“Come unto me all ye who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest”

Folks, do not let the name of the pose frighten you as in Corpse Pose!

(It has nothing to do with a literal death) more with relaxation.

That said, the Yoga Corpse/Relaxation Pose is a Restorative Pose that is usually practiced during and after your yoga session.

Some other restorative poses include the

1. Crocodile Pose (mentioned in the articles on Forward Bends and the Bow Pose)

2. Child’s Pose (mentioned in the article on the Headstand)

However, for now we will be dealing strictly with the relaxation pose where you are basically laying on your back with your arms extended slightly away from you.

Suffice it to say that owing to how easy it appears to be, it still is one of the few poses that may be difficult to properly execute owing to the mental effort that has to be attributed to the pose, but at least for the physical portion of it (lying on your back, well…just about anyone can do that!)

Perform this pose for 15 minutes after performing the physical exercises, make sure you breathe rhythmically in a ratio of 5:5:5 for inhalation, retention and exhalation if the alternative method of relaxing to be outlined seems a bit challenging for you.

It is also important that you know how to exit the pose.

This is done by turning your body to the right, curling up slightly, and staying there for another minute of square breathing, then get up and literally sit on a chair, bed or if you choose, the mat, be ensure that you are well covered (warm) so any external cold can not chill the body after it may have naturally been warmed and cooled down from your whole session.

Furthermore, please see to it that you do not touch any water (as in showering, brushing of the teeth etc) for at least 10 minutes AFTER you have completed the Corpse pose.

Why?

Well, I honestly don’t know what the link is but being the inquisitive person I am, I did the exact opposite of what I just passed on to you in regards to bodily contact with water and believe it or not caught a cold!

Co-incidence, I think not!

For the Yoga Relaxation pose, it comes in very handy as this pose

-Alleviates stress.

-Increases Self-Confidence and awareness.

-Relieves Fatigue, insomnia and restlessness.

-Speeds up proper elimination of metabolic wastes.

If you have been following in order all the poses and exercises I have outlined in the past several articles on Sivananda Yoga, you will see that I have gone in a specific order from the Beginning, (Sun Salutations) to the very end (The Relaxation Pose) and this relaxation pose should be implemented after

1. The Sun Salutations.

2. Standing Erect for 2 minutes upon completing the Headstand

3. After completing the Fish Pose (the second counterpose to the Shoulder-stand)

4. The Spinal Twist (counterpose to the back bands which offset the forward bends, however remember the use of the prone relaxation pose here folks, the crocodile pose)

5. Each Balancing Exercise

6. The final end of your yoga session.

Furthermore, the very same pose can (and should) be practiced for 15 minutes daily as an alternative or supplemental pose for meditation or anytime you just need to “woo sah!”

In Friendship,

Foras Aje

# # #

 

Foras Aje is an independent researcher and author of Fitness: Inside and out, a book on improving physical and mental health naturally. For more information on natural health,news and breakthroughs visit his site at http://www.bodyhealthsoul.com/

Folks, we have been going over- in the last several articles in the Yoga Category-the Famed Sivananda style of yoga .

Thus far, here is a re-cap of what we have covered.

1. Sun Salutations.

2. Inversions: The Head and Shoulder Stand and Their Counter-Poses

3. The Forward Bends and Their Counter-Poses

4. The Backward Bends and Their Counter-Poses

5. The Balancing Exercises

and finally,

6. The Sitting & Standing Exercises.

However, there are other poses that I have not discussed and I will now touch briefly on them.

Miscellaneous Yoga Poses:

The following poses are provided as alternatives to the slightly more challenging ones such as the Side plank replacing the Crow. They are highly effective as well and should be approached with the same precision as the previously mentioned poses.

Side Plank Pose (Vasisthasana)

This pose is a powerful arm and wrist strengthener and might also be called the One-Arm Balance. Here you are balanced on the same-side hand and outer foot, with your torso and legs aligned at a 45-degree angle with the floor.

Technique: Start off in the plank pose (position 5 in Sun Exercises) Turn the whole body sideways to the left. The outer side of the left foot should rest firmly on the floor. Place the right foot over the left one and keeping the body straight, balance.

This strengthens the arms and belly and tones the lumbar and coccyx region of the spine.

Four-Limbed Staff Pose (Chaturanga Dandasana)

Chaturanga Dandasana is the challenging yoga push-up frequently practiced as part of the traditional Sun Salutation sequence. (Pregnant women should avoid this pose)

Technique:

Lie flat on the floor facing downwards.

Bend the elbows and place the palms by the side of the chest.

Keep the feet about a foot apart. Now raise the whole body a few inches of the floor balancing it on the hands and the toes. Keep the body stiff as a staff,

parallel to the floor from head to heel and the knees taut. Stay in the pose for 10-30 seconds.

This pose

-Strengthens the arms and wrists

-Contracts and tones the abdominal muscles

-Eradicates lethargy.

Leg Split (Anjaneyasana):

Stretch the right foot back as far as possible.

Keep the left foot flat on the floor with the knees bending.

Raise the hands above the head and slowly pull backward until the hands, spine and legs have the appearance of a semicircle. Hip Joints are exercised and the legs are made to move freely in all directions.

The spine is stretched and any defect in the lower spine is cured. Furthermore it tones the legs and makes them shapely and has marked effects on toning the arms.

Duration: 15 Seconds to 1 minute each way

Lord of the Dance Pose: (Natarajasana):

Stand Erect.

Now bend the right leg at the knee and grasp the big toe and pull towards the head

This especially tones the leg and spine muscles. It also stretches the arm and shoulder joints. For women along with Vajrasan, and the eagle pose, this pose can also be performed during pregnancy at your discretion.

Duration: 15 seconds to 1 minute.

Eagle Pose (Garudasana):

Stand Erect. Lift the right leg and twist it over the left leg. Cross the elbows in front with the left elbow on top, and press the arms together. Reverse the position and stand on the right leg.

This pose strengthens the calf muscles and reduces extra fat from the thighs. It also tones the arms and shoulders considerably. It is a great pose women looking to enhance a graceful figure.

Duration: 15 seconds to 1 minute.

So there you have it folks, even more yoga poses that you can incorporate into you routine for the practice of the Sivananda Yoga Style.

As we go on, I will give designated poses for suggested routines but for now, this has been an overview of the basic poses.

In Friendship,

Foras Aje

# # #

 

Foras Aje is an independent researcher and author of Fitness: Inside and out, a book on improving physical and mental health naturally. For more information on natural health,news and breakthroughs visit his site at http://www.bodyhealthsoul.com/ 

 

Folks, drawing from my practice with the Sivananda Style of yoga that I have been describing thus far, what I have attempted to do is present instructions on how each of the various categories of the exercises are done.

We have thus far gone over the Sun Exercises, the Inversions, The forward, Backward and side bending exercises and the balancing poses as well.

Now in keeping in line with the order of the poses, we will now be going over the sitting and standing exercises as prescribed by the late Swami Vishnu Devananda for the execution of the style of yoga named after his teacher.

Diamond Pose (Vajrasana):

Basically sit on your knees.

This pose

-Strengthens the pelvic muscles.

-Is a preventive measure against Hernia.

When practiced after meals (of course the ones I recommended in Section 3 of this text) it ensures digestion.

During your session 1-2 minutes will suffice. If you intend to sit longer, you may put a pillow in between the knees to ease the joints (if necessary)

Standing Forward Bend: Pada Hasthasan

 

Stand Straight.

Bend backwards and now exhale and touch your toes or grab at your ankles. This is basically paschimothanasana standing and shares the benefits as well

15 seconds to 1 minute.

Side Bends

Side bends stimulate the main organs, for example the liver, kidneys, stomach, and spleen.

Triangle Pose (Trikonasana):

Stand straight, extend your legs about 3-4 feet apart. Bend to your left and touch the floor as illustrated. Stand straight without bending the knees and repeat the same on the right.

This Pose

-Tones the Spinal nerves and abdominal organs.

-Increases peristalsis, the body is made light.

-It tones the reproductive organs and alleviates chemical imbalances.

There you have it, the Sitting, Standing, forward and backward bending exercises that are all prescribed for the execution of the Sivananda Method of Yoga Asanas.

Now that those poses are covered, in the next article, I will touch briefly over some miscellaneous poses that are oft times used in yoga that may not necessarily be in the order of asanas discussed thus far.

So as usual,

In Friendship,

Foras Aje

# # #

 

Foras Aje is an independent researcher and author of Fitness: Inside and out, a book on improving physical and mental health naturally. For more information on natural health,news and breakthroughs visit his site at http://www.bodyhealthsoul.com/

We are back discussing the various yoga balancing exercises.

We have gone over the peacock pose and its variations, now I will be demonstrating how to do the Crow pose.

It is noteworthy of mention that the crow could be seen as a counter pose to the peacock pose, even with how the hands are placed and the position of the spine.

That said, and taking into account the suggestions I have given in previous articles on the Sivananda Yoga Style and the necessity for counter poses, please see to it that if you do the peacock, it is counterbalanced with the crow and for at least the length of time you put into executing the former pose.

How To Do The Yoga Crow Pose

 

The yoga crow pose can be described as balancing with your legs supported by your arms with the legs being bent.

Owing to the holding of the pose itself, besides increasing physical and mental balance, the crow develops mental tranquility and also strengthens your wrists and forearms.

For the actual technique,

Crow Pose (Bakasana):

Sit on the toes keeping knees apart.

Now keep the hands firmly on the floor.

Rest the knees on the respective arms. Now raise the toes and slowly balance yourself.

Hold for as long possible aiming for 3-4 minutes…

Now, for variations of the pose:

1. Variation 1

Have your arms wide apart

2. Variation 2

Have your arms shoulder width apart

Demands more strength and willpower…somehow makes you laugh though

3. Variation 3

Lock elbows right under the inner part of the knees.

Then here is a brief overview of the side crow poses:

Side Crow Pose Variation 1:

As in variation 1, resting both legs on the right arm first then the left.

Side Crow Pose Variation 2:

Extend the legs in the variation above.

Side Crow Pose Variation 3:

Stretch the legs and put the right arm in between the thighs. Now make an ankle lock by placing the left ankle over the right. Now slowly raise the body and prepare for some strange reason to laugh

As I stated earlier, for the sake of time and space, I have briefly touched on how to do the peacock, crow and side crow poses, however, suffice it to say that perhaps the best way to be instructed on how to execute them may lie in either going to google images to view what the final position should look like or you could do a search for this author on You-Tube (Thanks to The Divine For That) and see a detailed visual description.

Here are a couple of points to keep in mind

1. Of course for these poses, alignment is key.

2. Focus, determination all in tune with the will to let go.

3. When you lean forward to get into “Crow” keep your sight line in front of you rather than looking down.

4. Engage your abdominal wall (think pulling your navel into your spine) while elevating the hips slightly.

5. Don’t forget to breathe! If you feel any pain while doing this pose stop.

Here’s to Restoring Balance In Your Life and To Health,

Foras Aje

# # #

 

Foras Aje is an independent researcher and author of Fitness: Inside and out, a book on improving physical and mental health naturally. For more information on natural health,news and breakthroughs visit his site at http://www.bodyhealthsoul.com/ 

 

I used to think to myself, well, I have done the Sun exercises, inversions, forward, backward and lateral bends, what do I need the balancing exercises for and should they be done daily?

Well, I will answer the latter question later on, but now, I will go into the necessity of the poses themselves.

Folks, doing Yoga is a perfect way to incorporate balance exercises into your training routine.

Needless to say, balance exercises are often overlooked by athletes, but are one of the most effective ways to correct muscle imbalance or body mechanic problems.

Moreover, balancing postures develop lightness, strength and agility, all the while helping to develop body control, muscle tone, coordination, and concentration.

Furthermore, they strengthen the upper body and increase the breathing capacity.

Balancing exercises consists of the basically the Peacock, Crow and Side Crow Poses.

For the sake of space, I will touch on the technique of how to perform each one, but of course if you need to reference google images or yours truly on youtube for a visual demonstration, do feel free.

How To Do The Peacock Pose (Mayurasana):

Kneel on a blanket.

Join the two arms together and rest them on the floor palms facing the toes.

Bring your tummy down against your conjoined elbows.

Support your body on your elbows.

Now raise the legs as high as you can.

Folks, This is the best detoxifying pose and the Liver, pancreas, stomach and kidneys are all toned.

Furthermore, the peacock pose

-Greatly strengthens the arms.

-Alleviates Hepatitis

-Enhances concentration and determination.

The pose does have a few variations and they are

1. Variation 2, Rest the forehead on the floor

2. Variation 3, Perform it on your fists.

It is advised that after each variation, depending on your schedule or practice, that you relax in the corpse pose for at least a minute.

Now that we have gone over the peacock pose(s); the next pose to be discussed will be the crow pose.

See you in the next article.

In Friendship

Foras Aje

# # #

 

Foras Aje is an independent researcher and author of Fitness: Inside and out, a book on improving physical and mental health naturally. For more information on natural health,news and breakthroughs visit his site at http://www.bodyhealthsoul.com/

At this juncture, since we have covered forward and backward bending exercises; naturally what should come next are poses to twist the body laterally.

These postures free energize and balance the body.

Moreover, take it from me folks, AFTER THE BACK BENDS, YOU WANT TO DO THESE POSES

I guess, that’s what I find so liberating, yet rewarding about Sivananda Yoga, when followed in the precise order given, you can’t help but get it right for a totally effective workout on the inside and out.

The flip side to this is, if you try to experiment on your own and go out of the order of events/poses, you are bound to hurt or injure yourself.

Suffice it to say then that keeping to the orders suggested is definitely the way to go.

Now, going back to the spinal twists, after bending forward and back, your spine requires a lateral twist to retain its mobility.

It is noteworthy of mention that in addition to touching the toes without bending the knees, the ability to twist is often the first type of flexibility to be lost.

Therefore, sitting twists are the indispensable, as they increase the range of motion of the spine. When done after backbends, they tend to relieve any lower back discomfort, discomfort that will occur if you don’t twist left and right!

How to Do The Spinal twist (Ardha Matsendrasana):

Bend the right leg at the knee and set the heel against your butt.

Do not allow the heel to move from this place.

Now bend the left leg at the knee and with the hands, arrange the foot to rest on the floor by the external side of the thigh, then passing the right arm over the left knee, catch hold of the left foot firmly with the right hand.

The left knee is now place at the right axilla.

Remain in this pose for half the time you were in Chakrasana and repeat on both sides.

For the actual benefits derived from this pose, it should be noted that it

-Removes constipation.

-Bends the spine laterally and keeps it elastic and consequently the sympathetic nerves are toned.

-Eliminates poisons produced in digestion.

So at this juncture, folks we have performed the Sun Salutations, The Inversions, Forward & Backward Bending Exercises and Twisted the Body laterally.

That said, after the various directions in which the body has been bent, the flexibility of the spine over time will indeed increase and be maintained.

Next we will be dealing with balancing exercises.

See you in the next series.

Foras Aje

# # #

 

Foras Aje is an independent researcher and author of Fitness: Inside and out, a book on improving physical and mental health naturally. For more information on natural health,news and breakthroughs visit his site at http://www.bodyhealthsoul.com/ 

 

Welcome back to this series of performing the Sivananda Style of Yoga.

At this stage, I would like to state that since in yoga, the body is gently and skillfully maneuvered in all directions, every muscle is stretched and toned.

Moreover, the internal organs are massaged, squeezed, and expanded, improving their general function.

At the same time, the skeletal system is flexed, extended, rotated, and twisted, creating greater joint mobility.

Now that we have gone over forward bending yoga exercises, let’s try out the backward bending poses.

It is noteworthy of mention that owing to the direct movement in any asana, a counter pose must be performed to offset it. A counter pose is a yoga pose that stretches your spine in the opposite direction from a previous pose or returns your spine to a neutral position.

So, since we have done forward bends with their direct counter poses (also in the case of the headstand/child’s pose and Shoulder-stand/Bridge and Fish Poses), we would now to an overall back ward bending portion of the session.

These powerful poses, invigorate and encourage deep breathing.

In addition, they open and energize the body and mind; they develop courage and lift depression. They open the chest, stimulate the nervous system, strengthen the arms and shoulders and increase flexibility of the spine.

Although there are several back bending exercises, presented here would be the two arguably most effective ones, for the sole reason that the yoga experts say just as much and even from observation you can see that it is just the case.

Bow Pose: (Dhanurasana)

This pose is hailed as the best backward bending exercise.

Technique:

Lie Prone on the blanket. Relax the muscles.

Now bend the legs over the thighs.

Catch hold of the right ankle with the right hand and the left ankle with the left hand firmly.

Raise the head, body and knees by tugging at the legs with the hands so the whole body rests on the abdomen.

Benefits of The Bow Pose:

-It removes constipation.

-It alleviates gastrointestinal disorders and increases sexual fitness.

-It reduces fat, energizes digestion, invigorates appetite and relieves congestion of the blood in the abdominal viscera.

-It aids in building upper body strength.

Duration: 5 seconds to 3 minutes.

Suggested Counterpose:

The Crocodile Corpse Pose

 

Lie on your abdomen with your head tucked inward and down, your forehead resting on top of your folded forearms/or sideways.

Stay in this pose for anywhere between 1-3 minutes.

Wheel Pose or Chakrasana

 

Now we would be going over the Wheel Pose.

Folks as the name suggests, the ‘Wheel Pose’ or Chakrasana, involves body movements in the way so that the resulting posture resembles a semi-circle.

This asana resembles the gymnastic back bend.

However, it should be noted that the differentiating feature, is that during the ‘wheel pose’ the person lies straight on the ground, and then raises his body upwards however, while during the gymnastic back bends, the individual attains standing posture, and bends backward to keep palms to rest on the ground.

Ideally, this asana is advised to be performed in the daytime (morning or afternoon).

Now for the actual technique:

 

Wheel Pose (Chakrasana)

Lie down. Bend the arms and legs.

Raise the body and rest on the hands and feet.

Tuck your head firmly in between your shoulders.

This pose

-Influences all hormonal secretions and relieves various gynecological disorders.

-Strengthens the arms chest and wrists.

-Keeps the body alert and supple.

Duration: 15 seconds to 2 minutes

At this stage, you would be basically positioned physiologically in an opposite to the bow pose; (sort of how the plough pose was a direct opposite of the forward bend, notice the link?) but at this juncture, instead of doing the restorative pose after executing this we would be going right into the next poses; the spinal twists.

But that about covers the back bending exercises and the main essential ones.

To Health,

Foras Aje

# # #

 

Foras Aje is an independent researcher and author of Fitness: Inside and out, a book on improving physical and mental health naturally. For more information on natural health,news and breakthroughs visit his site at http://www.bodyhealthsoul.com/

Now that we have covered inversions, let’s go into the next set of yoga poses in the Sivananda style of yoga; the forward bends.

From a simple observation, forward bend poses look very simple and easy but they do have very beneficial effects on the entire system.

It should be noted that there are several kinds of forward bend poses in yoga that you can practice such as the Janu Shirsha Asana or the head to knee forward bend pose, Pada Hasta asana or the forward bend hands and feet pose, Paschimottan asana or the forward bend pose and the Plough Pose (Halasana), but for simplicity’s sake we would stick to the last 2 for this article.

It is noteworthy of mention that all movements of the spine directly or indirectly give exercise to various internal organs and abdominal muscles. Any forward bending of the spine vigorously contracts the abdominal muscles and backward bending exercises and stretches the abdominal muscles.

So let’s proceed with the two forward bending exercises for this article the Plough and Classic Forward Bend Pose

How to Do The Plough Pose (Halasana):

Lie flat on your back on the blanket.

Keep the hands, palms down near the thighs.

Without bending the knees, slowly raise the hips and the lumbar part of the back and bring down the legs till they touch the floor.

It’s a cousin of the shoulder stand as you’ll observe and shares many of the same benefits.

The Benefits of Plough Pose:

This Pose:

1. Alleviates insomnia.

2. Revitalizes the spleen and super anal glands.

3. Promotes production of insulin by the pancreas.

4. Regulates activities of the thyroid glands.

Suggested Duration: 15 seconds working up to 2 minutes.

Suggested Counterpose:

<strong>Bridge Pose (Sethu Bhandasana):</strong>

From the Plough Pose position, stretch the legs and slowly touch the floor with the feet. It is done to bend the spine in the opposite direction. Basically, you will be performing the back-bridge to the afore-mentioned shoulder stand but instead of the hands bracing the back, you should now grasp the ankles and stay in back-bridge position for half the time spent in the plough.

Upon completion go straight into the next pose.

Forward Bend (Paschimothanasana):

Lie flat on your back on the blanket, with arms overhead on the floor.

Keep the legs and thighs firmly on the floor.

Stiffen your body.

Slowly raise the head and the chest and assume a sitting position. Now exhale till you are able to catch you toes, ankles or heels. You may even bury your face in between your knees.

This Pose is a boon to mankind as it

-Relieves constipation

-Removes sluggishness of the liver, dyspepsia, belching and gastritis.

-Alleviates Piles and diabetes, corpulence and obesity.

_Tones the muscles of the abdomen, the solar plexus and the epigastria plexus are all toned.

Suggested Duration:

15 seconds working up to 2 minutes or as long as desired.

Suggested Counterpose:

Immediately after wards perform the next pose for half the time you spend in this one.

Inclined Plane Pose (Purvottanasana):

Rest on your hands on heels, keeping the body straight. Ensure that this counterpose is observed for half the time spent in the previous forward bending exercise.

-This simple pose strengthens the arms, opens the chest and relieves constipation.

Suggested Counterpose:

The Crocodile Corpse Pose

Lie on your abdomen with your head tucked inward and down, your forehead resting on top of your folded forearms/or sideways.

The legs are a comfortable distance apart, feet and toes pointing outward. Breathe fully, feeling the abdomen expanding downward with each inhalation and your hips and buttocks rising slightly upward with the exhalation.

*It is advised that you do NOT do the regular corpse pose where you are facing upwards for the simple reason that it hurts your back after a forward or backward bend, again, trust me, I’m speaking from experience and research.

Now that we are done with forward bending Yoga Exercises, we would now in the next article deal with backward bending poses.

Do note, they are inter-related, so yes see to it that you reference the backward bending article for your information.

Namaste,

Foras Aje

# # #

 

Foras Aje is an independent researcher and author of Fitness: Inside and out, a book on improving physical and mental health naturally. For more information on natural health,news and breakthroughs visit his site at http://www.bodyhealthsoul.com/

In a previous article entitled “How To Benefit From the Shoulder-Stand”, I enumerated some of its benefits and gave an overview of the pose. So now that an idea has been given on what the pose is, in this medium, I will be discussing the actual execution of the Shoulder-Stand.

Folks, in order to be able to properly perform the Shoulder-stand:

-Place your yoga mat on the floor.

-Lay on your back.

-Slowly raise the legs. Lift the trunk, hips and legs to a vertical position. Rest the elbows firmly on the floor and support the back with both hands.

-Raise the legs till they become vertical. Press the chin against the chest. This is the chin lock.

While performing this pose, the back of the neck, head and shoulders should touch the floor.

Breathe in counts of 5-5-5 (inhalation, retention and exhalation). Don’t allow the body to shake.

I must stress here at this point that it is also recommended that throughout all poses except for maybe the headstand (naturally) the balancing poses and the wheel pose that you try to keep the eyes closed for ease of the execution of the poses.

When the pose is over lower the legs very slowly and gracefully into the next pose discussed.

Starting time for beginners is 1 minute. Fifteen minutes is the recommended maximum

How To do The Shoulder-Stand Counter Pose 1

 

Bridge Pose (Sethu Bhandasana):

From the Shoulder Stand position, stretch the legs and slowly touch the floor with the feet. It is done to bend the spine in the opposite direction.

This Pose is Stimulating and Extroverting. Like all backward bending exercises, It associates you with the attitude of embracing life.

How to do The Shoulder-Stand Counter Pose 2

Fish Pose (Matsyasana)

For beginners:

Lie on your back. Stretch the legs and keeps the hands palm down under the thighs. Raise the chest with the help of the elbows and, bending the neck as much as possible backwards, rest on the top of the head.

For Advanced:

Cross your legs, Grab your big toes and with the help of the elbows, raise the chest up and while bending the neck as much as possible, rest on the top of the head.

This is the counter pose to the Shoulder Stand and depicted below are some of its immense benefits as:

-It strengthens the thyroid and parathyroid nerves.

-The fish pose can be quite useful for patients suffering from Asthma, consumption and other respiratory diseases.

Hold the fish pose for a third of the time you spend in the Shoulder Stand. The Bridge pose should be a sixth of the time you spend in the Shoulder Stand as well and half of the duration of the Fish Pose.

In addition, make sure that you go into the corpse pose for at least the length of time spent in the shoulder-stand.

It is also recommended that throughout all poses except for maybe the headstand (naturally) the balancing poses and the wheel pose, that you try to keep the eyes closed for ease of the execution of the poses.

For example: 1 minute: Shoulder Stand; 10 seconds: Bridge Pose; 20 seconds: Fish pose

Corpse Pose: 1 Minute.

So there you have it folks; all the possible information you may need on executing the Oh so wonderful shoulder-stand.

To Health,

Foras Aje

# # #

 

Foras Aje is an independent researcher and author of Fitness: Inside and out, a book on improving physical and mental health naturally. For more information on natural health,news and breakthroughs visit his site at http://www.bodyhealthsoul.com/

 

Well, I don’t know about you, but anyone who basically had time to just be a kid and explore one’s own body must have executed this pose albeit unconsciously at some point in their lives.

That pose is the Shoulder-stand.

Suffice it to say that the Shoulder-stand (known in Sanskrit as Savangasana) is my recommended favorite of the inverted poses, one that I emphasize even more so than the Headstand you might be familiar with as they share almost if not all the same benefits without the fear of standing on your head!

But, I’ll be quick to add that after you may have learned and are actually doing the headstand, you will see why old yoga gurus call the headstand the KING and the Shoulder-stand, the QUEEN!

Nonetheless, here are some benefits of the shoulder-stand:

1. This pose improves health, helps with alleviating stress and anxiety and also increases mental power and self-confidence.

2. While in this pose, the visceral organs including, but not limited to, the ones of the digestive, circulatory, excretory and respiratory systems, receive a natural massage that in turn helps them work better.

3. The proper execution of the shoulder-stand alleviates constipation and it is said to be helpful in combating the enlargement of the liver and spleen organs.

4. In Sanskrit, ‘Sarvanga’ means ‘all the body parts’ so as the name ‘Savangasana’ (‘all the body parts-pose’) suggests, it benefits the entire human body when used, especially with its counter-poses, which are the bridge and fish poses.

It is noteworthy of mention that the great Swami Sivananda, one of the great Yoga Masters of the 20th Century, has said “The Practitioner of Savangasana (the shoulder-stand) is very nimble, agile and full of energy.

With all the benefits listed thus far and considering how easy it is to actually do the pose, it’s easy to see how Sivananda’s quote could be true.

To Health,

Foras Aje

# # #

 

Foras Aje is an independent researcher and author of Fitness: Inside and out, a book on improving physical and mental health naturally. For more information on natural health,news and breakthroughs visit his site at http://www.bodyhealthsoul.com/