Yoga Asana General Directions

Conditions & general directions for asana practice :

Students taking a yoga class In the Yoga Sutra, Patanjali suggests that the only requirements for asana is that it be "steady and comfortable". The body should be held firm, relaxed, and the practitioner should not experience discomfort of any kind. Tightness or tension observed within the body should be consciously relaxed. Breathing should be natural, through the nose and into the belly. This abdominal breathing pranayama is called ujjayi (pr., oo-JI-ya), or the "ocean breath". Ujjayi means "lifted up".

According to Yoga practitioners, when bodily control is mastered, they are free from what they call the 'pairs of opposites,' such as heat and cold, hunger and thirst, joy and grief, and so on. This non-dulaistic perspective comes from the Sankya school of the Himalayan Masters.

Listed below are traditional directions for performing asana:

1. A glass of fresh water should be taken before performing asanas.

2. Stomach should be empty. Asana can be performed 8 hours after a meal, 2 hours after a glass of milk and one hour after eating fruit.

3. Always perform asana early in the morning. If this is not possible, the next best time would be evening, around dusk.

4. Rich, very dry, left-overs, very hot or too much food should be avoided.

5. Force or pressure should not be used while performing asana.

6. One must not go out in the cold after performing asana.

7. Lower the head right of the body slowly; in particular, raised heels should be lowered slowly.

8. The breathing should be controlled and always through the nose. The benefits of asana increase if Pranayama is performed simultaneously.

9. If the body is stressed, perform savasana (corpse pose).

10. Asana should be performed in a well-lit, clean and ventilated room. The atmosphere should be peaceful.

11. Light physical exercises, followed by asana, pranayama and meditation are the ideal sequence.

12. Asanas, especially inverted poses, are to be avoided during menstruation. (Note: In contrast, some modern teachers do recommend asana for relief from cramps during this period.)

13. During pregnancy, after the first 3 months, exercises that require lying on stomach are to be avoided.

14. Inverted poses should be avoided especially in the third trimester - This site recommends it for pregnancy [1] - not too sure, clarification requested.

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