Yoga as Therapeutic Exercise: A Practical Guide for Manual Therapists

7

Chapter

Selected āsanas for integrating the aims and principles

Selected asanas̄ Selected āsanas

Selected asanas̄ Selected āsanas

Getting into the posture

1. Stand in Tā āsana; bring your feet hip width apart.


2. Keeping your knees straight, elevate your arms,
   palms facing forwards, exhale and tilt your
   pelvis forwards to bend forwards; place your
   hands in front or to the left and right of your
   feet on the floor (Figure 7.31) or each hand on
   a brick if you need it.


3. Lengthen the front of your trunk, raise the head
   starting from your upper thoracic vertebrae, and
   make the back concave; stay there for 2 breaths.


4. Keeping the heels firmly on the floor, shift
   more weight into the front feet, until your legs
   are vertical; move the front of your pelvis and
   your abdomen towards your thighs.


5. Maintaining the length of your front trunk
   
   gently lengthen from the tailbone throughout
   the back of your spine to the back of your head.


6. Move your hands further back.

Being in the posture: basic work

1. Keep your toes stretched.


2. Balance your inner and outer ankles.
   3. Balance the weight between the back of the balls
   of the feet and the front of the heels.
   4. Keep your knees straight; pull your kneecaps up
   with a very gentle, smooth movement.
   5. Move your sitting bones upwards from the
   middle of the back of your thighs.
   6. Move your front and side ribs towards the floor.
   7. Relax your abdomen and throat.
   8. Breathe naturally.

Being in the posture: refined work

1. Lift your inner and outer arches, at the same
   time lengthening the soles of the feet into the
   toes and the heels.


2. Lengthen from your inner ankles to the big toes;
   keep the big toes on the floor.


3. Feel the inner length from your feet through
   the legs to the hips, from the tailbone through
   the whole spine.


4. Combine the upwards movement of the thigh
   muscles and the kneecaps with easing from
   the knee extension very slightly to get a well-
   balanced stretch of your knees.


5. Broaden the back of your knee.


6. Lengthen and broaden the back of your thighs.


7. Relax your abdomen.


8. Let your diaphragm move towards the floor –
   during exhalation this comes naturally.


9. Let your side and front ribs move further towards
   the floor – this is a natural action with inhalation.


10. Adjust the head so that your neck and throat
    are relaxed.


11. Finetune your breath to a subtle flow.

Finishing the posture

Inhale, lengthen the front of your trunk, lift your head

accordingly; keeping your knees straight, pull your front

thigh muscles upwards, inhale and lift your trunk with

elevated arms with strength in your outer upper thighs

and front hip bones, lifting these hip bones away from

the thighs. With an exhalation relax your arms and stay

calm in Tā asana for a few breaths. Alternatively you ̄

can rest your hands on your hips to come back.

Figure 7.31