7
Chapter
Selected āsanas for integrating the aims and principles
Selected asanas̄ Selected āsanas
Selected asanas̄ Selected āsanas
- Keep your abdomen soft.
- While inhaling feel the inner movement from
your diaphragm to your pelvic floor.
- While exhaling feel the inner movement from
your pelvic floor to your diaphragm.
- Feel the lightness of your breath in the chest.
- Relax your face, eyes, ears, mouth, and tongue.
- Feel the subtle flow of breath in your nostrils,
evenly left and right, evenly with inhalation and
exhalation.
- Look towards the center of your chest.
Finishing the posture
Stay in the posture for 2–3 minutes; with practice
you may wish to increase to 5–10 minutes.
Method 1
Hold the back of your head with your hands with
interlocked fingers; slide down from the bolster
with a caterpillar movement, until you are lying on
the floor with your whole back.
Method 2
Lift your pelvis off the bolster, push the bolster to
the side, and gently lower your back to the floor ver-
tebra by vertebra.
Once your whole back is lying flat, support
your head with a pillow if necessary, and bend
your knees towards your chest to relax for a few
breaths.
Suggestions for modifications using
further props
• To get this posture right is a very individual
process that needs experimenting and
finetuning.
• If you need more height or a larger support,
put one or two folded blankets over the
bolster.
• If the bolster is too high, only use one or two
folded blankets or support the upper back with
a folded blanket.
• To get an easier relaxation put a belt around
your ankles.
- Śavāsana (Figure 7.10 9 )
Meaning of the āsana and its name
Śava is a corpse. Śavāsana means complete stillness in
the body and mind. No energy is used; all the systems
can recover. B K S Iyengar calls it the best antidote
to the stresses of modern civilization. Śavasana looks ̄
simple, but it is one of the yoga postures that needs
the longest practice.
Getting into the posture
- Sit upright with both legs straight, the palms on
the floor.
- Lean backwards, and bring your lower arms and
elbows onto the floor.
- Move your shoulders back, gradually lowering
your back onto the floor.
- Bring both shoulder blades evenly onto the floor.
- Hold the back of your head with your hands,
fingers interlocked, thumbs hooking around the
lower ridge of your skull.
- Gently lengthen your head away from the neck,
keeping your throat relaxed.
- Place your head exactly in line with the spine
and on its center on the floor, so that you are
looking towards your body.
- Slide your shoulder blades slightly away from the
head.
- Let your shoulders go towards the floor.
- Rest your arms beside your body so that the
armpits are free and the palms are facing up to
the ceiling; if this is not possible, put your hands
on your abdomen.
- Relax your abdomen towards the floor.
- Release your legs to turn outwards; the outer edges
of the feet are coming closer towards the floor.
Figure 7.109
