Yoga asanas or yogasanas are to be learned scientifically. Each asana has its own effect on body and mind. Knowing the effect of asanas or yoga positions is necessary before venturing into practicing that position.

The aim of practicing different yoga postures is to give regular exercise to sense organs, joints and all internal and external organs of our body.

Yoga sessions must begin and end with three minutes of silent meditation or prayers to God. It doesnÂ’t matter if you are an atheist. Meditation is a method of freeing mind from many of the thoughts and troubles.

Yoga sessions must start with padmasana or lotus posture. (Padmam is a lotus). DonÂ’t try to learn every yoga postures in a day. Consider yoga practicing as a long journey that lasts till your day. Learn one or two new asana, position in two or three days. Gradually update your knowledge. You donÂ’t have to worry about all the positions quickly; there is a lot of time to learn each and everything of yoga, because you have a lifetime before you.

Never do yoga on ground. Always spread a thick clean cloth on the ground where you plan to practice yoga. Never allow any of your body part touch ground while doing yoga. This is to ensure the electric power developed in your body be not lost due to earthing.

You will be applying yoga positions in sitting standing and lying positions, so take a cloth wide large enough.

Meditation
Meditating is necessary to keep mental tribulations under control. You will naturally experience peace of mind while you take any yoga pose. The aim of meditation is to bring mind under control. Nothing will work if your mind is out of control.

Yoga poses or yoga postures
Each posture must be comfortable to the body. You shall not feel anything uncomfortable while taking any posture. Yoga science describes the poses that give calmness to body and mind.

Sparing some time of the day to practice yoga is necessary for everyone to ensure their mental strengths and powers are retained.

Yoga postures or yoga asana is the third limb of astanga yoga after yama and niyama. It is yoga postures or yoga poses that bring mind and body to tandem. The power of mind is concentrated on the body and the two units –mind and body– can work as a single unit. It is not to say such a tandem working condition is impossible outside yoga practice, but yoga asana repeatedly brings mind and body together in many different forms and prepares them to work together to tackle everyday problems and to solve your specific life problems.

Yoga postures are specially designed physical poses and movements that facilitate circulation, soothe nervous system and mind, give strength and flexibility to joints and body and control breathing pattern. Practicing yoga postures acts as the best measure of mind-body combination.

The yoga postures or asana are mutually beneficial to mind and body. While the breathing is calmed down and regulated, mind also becomes stress free. When mind becomes peaceful, the body produces less stress hormones. This leads to better physical health. Diseases are also kept away.

The yoga postures are exercises for mind and body at the same time. While you concentrate on physical movement and breathing, matters of worry don’t come to your mind. Yoga postures thus act like a stress buster. The physical movements also help in strengthening muscles, joints, ligaments, diaphragm, lungs, pancreas, stomach, intestines and heart. The yoga postures enhance blood circulation and bring more nourishment to brain, spine and all parts of body.

Each yoga pose has specific advantages. Many yoga postures are not suited for everyone. For example people with hernia or ulcer problems are not indicated for practicing stretching exercises that put much pressure on abdomen –bow pose (dhanurasana) and boat pose (naukasana) are examples.

Ancient yogis used this yoga mudra or symbol of yoga according to spiritual meaning.

The Procedure for Yoga Mudra

1. Sit on padmasana. Relax all the muscles in your body.

2. Bring both hands to the back of your body. Grasp the wrist of left arm with right hand. Make a fist with left hand while keeping the thumb inside the other fingers.

3. Inhale deeply and remain in the position for two-three seconds.

4. Slowly exhaling, bend forward and touch the ground with your forehead as you finish exhaling.

5. Don’t inhale for two-three seconds.

6. Slowly inhaling, raise your body.

7. Take care not to raise your buttocks from the ground or relaxing the grasp of fisting.

Notes on Yoga Mudra

This is beneficial for many diseases that affect the digestive system. It also relaxes each bone of the vertebral column.

Padmasana probably is the most popular yoga pose. It is well suited for meditation. This posture strengthens prana (life – vital energy), and helps mind achieve deeper levels of consciousness and enlightenment.

The procedure for Padmasana Yoga Pose

1. Sit down with legs spread straight in front of the body.

2. Bend the right leg, grasp the foot with both hands and place it on the left thigh, as close to body as possible.

3. Bend the left leg, grasp the foot with both hands and place it over the right thigh, as close to body as possible.

4. Keep the knees on the ground. The sole of feet faces upwards.

5. The hands can be placed on the knees, with thumb and index finger forming a circle and palm facing upwards. This is perfect meditation posture. This is also ideal posture for pranayama.

Interchange the position of legs if you feel uncomfortable.

Note: – Keep the body (spine, neck and head) erect and vertically on a line.

Benefits of Padmasana Yoga Pose

Known as ancient yogi posture, this asana promotes deep inner level consciousness and better mind-body control. It is also the posture for higher spiritual consciousness.

Padmasana is also known as a panacea for all diseases. It has a calming effect on nervous system, strengthens spine and keeps joints flexible. It perfects body posture, promotes circulation to internal organs and normalizes circulation, respiration, heart beat and blood pressure.

All postures recommended for meditation and prayer has the above mentioned benefits.

Mastering this technique takes time. The body will become flexible only with conscious effort for a long time.

Ardha padmasana is almost like padmasana or lotus posture, but one of the legs is under the thigh of opposite side.

This posture gives some of the benefits that padmasana gives.

The Procedure for Ardha Padmasana Yoga Pose

1. Sit down with legs stretched straight in front of the body.

2. Bend the left leg and place it firmly beside the left side of opposite thigh.

3. Bend the right leg and take it to place it above the left thigh. Now the left foot is not visible.

4. Keep your hands over the knees, with index finger and thumb forming a circle. This position also is good for meditation.

5. Concentrate your look on either eye level or at the tip of your nose.

Notes on Ardhapadmasana Yoga Pose

This can be used as a preceding or preparatory posture for padmasana as it can lighten padmasana. Practicing this pose will help you get used to padmasana pose.

Keep your back, neck and head in a straight line, vertically upwards.

You can interchange the position of legs in this asana for a comfortable pose.

Make sure your knees touch ground while attaining final posture.

Sarvangasana or shoulder stand posture is equivalent to seershasana in benefits, but without the risks. It gives exercise and nourishment to all organs. Sarva means all or whole and angam means organ. This asana is exercise for all organs.

The Procedure for Sarvangasana

1. Lay flat on your back. Keep legs together, hands on either side, palms down on ground.

2. Slowly inhaling, raise your legs and waist without bending your legs at knees.

3. Give support to your waist with your hands. Once assume this position, the portions below shoulder will be in the air and vertically upwards.

4. Take care not to bend your leg beyond head. Keep the legs vertically up. Your chin will be against your chest while completing this posture. You can continue regular breathing while at this posture.

Notes on Sarvangasana

If you feel any difficulties while doing this, slowly bend your legs over your head take the hands down, and slowly return to lying pose. Rest for a while.

Stay at this pose for a maximum of five minutes a day.

This asana is not indicated for persons with thyroid, heart and blood pressure problems.

More blood is pumped to upper portions of the body – brain, heart, lungs, neck, head – and nourishes the upper parts.

This asana requires lot of concentration, which is achieved almost instinctively without any special efforts for concentration. The concentration a yogi achieves while practicing this asana is beneficial in dealing with all other fields of life.

This asana is indicated for women. It strengthens uterus and reproductive organs.

Viparitakarani is another asana that gives comparable benefits.

This asana is said to help yogis float on water for a long time. However, don’t attempt to practice this asana at bottomless water. This asana must be practiced after practicing sarvangasana. This is because the sarvangasana restricts some blood circulation to shoulder areas. Matsyasana rectifies it.
The Procedure for Matsyasana Yoga Pose

1. Assume padmasana (lotus pose). If it is difficult, assume a comparable posture (Swasthikasana or Sukhasana).

2. Bend backwards and touch the ground with the back of your head while not changing the position of your legs.

3. Use hands to give support to body so that your body doesn’t fall flat. While you lay backwards while keeping the legs as in padmasana, your body assumes the same of a fish, with the legs forming the tailfins. The back, shoulders, neck, most part of head and parts below knee will not touch the ground.

4. Now extend your hands and grasp your big toes. Right hand grasps left big toe, which is on the left side of the body.

5. Breathe slowly while in Matsyasana pose.

6. Take hands backwards and place them on the ground as a support. Slowly raise your head and come to Padmasana pose.

Notes on Matsyasana Yoga Pose

This helps in improving respiration while expanding lungs and windpipes. This is beneficial for persons with bronchitis, asthma and some digestive problems.

This is milder form of Salabhasanam or Locust Pose. Practicing this for a few days prepares your body to practice Salabhasanam.

The Procedure for Ardha Salabhasana Yoga Pose

1. Lay down on your stomach, legs close together and stretched backwards, hands side of body palms up and fisted, nose and crown (gently) touching the ground.

2. Raise your right leg while not bending at the knee. Keep the left leg flat on the ground.

3. Leave the right hand in the air for one or two seconds.

4. While exhaling, lower your leg to its original position.

Repeat the exercise for your left leg.

Notes on Ardha Salabhasana

Improves digestion, strengthens backbone, regulates elimination, and enhances the activity of liver, pancreas and kidney.

Ardha salabhasana is not indicated for patients with hernia, ulcer or heart problems.

Pavana means wind (air, gas). Muktha means escape. Pavana Muktha asana is aimed at reliving gas from our system. The gas is formed at different joints and abdomen during normal metabolic/anabolic processes.

The Procedure for Ardha Pavanamukthasana Yoga Pose

1. Lie down straight with legs held close together and hands palms down on either sides.

2. Bend right leg at hip and at knees to bring it towards abdomen. Use your hands to grasp the leg just below the knees and pull it nearer to your chest. Don’t allow left leg to move from its original position.

3. Inhale deeply while at this position.

4. As you exhale slowly, bring your head, neck and chest forward and touch your knee with your nose.

5. Slowly inhaling, take the hands slowly away and take the leg to its original position.

6. Give complete rest to the body by relaxing all muscles in your body for a few seconds.

Repeat the procedure with left leg.

Notes on Ardha Pavanamukthasana Yoga Posture

It may be difficult for big-bellied persons to follow this procedure. Don’t give up till you are comfortable with this pose.

It strengthens muscles at back and gives strength and flexibility to backbone, waistline. It also promotes digestion and easy elimination.

Pavanan means wind (variations are air and gas). Muktha means escape or relief. Pavanamukhtasana is aimed at releasing gas accumulated in abdomen and at joints. This exercise is a good treatment for gastritis and vata related pain.

The Procedure for Pavanamukhtasana

1. Lay down straight on your back with legs hold together and hands close to body, palms down on ground.

2. Bend both legs at knees and at waist and bring them together to the abdomen.

3. Lift your hands and interlock the fingers. Grasp both legs just below the knees and pull them towards your chest.

4. Inhale deeply.

5. As you slowly exhale, bring your head, neck and chest towards the knees and bring the nose to between the knees.

6. Slowly inhaling, take the hands off and straighten the legs to their original position.

Rest for a few seconds by relaxing all muscles in your body.

Notes on Pavanamukthasana

This asana strengthens muscles of abdomen. It gives strength and flexibility to backbone and muscles at back and lower back. This is also beneficial for patients suffering from joint pains. It is also a cure for gastritis.

Sasam means a hare. In this asana, the yogi follows some mannerisms of a hare and hence the name.

The procedure for sasasana Yoga Pose

1. Sit as if in vajrasana.

2. Place your hands palms down on knees.

3. Fold your hands as if in a prayer.

4. Raise your hands over your head as you slowly inhale.

5. Bend your full body forward as you exhale. Your crown touches earth if you bend down properly.

6. Rest hands palms down on earth. Make sure your buttocks stay at the place and you don’t accidentally leave the sitting position.

7. Raise your whole body and hands as you inhale. The asana is not over.

8. Lower your hands as you exhale and let the elbows touch your knees.

Notes on Sasasana Yoga Pose

This asana regulates the activity of adrenal glands. It is an effective solution to short-temperedness.

It gives flexibility to waist and gives extra enthusiasm for walking and running exercises.