of you, spine straight. More to be added soon)
CONTACT US: NOSPAMelena@focalpointyoga.com (remove the words NO SPAM from the email address please!)
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