Yogacharya S Sundaram

School of Yoga on āsana, fitness and health – introduction.

This site follows the Yogacharya Sundaram school of yoga āsana routines for health, fitness and therapy. Yogacharya Sundaram, who started teaching āsana for universal health and fitness in Bangalore, India, developed this successful format around 1921. Incidentally, Yogachrya Sundaram is one of Yoga’s oldest teachers and therapists.

The exercise routines focus on maximising the effect on the relevant portion of the body at a time. They are holistic and cover all parts of the body.

Āsana – Patanjali Yoga Sutra defines āsana as स्थिरसुखमासनम् ॥४६॥. sthiram (static, steady, firm) + sukham (comfortable) + āsanam (seat).

So, the practitioner should stay close to the state of homeostasis when practicing āsana. Incidentally, homeostasis is a psychosomatic state where the body is in physical and psychological balance and equanimity.

Therefore, āsana is a static exercise where the body movement is minimal and the focus is on holding the pose to maximise impact on a specific area of the body.

How asanas bring fitness and health.

Āsana therefore needs to comply with the following rules;

1. It should be static, not vigorous or dynamic.
2. The position should be easy to hold and not stressful.
3. There should have minimum movement.
4. While, there is no consensus, the Yogacharya Sundaram school recommends a breathing routine.

Kriya – Kriyas are dynamic exercises which increase flexibility of the body. Additionally, sūryanamaskāra and nauli fall under this category.

Banda – this is a holding exercise. In fact, this exercise is far more complex than the above two types and focuses on smooth flow of prāṇa in and around that area of focus. For instance, uḍḍīyana falls into this classification.

It is also important to take the following precautions before starting āsana practice:

• You know your body best. Practice to the limit your body allows only. As soon as there is discomfort, stop.
• Before starting any āsana practice, consult a physician. Practice only to the limits recommended by your physician.
• If you are new to Yogic physical culture, take the help of a certified master and instructor. The recommendations in this book are meant to enhance your awareness and knowledge. Ultimately, they cannot and do not replace professional expertise.

Why Sanskrit words have been used in describing asanas for fitness and health.

There is always a desire to make approximations of the Sanskrit words to make the subject more appealing and less forbidding. However, that has been avoided in this site. In fact, we attempt to stay as close as possible to the classical aspects of yogāsana. 

Many teachers get started with warm up āsana and beginner āsana. However, Yogacharya Sundaram never really did that. In fact, he got people performing the below mentioned āsanas as soon as he could get them to flex. We agree with the approach. Hence, we have recommended āsanas which should be practiced regularly for overall health and fitness. 

School of Yoga recommendation of āsana routines for health and fitness.

This should be followed by sūryanamaskāra-kriya.

Internal Links: Dharma (conditioning), Stress and Situational Awareness, Prana,  Asana Overview 2, Drishti – Focus or gazing, Pranayama, Hatha Yoga Pradeepika, 

External Links: Pancha Tattva, Pancha Prana, Pancha Kosha