How asanas help achieve better health and well-being

Introduction to yoga asanas, fitness and health.

All of us aspire to be healthy, and being healthy is our birthright. It only requires common sense, an understanding of the body, and also the willingness to change and be disciplined. Let us now understand how yoga asanas (yoga poses) go a long way in enriching our health, with just discipline and regular practice.

In fact, though all of us know this, we get distracted by the push and pulls of conflicting priorities. As a result, we neglect our bodies and fall prey to illness.

What we fail to realise is that good health is not only our right, but also our responsibility.

So, how do we become healthy through asanas ?

Firstly, it’s important that we realise that we are responsible for ourselves, and our actions determine the quality of our lives.

Secondly, we must take some time out to look after ourselves, no matter how hard it may seem. This may mean sacrificing something else, but so long as it is not critical to our health, such as good sleep and food, the sacrifice will yield benefits throughout our life.

Additionally, the good thing about yoga asanas is that the benefits will be visible from day#1.

Lastly, discipline is vital because, without it, we cannot manage change in a systematic manner.

About Schoolofyoga.in.

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

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

What are asanas ?

Patanjali Yoga Sutra defines asana as स्थिरसुखमासनम् ॥४६॥ which can be translated as asanam (seat or pose) is that which is static, steady, firm (sthiram) and comfortable (sukham).

In real terms, this means that when practicing asanas, the practitioner should stay close to the state where his body does not experience any stress, a state called homeostasis. Incidentally, homeostasis is a psychosomatic state where the body is in physical and also psychological balance and equilibrium.

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

How do asanas bring fitness and health?

Asana therefore needs to comply with the following rules;

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

What is a kriya?

Kriyas are dynamic exercises which increase flexibility of the body. Importantly, suryanamaskara 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 prana in and around that area of focus. For instance, uddiyana falls into this classification.

What precautions should one take before practicing asanas ?

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

Why are Sanskrit words important in describing asanas ?

There is always a desire to make approximations of the Sanskrit words to make the subject more appealing and less forbidding. However, this takes away from the asana it’s true meaning. So, that has been avoided in this site. In fact, we attempt to stay as close as possible to the classical aspects of yogasana.

How important is warm-up before yoga?

Many teachers get started with warm up asanas and beginner asanas. However, Yogacharya Sundaram never really did that. In fact, he got people performing the below mentioned asanas as soon as he could get them to flex. We agree with the approach because, unless the practitioner is invalid or ill, asanas are not difficult to perform for normal people.

Consequently, we have assumed that most people have normal health and have recommended asanas or which should be practiced regularly for overall health and fitness.

What is the recommended asana routine for a normal person?

Sl. No.	Asana (click on the asana name for detailed procedure)	Meaning / Translation
1	Padmasana	Lotus Pose
Reverse Bending asana
2	Bhujangasana	Cobra Pose
3	Shalabhasana	Locust Pose
4	Dhanurasana	Bow Pose
Forward bending asana for upper and lower abdomen
5	Pavanamuktasana	Air relieving pose
6	Paschimotanasana	Torso stretch pose
7	Halasana	Plough pose
8	Mayurasana	Peacock pose
Upper region asana : Focus on neck, shoulders, lungs and head
9	Sarvangasana	Pan-body pose
10	Matsyasana	Fish pose
11	shirshasana	Head stand
12	Sundara-vipareeta karani	Inverted triangle pose
Abdominal asana
13	Arda-matsyendrasana	Half fish middle pose
14	Yoga-mudra	Yoga seal
15	Uddiyana-bandha	Abdominal suction
16	Nauli	Rectus Isolation
Standing asanas
17	Padahastasana	Hand to toe pose
18	Trikonasana	Triangle pose
19	Tadasana	Mountain pose
20	Virabhadrasana	Gracious warrior pose
Body reset asana
21	Shavasana	Corpse pose

This yoga asana routine should be followed by suryanamaskara-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