MYYogaSystem--SimpleAsanas

NKSrinivasan

Introduction

IhavebeeninlovewiththeYogasystem--mainlyasanas

andpranayama--sincemyschooldays.Ilearnedthe

basicSuryaNamaskarorsunsalutationfrommyunclewho

wasanadeptandaregularpractitioner.Hewasalso

muscularlybuilt.

Later,afterIsawafewpeoplepractisingtheasanasin

distantChennai[Oldname:Madras,India},includingT.

Krishnamacharya,Istartedpractisingonmyown.

[ThirumalaiKrishnamacharyaisconsideredFatherof

ModernYogaandistheguruofthreefamousyoga

teachers-BKSIyengar,PattabhiJoisandIndraDevi.

IndraDeviwascalled"FirstLadyofYoga"inthe

west.]

IalwaysadmiredtheIyengaryogaofShriBKSIyengar.

[Imethimforthefirsttimelastyear--2012--inhis

InsitituteinPuneandspoketohimforafewminutesin

Tamil.heis94yearsoldnow.]Ifindthathismethodof

yoga[Hathayoga]canbemodifiedorsimplifiedtosuit

ourneeds,asithasbeendonebymanymodernyogis,

especiallywomenpractisingtheyogaintheWest.His

book"TheLightonYoga"isthestandardtextIrely

upon.

OfcourseIhavereadorconsultedadozenbookson

Yogaduringmypracticeextendingovermorethan55

years.[IalsoreadseveralbooksinTamillanguageon

yogaandinteractedwithSwamiGitanandaofPuduchery.]

[IncidentallyIamalsoanIyengar---thatis,Ibelong

totheVaishnavasectofIyengarsbybirthinSouth

India.MywifehastheclannameofThirumalai--thesame

clanasThirumalaiKrishnamacharya.]

Ihavebeenthinkingabouta'minimalsetofasanas"for

abusypersonandforseniors,leadingtomaximum

benefits.Ifonecando"Suryanamaskar"orSun

salutations",thatwouldsuffice.Buteventhisisnot

easyformanybeginnersandseniorpersons.HenceI

developedmyownsystemofyoga.

Somegeneralprecautionsandwarnings

1.Donotpractiseyogawithoutgoingthroughproper

medicalcheckup.

2.Avoidmuchofyogaifyousufferfromheartailments

andhighbloodpressure.Askyouryogateacher.

3.SomedevelopretinaldetachmentduetoYoga.

4.Ifyouhadhernia,consultaphysicianbefore

startingsomeyogapostures.

5Thosewithvertigoordizziness,shouldavoidcertain

posesorasanas.

6Pregnantwomenshouldconsultaphysiciananda

trainedyogateacherbeforestartingyoga.

Ustrasana--CamelPose

Butifyouareanormalpersonwithsomeflexibilityin

yourlimbsandmuscles,youcanpracticewithsome

directionorguidanceofateacher.Youmaytrysimple

poses,learnedfromabookorDVDorvideoclips.Iam

inmyseventhdecadeandpractiseyogadaily.

GeneralInstructions

1Donotpractiseyogaonanemptystomachorfull

stomach,loadedwithfood.Let2hourselapseafterheavy

mealbeforeyoudoYoga.Ifyouhadbreakfast,letan

hourelapsebeforedoingyoga.

2Alwayswearlooseclothingwhiledoingyoga.

3Repeatyogaposturesonly2or3times...donot

overdo..Yogaasanasarenotrepetitiveexercises.[Ihave

seensomebookssuggestingthatyourepeat6or8

times.Thatisnotrequired.Evendoingonceonlyis

sufficientformanypersons;butinbeginningstages,

youmayliketorepeatforlearningtheposture.]

4Eachposeyouholdormaintainonlyfor10secondsto

1minute.Advancedyogiscandoforabout2to3

minutes.[Inancienttimesyogiscouldmaintaincertain

posesforahourorso.Butthisisnotrecommendedfor

modernpersons.]

5Controlledbreathingisimportant,whichyoushould

learnfromateacher.Ujjayipranayamaistobelearned

byseriousstudents.

Neverpractisepranayamawithoutinstructionfroma

teacher.

6Restfor1minutebetweentheasanas.

7Practisedailyataboutthesametime.

8Wenormallytake15or16breathsperminute.Soa

countofbreathsbecomesaneasymethodfortimingyour

poses.Thuseightbreathswouldbeabout30seconds.

9Ingeneral,standingposesandbackbendposesare

morestrenuous.Youmaypractiseotherposesfortwo

weeksbeforeattemptingthesehardposes.

AdhoMukhaSvanaAsana

BenefitsofYoga

Therehadbeenseveralbooksandarticlesonthis

aspect.Iwillmakeabriefnoteonthis.

Twoimportantthingstoimprovewithyogaare:

1yourbreathingsystem--

2Yourspine

Infactthemainbenefitsofyogaflowfromthesetwo

systems--lungsandspinalcord.

Yogahasbeenfoundtobenefitpeoplewithlungproblems

andthosewithlowerbackpain.Infactmanyapproacha

yogateacherforrelieffromspinalproblems.

Youcanimproveyourdigestionsystemeasilythrough

yoga.Itwillhelpmaintainagooddigestivesystemto

prettyoldage....assumingthatyoualsofollowa

sensibledietaryhabits.

Ingeneral,yogaimprovestheflexibilityofyour

musclesandjoints.Yogahelpstoavoidorreduceold

ageproblemslikejointpains,kneepainsandarthritis.

Withtheseimprovements,comeotherbenefitslike

balance,goodcirculationofblood,muscularstrength

andcalmnessofmind.

{Iamunabletosayanythingdefiniteaboutweight

reductionforobesepersonsthroughYoga.Butageneral

statementgiveninYogaliteratureisthatyoga

stimulatessluggishglandswhichproducevarious

hormones.Thesehormonesaffectthebasalmetabolicrate

andmayhelptobalanceyourweight.Forinstance,a

sluggishthyroidglandmayleadtoincreaseinweight.

Yogacanhelptoactivateendocrineglandsandcanhelp

tocontrolyourweightandavoidobesity.]

MYSYSTEMOFYOGA

Inexploringforaminimalsetofyogaposesorasanas

forgeneralhealththatwouldbemostsuitablefor

seniors,Iconcludedthatthefollowingsetofasanas

wouldbetheoptimalsystem:

*Sukhasana[Meditativepose]

*Tadasana

*Adho-mukha-svana-asana

*Balasana[Restingpose]

*Ustra-asana

*Vajrasana

*Virabhadra-asana

*ArdhaMatsyendrasana

*Vrikshasana

*Savasana[meditativepose]

Onlythissetoftenasanas.

Againeachcanberepeatedtwice.

Notethatineachoftheseposes,thereare

variations--fromeasytodifficultoradvanced

positions.Choosetheeasyformfirst.Practisefora

weekortwo.

Certainprops,supportsandbelts,assuggestedbyBKS

Iyengar,canbeused.Supportwithchairsmaybehelpful

too.Ifnotanythingelse,useawallforsupportand

alignment.

Practiseeachposefrom10secondsto2minutesexcept

SavasanaandSukhasana--youcanmaintaintheseposesfor

5to10minutes.

Lastly,itisimportanttostartaYogasessionwitha

shortchantorprayer,aswedoformostimportant

activitiesinIndia.[Youcanselectyourownchantor

prayer.]

OneTip:Youmaycheckyourbloodpressure10minutes

afterayogasessionandkeeparecordwithdate.Youmay

alsocountyourpulserate.

Notesontheseposes

Toexplainfurther,thissetof9asanas,except

savasana,arebasedontwomainposes:

forwardbending"downwardfacingdogpose"

-adho-mukha-svanaasanaandthebackbendingUstrasana

[Camelpose].Thesearemyfavoriteonesforgeneral

benefit.Otherasanasinthissetfitinwellwiththese

twoasanas.Vajrasana[Heropose]istheinitialseatingposition

forotherasanas.

Vrikshasana[Treepose]helpstoimprovebalanceand

maybehelpfultoreducejointproblemsandarthritis.

BalasanaorChildposeisarelaxingpose--canbedone

atanytimeduringtheday,especiallyafteratiringday

intheofficeorafteralongdrive.

Amongtheseasanas,Veerabhadraasanaorwarriorposeis

abitdifficult;butpracticegentlyVirabhadra1pose

intheearlystages;themmoveontoVirabhadra2and

Virabhadra3.

Savasana,thecorpsepose,the10thone,istherelaxing,

meditativepose.Thisposecanbepractisedbyallandis

anexcellentmethodforreducinghypertensionorhigh

bloodpressure.Youshouldpractisethisfor5to10

minutes.Keepyourmindcalmduringthesavasana.

Thisasanaisthelastonetobedoneinasession.

Asimple,easysequenceisasfollows:

Vajrasana-->Balasana-->Adho-mukha-svanasana-->

Urdhvamukhasvanasa-->balasana.

hero(thunderbolt)-->child-->downwarddog-->

upwarddog-->child

Ihavenotincludedtheposes--Bhujangaasana[Cobra

pose]orDhanurasana{bowpose}andseveralothers.

Trikonasana[Trianglepose}isnotincludedasthis

mightturnouttobedifficultorharmfultosome

persons.Youmayaddtheseposesatyourdiscretion

basedonyourfitnesslevel.

Theheadstandsorinversionsarenotincluded,asthey

cancauseseverestrainformanyandmaycauseeye

problemslikeretinaldetachment.Itisbettertoavoid

themaftertheageofforty.Youmaydothemifyouare

guidedbyanexperiencedyogateacher.

OptionalPoses

Afteryougainsomeexperiencewithyoga,youcanadd

theseposesforrelaxationandforadditional

benefits:

*Ardhabhujangasana--half-cobraorsphinxpose

*Natarajapose--

*Paschimottanaasana

*Uttanaasana

*Salabhasana

*Dandasana-Plankpose

*BaddhaKonasana

*ViparitaKarani

[AnoteonViparitaKarani---Itisan"inverted

action"pose--aneasysubstitutefordifficultinverted

poseslikeSarvangaasana[shoulderstand].Youliftyour

legsandreclinethemonawall--called"leg-on-wall

pose".Itissimpletoachievethispose.Askyour

friendtohelpyouwiththispose.

Stayinthisposeinitiallyfor5minutesandthen

extendtoabout20minutesafterafewweeks.

Acomfortablevariationofthisposeistolieflatand

placethelegsonachairoracot,bendingyour

knees.Yourthighswillbevertical.

Breathenormallyandkeepyourmindcalmduringthis

longsessionforthispose.Torelax,youcancoveryour

eyeswithaneyepadornapkin.

Thebenefitsofthisposearemany--Icanwritea

separateessayonthat.Ifyouhavevaricoseveins,you

maydothis,ifyoudonothavecontra-indicationsfor

thispose.Theresultsmayvary,buttheveinsmay

disappearinamonth.

Itisgoodfortheheart.Itishelpfulfor

digestion.Itcancuregastritis,constipationand

bloatingofthestomach.Itcanreducebackpainand

alsoarthritis.

ViparitaKaraniiscreditedwithgivingayouthful

appearance.Readalsoaboutcontra-indicationsforthispose.Those

withhighbloodpressure,migrane,retinal

problems,Glaucomaandothereyecomplicationsshould

avoidthispose.]

Contact:nksrinivasan@hotmail.com

References

Thoughthereareliterallyaboutahundredbookson

yoga,Iamsuggestingonlyafew.Therearemanyother

excellentbooksaswell.

1BKSIyengar--LightonYoga[YogaDipika][A

standardtextand,inmyopinion,'TheBibleofYoga".

2SwamiVishnudevananda--TheCompleteIllustratedBook

ofYoga--ThreeRiversPress.

3BKSIyengar---IyengarYogaforbeginners..DK

Publishing

3HansrajYadav--Yogaforstudents--BharatiyaVidya

Bhavan,Mumbai[2002]

4SilvaMehtaandShyamMehta--Yoga-TheIyengarWay

--AlfredKnopf,NY.[Ausefulinstructionalmanual.]

5ApaPant---SuryaNamaskar--OrientLongmans,1998

6IndraDevi--Yogaforyou.[1948]

7PhulgendraSinha-Yogacureforcommon

diseases--OrientPaperbacks,NewDelhi.

8SuzaFrancina--NewYogaforhealthyaging--[2007]

9AGMohanetal--YogaTherapy.....Shambala[2004]

10GaryKraftsow---Yogaforwellness...,Penguinbooks

(1999)

11YogaJournal&TimothyMcCall--Yogaasmedicine

--Bantambooks.

12SivanandaYogaCentre--Yoga-101EssentialTips--DK

pub;[Apocketreferencebook].

13JamesHewitt-TheCompleteYogabook--Schokenbooks

14SwamiSatyananda--Asana,Pranayama,Mudra,

Kriya--BiharSchoolofYoga,Munger,India[Note:IndraDevi[1899-2002]wascalledthe"Firstlady

ofyoga"andherbook"YogaforYou"introducedYogain

Americaaround1948andlaterinArgentina.]

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YogaTherapy

Yogacancurecommonailmentsaswellaschronic

diseaseslikeasthma,backpain,migraine,diabetesand

arthritisandseveraldegenerativediseases.Yogacure

impliesfollowingstrictdietregulations,includinga

vegetariandiettobeeffective.Iamnotexperiencedin

thisbranchofyogaandoneshouldconsultan

experiencedyogatherapist.Thereferencebookscited

heremaybehelpful.

RestorativePoses

Thereareseveralrestorativeposes,especiallyfor

seniorcitizens---torelax,toreducestressesandto

rejuvenateand,perhapsconferlongevity!

BesidestheeasySavasanaorCorpsepose,onecando

severalrecliningorsupineposes.Theseposesbegin

with"supta"intheirnames.Twomostimportantonesare

:

"suptabaddhakonasana"and"suptavirasana"..Maintain

theseposesfor3to5minutesforgreatbenefits,but

beginwithonly1minutepractice.

Anotherrestorativeposeforallis:ViparitaKaran

ior"Legonthewall"tobedoneforabout10minutes.

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Seethewebsiteof"YogaJournal"fordetailed

instructiononeachasana.

[Severalwebsitesandvideoclipscanhelpyou.]

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