Yoga as Therapeutic Exercise: A Practical Guide for Manual Therapists

Selected aSelected asanas̄̄sanas Selected aSelected āsanas̄sanas

4. Keeping your knees straight, balance a subtle
   forward movement of the back of the knees with
   sucking your kneecaps into the thighs.


5. Pull the thighs upwards.


6. Slightly bring your groins backwards and your
   tailbone and sacrum inwards and upwards.
   Feel the effect of this action on the position
   of your pelvis, the lifting of your spine and
   thorax.


7. Perform a subtle movement as if pulling the skin
   of the lower abdomen through the abdominal
   muscles, the abdominal cavity, towards the
   diaphragm and upper lumbar spine.


8. Maintaining the neutral lumbopelvic position
   and the abdomen soft, lift the center of your
   diaphragm.


9. Lift your lower sternum upwards and your upper
   sternum upwards and slightly forwards.


10. Gently turn your arms inwards; feel the space
    between the shoulder blades.


11. Gently turn your arms outwards; feel the space
    in your chest and the subtle stretch of the skin
    over your upper ribs and clavicles.


12. Keeping the arms vertical, move the upper arms
    away from the armpits to create space in this
    area.


13. Maintaining a balance of the sensations built
    up in points 8–11, relax your arms and hands
    naturally.


14. Move your upper thoracic vertebrae inwards;
    this is a slight back-bending action in this area
    and supports the lifting and forward movement
    of the upper sternum and upper ribs.


15. Balance your head; maintaining the position of
    the chin and the throat soft, slightly pull the
    back of the head away from the neck; feel the
    effect of this on the lifting of the upper ribs and
    sternum.


16. Balance your left and right ear.


17. Keeping the mouth closed, slightly lift the
    upper teeth and the palate away from the lower
    jaw.
    18. Look horizontally; let your eyes be calm.
    19. Relax your face as if smiling slightly.

Finishing the posture

Observe and feel how you are standing after finish-

ing the fine adjustments.

Suggestions for modifications using

props

•    Rest   the back    of  the pelvis  and shoulder    blades  

on a wall.

•    Raise  the heels   on  a   brick   or  rolled  mat.

•    Raise  the balls   of  the feet    on  a   brick   or  rolled

mat.

•    Observe    yourself    in  a   mirror.

•    Prepare    two chairs  with    sufficient  bricks  or  

books on them. Stand in between the chairs.

Adjust the bricks so that you can rest your

left palm on the left chair and your right palm

on the right chair; push yourself up from the

palms. Alternatively you can adjust the height

so that you can push yourself up from the

fingertips. Integrate this pushing-up action

without chairs, as if you are pushing the air

down.

Variations

•    Stand  with    the feet    slightly    apart.

•    Lift   the heels   so  that    you are standing    on  the 

balls of your feet; raise your arms.

•    Lift   the front   feet    to  stand   on  the heels.

•    Stand  with    your    feet    hip width   apart.  

Maintaining your    trunk   and head    upright bend    

your    knees   over    your    toes.   Maintaining the 

balance of the big and little toes, and the inner

and outer arches, adjust your kneecaps precisely

in the center between the big and little toes.

Keeping your feet firmly on the floor, your

pelvis neutral, and your trunk and head upright,

straighten your knees.

In summary, Tāāsana teaches many aims and princi-

ples which apply to all other asanas.̄