3 Weeks of Yoga

A basic training course for beginners

Acknowledgements

This publication is dedicated to the great Dr. Swami Gitananda Giri Gurumaharaj of Pondicherry India, whose teachings have

inspired and enlightened so many along the path of yoga.

My eternal gratitude to his dharmapatni, Yogacharini Smt. Meenakshi Devi Bhavanani, and their son, Yogacharya Dr.

Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani, through whom these wonderful teachings have reached me, and who continue to light the way for

others with their selfless service to the great science of yoga.

Copyright 2007 by Yogacharya Michael Deslippe. All rights reserved. This material and/or any accompanying video files may not be duplicated for any profit-driven enterprise.

Copyright Notice:

This document and all of the sunsequent documents of the 3Weeks of Yoga e-course is/are intended for personal, non-commercial use. Reproduction and/or distribution of any of the contents of the 3 Weeks of Yoga e-course without the written consent of Inter-national Yogalayam is prohibited.

For more information, please contact International Yogalayam via their web site, at http://www.discover-yoga-online.com.

Important Notice:Although the practices outlined within these pages, and within the pages of all of the lessons of this e-course, are generally deemed safe, without personal guidance International Yogalayam cannot ensure that the techniques described therein will be performed correctly and thus, without harm.

By engaging in the practices described within this document and subsequent documents, and/or demonstrated via any accompanying videos or other educational material, you agree to do so at your own risk, and therefore personally assume all responsibility.

By proceeding in this lesson, as well as all of the subsequent lessons of this 3 Weeks of Yoga e-course, you agree to abide by all of the TERMS and CONDITIONS for its use, as outlined by International Yogalayam on its website.

CLICK HERE to review these TERMS and CONDITIONS now.

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Contents

How to Use this Course . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

The Course Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Section 1 – The Foundations of YogaDay 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Welcome to Yoga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5The Warm Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Vajra Asana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Shava Asana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Day 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Yoga Sadhana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Preliminaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Learning Yoga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Vibhagha Pranayama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Day 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Relaxation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Foot and Ankle Kriyas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Eka Janu Vajra Kriya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Pada Vajra Kriya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

The Deepening of Relaxation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Nishpandha Jnana Kriya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Day 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Pranayama – Part A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Vyaghrah Pranayama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Sukha Pranayama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Day 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44The History of Yoga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Yoga in the Modern World: Part A . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Transition Postures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Standing Jattis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Sama Sthiti Asana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Day 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Yoga In the Modern World: Part B . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Styles of Yoga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Main Branches of the Yoga System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Tala Asana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65Pada Hasta Asana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Day 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Classical Ashtanga Yoga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Kaya Kriya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

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Section 2 – Building a Yoga PracticeDay 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Yoga Sadhana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78Asana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Trikona Asana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Day 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88Kriya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88Asana vs Kriya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Surya Namaskar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Day 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97Pranayama – Part B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97Sukha Purvaka Pranayama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102Nadi Jnana Kriya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Day 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106Awareness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106Hathenas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Ushthra Asana Paravritti (Camel pose variation) . . . . . . . . 112Sapurna Shasha Asana (Incomplete rabbit pose) . . . . . . . . . 113Sapurna Matsya Asana (Incomplete fish pose) . . . . . . . . . 114Purna Shasha Asana (Complete rabbit pose) . . . . . . . . . . 115

Day 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117Karma – Part A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117Hathenas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Sapurna Maha Mudra (the mighty tidal gesture) . . . . . . . . 122Nikunja Asana (the flower bower pose). . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Day 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125Brahma Danda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125Hathenas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Sharabha Asana/Kriya (the griffin pose) . . . . . . . . . . . . 129Vyaghrah Pranayama (the tiger breath) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Summary – The Full Hathena Set . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Day 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133The Pranava – AUM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133Pranava Pranayama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134Mukha Bhastrika . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Section 3 – The Yoga LifeDay 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141

The Yoga Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141Sitting Postures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Sukha Asana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146Baddha Kona Asana (Kriya) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147Sama Pada Asana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

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Day 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150Polarity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150Loma-Viloma – Polarity Prakriyas . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Eka Pada Utthana Asana (the singe-leg lift) . . . . . . . . . . . 155Shirsha Utthana Asana (the head lift) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156Ardha Shalabha Asana (the half-locus pose) . . . . . . . . . . . 157Unmukha Shirsha Utthana Asana (the head lift) . . . . . . . . . 158Dridha Eka Pada Utthana Asana (side leg lift) . . . . . . . . . . 159Shirsha Utthana Asana (head lift) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159Stambhan Asana (the pillar pose) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160Ardha Dhanur Asana (half bow pose) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161Dridha Eka Pada Utthana Asana Paravritti (I) (side leg-lift) . . . 161

Day 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163The Yogic View of Reality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163Pancha Kosha – 5 Bodies of Man . . . . . . . . . . . . 166Loma-Viloma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Dwi Pada Utthana Asana (the double leg lift) . . . . . . . . . . 169Utthana Asana with Danda Asana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170Shalabha Asana (the locus pose) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171Sharpa Asana (the serpent pose) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171Dakshina Dridha Eka Pada Utthana Asana Paravritti (II) . . . . 172

Loma-Viloma Kriya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Day 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175The Yogic Diet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175Pavana Mukta Asana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Eka Pada Pavana Mukta Asana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185Dwi Pada Pavana Mukta Asana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Day 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188Yama and Niyama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188Paschimottana Asana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Day 20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .194Svadhyaya – Study of the Self . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194Bhujanga Asana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Day 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .200Yoga Marga – The Yogic Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200Ardha Matsyendra Asana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203Vakra Asana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205Some Final Words. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Appendix 1General Hatha Yoga Routine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Appendix 2Hathena Yoga Routine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

Appendix 3Loma-Viloma Yoga Routine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

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How to Use this CourseThis basic introduction to yoga is divided into 2� lessons, or ‘days’. The enthusiastic student could easily move from one les-son to the next each day, working through this entire course in a 3-week period. However, this is not required and perhaps not even realistic to expect for most. But I do recommend that you work diligently through these lessons and try to develop the habit of practising consistently. The benefits of yoga only reveal them-selves to those who practice with rhythm and regularity. If you feel that you need to repeat a lesson more than once, then that’s fine and I certainly encourage you to do so.

If you are new to yoga, then this program will provide you with a step by step introduction into some of the basic practical techniques of yoga, as well as give you a broad perspective on all that yoga has to offer. If you are an experienced practitioner, by the end of these 21 lessons you may also find that you have a bet-ter understanding of yoga, along with a good foundation of daily practices for continued health and wellbeing.

As you’ll soon discover, yoga is not merely a ‘class’ that you go to a few times a week. It is a way of approaching life that deals with one’s health on all levels, the physical, mental, emo-tional and higher spiritual. Each lesson of this basic introduction involves a combination of yoga theory, philosophy and practical techniques, designed to take you in a step by step fashion through some of the principles and concepts of yoga, as well as to help you gradually build a good foundation of practice in some essen-tial techniques and exercises.

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The Course Content

PDF Files - The lessons are in PDF file format, which can be read directly on your computer screen or printed for your con-venience.

Video - Short video clips accompany certain practices in each lesson, to further aid learning.

StudyMethodYou will get the most out of this yoga training course by following the lessons in their proper order and taking the necessary time to practice and understand the teachings before moving on to the next lesson.

Throughout the lessons, you’ll see a graphic image like the example shown to the left here, indicationg when there is a video accompanying the practical instruction. Clicking on this graphic link will take you to the page on International Yoga-layam’s website where you can view the video.

Please Note:The videos that accompany the various lessons are not meant to be simply watched alone, out of context, but rather as additional learning tools to accom-pany the instructional material of each lesson.

In order to gain the most benefit from all of the practices and techniques that you’ll be introduced to in this course, they must be learned at the proper time, and within the greater context of all the teachings of each particular lesson.

I recommend that you take your time and follow the course and all of the prac-tices in the step-by-step manner in which it is designed.

At the conclusion of each lesson you’ll find a Practice Summary, which is a practical schedule for you to follow at each stage along the way. You are advised to print out these prac-tice summaries so that you can easily reference them while you are practising.

At the conclusion of this course, you will also find some Appendices to be printed, which outline various routines for your continued practice.

Watch

YogaVideo Clip

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IntroductionAs we enter well into the 21st century, yoga has exploded in popularity, growing into a multi-billion dollar industry visible at nearly every turn in modern society. But along with this ‘explo-sion’ has come much confusion and misunderstanding about yoga. The newcomer to yoga finds him or herself confronted with a ever-growing number of yoga styles and strange exercises that often seem meant more for those endowed with youth and vital-ity rather than for the average person. Modern yoga culture, along with the common way in which it is taught, and the image of it that is constantly being portrayed today has done little to paint a clear picture about this profound science from ancient India, and even less to spread its many teachings in a comprehensive way.

It is for these reasons that I have developed this basic intro-ductory yoga training program. Yoga is such a profound science for health and wellbeing, personal growth and transformation, and global harmony that its further dissemination across the globe stands to benefit all of humanity in so many ways. Thus, the full breadth of its teachings should be known, and it is my hope that here you may begin to gain a better appreciation for all that yoga has to offer.

You have found your way to this training program, which sug-gests that for whatever reason, yoga has sparked your interest. These three weeks provide a mere introduction into the vast and profound universe of yoga, a universe with limitless potential for personal growth and transformation.

Welcome, my friend, to the wonderful world of yoga. May your first steps into it be only the beginning of a lifelong ambition of continued growth and evolution.

Yours in Yoga,

Yogacharya

Section 1The Foundations of Yoga

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Day 1Welcome to Yoga

What is Yoga?Right from the beginning the newcomer to yoga is often beset with the question, ‘what is yoga, really?’ Certainly, with all of the various ways in which the word yoga is being used today, and all of the different ‘styles’ and practices attached to it, even the relatively experienced practitioner can be forgiven for their con-fusions and uncertainties about yoga.

With the mention of the word yoga, the traditional image of a sage meditating for decades in a Himalayan cave, or an almost naked renunciate contorting his body into strange postures and going into trance may still come to mind. But now-a-days one is even more likely to envision young, flexible people in a hip studio in Los Angeles, clad in fashionable ‘stretch-wear’, being guided through a mind-body-soul bending routine of breathing and ‘centering’ and stretching exercises. Is there a contradiction here? Can these two pictures really co-exist under the same word? Is there a modern misinterpretation of what the original yogis meant with their system of physical and mental exercises?

Indeed, much confusion surrounds the term ‘yoga’ today, to a large extent a result of the fact that its propagation has seen a veritable explosion around the globe, beginning for the most part scarcely a century ago. Within the most recent decade, that explo-sion has reached near atomic proportions, with ‘yoga’ finding itself among the fastest growing trends in pop culture today — a multi-billion dollar industry that continues to extend its visage into every, often seemingly ‘un-yogic’ facet of modern day cul-ture. But if one were to rely on the marketing images of yoga in contemporary consumer culture, one would probably have a dif-ficult time getting a valid picture of what yoga really is.

Yoga has been called a form of exercise. It has been termed a religion. Others profess it as the supreme philosophy or the definitive psychology. It is my hope that, through this basic intro-ductory course, you will get a much better sense of just what this ancient science is all about, and even be stimulated to explore it much further.

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The Origins of YogaYoga is one of the six schools of spirituality in India. Yoga is not a religion in the sense that it is not professed as a doctrine to be adhered to, but rather could be looked at as the unifying princi-ples underlying all religions.

As I.K. Taimni says in his book, The Science of Yoga;

“Those who have studied yoga will attest that this Science of sci-ences is too comprehensive in its nature and too profound in its scope of teachings to be fitted into the framework of any particular philosophy, religion or belief, ancient or modern. It stands in its own right as a science based on the eternal laws of the higher life. Its truths are based on the experiences and experiments of an unbroken line of mystics, occultists, saints and sages who have realized and borne witness to them throughout the ages.”

Though the roots of yoga lie in ancient India and the values of yoga have been protected for millennia within the structure of Indian society, yoga itself is not merely an Indian science. Nowhere in the teachings is it told that yoga is synonymous, for instance, with Hinduism alone. As the revered Swami Gitananda pointed out, through the practice of yoga one becomes better at whatever one is: a better Christian, a better Muslim, a better Bud-dhist, a better Jew, a better Hindu... a better human being!

The term ‘yoga’ itself comes from the ancient Sanskrit lan-guage. Its root ‘Yuj’ means to ‘join’, to ‘yoke together’, to ‘unify’ or ‘unite as one’. The English word ‘union’ could be seen to also derive from this same source. In the simplest sense, it is the union of body, mind and spirit. Though this unifying concept may seem rather intangible to the novice, a gradual unfolding occurs through the dedicated practice and study of yoga, through which the practitioner ultimately comes to realize and experience the unity of all creation. This is the ‘union’ referred to in yoga — a re-union of the lower, ‘worldly self’ with the Universal, ‘higher consciousness’ — which the ancient sages call, moksha, samadhi, kaivalya, jivana mukta. This is the true goal of yoga.

Yet these lofty goals take time to understand. The new practi-tioner of yoga should be aware of the profound potential of this ancient science, yet not necessarily be overly consumed with intellectualization in the beginning. The science of yoga takes much time and study to fully know and experience, and much is to be gained on the physical, mental and emotional levels along the way. It is, however, important that yoga not be approached in a purely materialistic manner alone, else one will find them-selves, as is so often the case today, engaged in what amounts to a mere system of physical fitness which is not truly deserving of the word yoga nor representative of all that it has to offer.

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Yoga – The Science of LifeThe practice of yoga is designed to lead the practitioner to states of ‘super consciousness’, thereby answering the fundamental questions of life. The science of yoga (yoga vidya) is none other than the very ‘science of life’ itself! It is an all-encompassing exposition that reveals the breadth and magnitude of all of real-ity, not the least of which is the complete understanding of our human selves and our place within this vast universe of exist-ence. It is a ‘science’ which provides a logical, verifiable, step by step process for the unfolding of a new understanding of one’s Self and of the universe around us. Many miss this fact simply because they have dabbled ‘piecemeal’ with random aspects of the greater whole of the yogic system.

Yoga presents us with a well-trodden path to explore this mostly ‘unknown self’, providing a comprehensive scope of tools and approaches for self-fulfillment, knowledge, balance and well-being in life. As Dr. Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani writes in his article, Integral Psychology of Yoga:

“Yoga has a lot to offer in terms of an understanding of the human mind. This ancient science helps us to understand our mental proc-esses as well as the cause-effect relations of a multitude of problems facing modern man. We have become victims of stress and stress related disorders that threaten to entirely incapacitate us, inhibiting us from realizing the great potential of our time here on earth. Yoga offers a way out of this ‘whirlpool of stress’. Yogic lifestyle, yogic diet, yogic attitudes and various yogic practices help us to release the pent up stress effectively, strengthen us and develop positive health.”

The state of harmony between mind, emotions, body and nature results from the proper practice of yoga. In short, yoga offers us a holistic, nurturing and evolutionary ‘way of living’. Dr. Ananda continues:

“The regular practice of yoga as a ‘way of life’ helps us reduce the levels of physical, mental and emotional stress. This yogic ‘way of life’ lays emphasis on right thought, right action, right reaction and right attitude.

... all of the yogic practices help to foster a greater mind-emotions-body understanding and bring about the union and harmony of body, emotions and mind. This righteous union is yoga in its truest sense…

Yoga helps us to take the right attitude towards our problems and thus tackle them in an effective manner... Through the dedicated practice of yoga as a way of life, we can become truly balanced ‘hu-mane’ beings…”

He goes on to make the following comments comparing the ‘mod-ern man’ and the ‘yogi’:

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“There are some important differences in the way the worldly man and the realized yogi view the world and life in general. The worldly man always feels that his problem lies elsewhere and that he is the innocent victim of circumstances and fate. Yoga teaches us that most of our problems lie within us and that we have to undergo conscious change in order to solve them. Yogamaharishi Dr Swami Gitananda Giri used to often tell his students, ‘You don’t have any problem. YOU are the problem!’”

Certainly, yoga has much to offer on all levels. Uncovering its full potential takes a lifetime of dedication, study and practice. But as with any new endeavour, one must start at the beginning. Yoga provides a system of techniques and practices for the gradual improvement of health and the unfoldment of understanding, along with a well-trodden path to the highest of spiritual goals. Yet the path of yoga holds many different goals for many different people. Some may be content to find improvement on the level of physical health. Others may yearn for greater mental and emo-tional stability. Some will even strive for the wisdom and under-standing garnered through a deeper study of their inner self. And a relative few will even be driven to the ultimate liberation (mok-sha) which lies at the pinnacle of this ancient science. Regardless of your motivations, with effort, dedication, and above all else, ‘patience’, you most certainly will find success through yoga.

Practising YogaThe study of yoga involves practices for the development of health and wellbeing on all levels, its system encompassing both physical techniques as well as deeper intellectual inquiry and self-analysis. The practice of yoga itself ultimately becomes an outlook and approach to living that extends into all areas of life.

As part of a graduated system, it is most tangible to begin with yoga on the physical level, in a systematic and gradual way. Throughout this 3 weeks of training, a basic foundation will be laid in both the methodology as well as the philosophical and theoretical approach to yoga.

The Components of a Yoga PracticeFor simplicity sake, I’ll refer to our structured “physical practice” of yoga as ‘hatha yoga’. Any hatha yoga “session” is comprised of three parts:

The warm-up exercises (known as jattis), The contents or practice (asana, pranayama, kriya, etc), The relaxation.

1.2.3.

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Note: Warm-up and relaxation are essential elements of any practice and should never be skipped!

Jattis – The warm up exercisesThe word jatti (pronounced ‘jaa-tee’) literally means ‘small unit of movement for a specific purpose’. They are simple movements used to loosen the body and enable the body to move safely and effectively into asanas (body positions) and through other physi-cal practices. The benefits of jattis, however, are not limited to merely ‘warming up’ the body. The physical, mental and emo-tional bodies are all interconnected, thus we are able to release psychic and mental tension via these shaking movements. Jattis help to cleanse out ‘psychic toxins’, promote circulation, stimu-lates nerves, and release tension on many levels.

The PracticeHatha is a Sanskrit word that can be translated to mean ‘force’ (or ‘forceful’). In hatha yoga this refers to the solar prana (ha) and lunar apana (tha) forces (energies) and the practice of achieving balance between them. Therefore, hatha yoga is the spiritual sci-ence of creating a perfect polarity or harmony (balance), through proper body positioning and breath control, between the two mighty energies of the universe, prana and apana as they mani-fest within the human organism. So then, with the philosophy of doing a physical practice to achieve spiritual results, hatha yoga developed primarily as a technology (system of physical prac-tices) to create polarity (balance between opposites).

We will explore the concept of polarity, and speak further of the various branches of yoga, including hatha yoga, in further les-sons. For now it is enough to be aware of some of the components of hatha yoga, which includes asana (position), pranayama (con-trol of the vital energy, primarily via the breath), mudra (gesture), bandha (holds), kriya (cleaning), etc.

RelaxationAn often overlooked aspect of yoga is the final relaxation. This part of the practice is essential to the proper completion of any ‘yogic technique’ for the integration and harmonizing of the sub-tle energies manipulated during the practices. Yogic relaxation is a ‘conscious effort’ at relaxation. Though one may tend to fall quickly into a sleep-like state upon normal relaxation, in yoga it is very important that the attention be focused in some form of structured relaxation for a period before allowing oneself to sim-ply ‘drift off’.

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The Warm Up – Sitting Jattis

It is very important to begin each practical session, whether it is intense or mild, with a warm-up. There are many ‘loosen-ing practices’ which could fall within the category of the jat-tis. You may already have been instructed on several of these types of practices before. The important considerations are that the movements are light, without causing undue stress or strain, and that they systematically work through all the major joints and muscle groups of the entire body.

Different jattis may be performed from the seated, laying, or standing positions. We will begin our practice with a group of jattis performed in the seated position.

Techniques: Note: Perform each of these movements from 30 to 60 seconds, in a gentle and rhythmic fashion.

1 Roll the legs inward and outward.

2 With a light ‘bouncing’ movement, alternately bend the knees and release them again with a ‘thump’ upon the floor to massage the posterior thighs and calves.

3 Draw one knee in toward the chest and rotate the ankle several times in each direction. Repeat on the other side.

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Watch

Sitting Jattis

Video Clip

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4 Lean back upon your arms and slowly roll the head and neck. Perform 3 circles in each direction.

5 With the spine, head and neck straight, gently shake the head from side to side, relaxing the jaw muscles and allowing the jaw to swing loosely.

6 Grasp the instep of your foot and extend your leg as straight as possible. Try to maintain a straight and upright spine. Slowly open the leg out to the side (abduct) and bring it back toward the mid line again. Repeat several times and then switch to the other side.

7 Bring the soles of your feet together and draw them in close to your groin. Wrap your fingers around the feet and sit ‘tall’ with your spine, head and neck straight. Gently bounce your knees in the ‘butterfly’ action.

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8 Draw one foot at a time upon the upper part of the opposite thigh. Gently bounce the bent knee. Caution: If you have knee pain here, do not overstretch! Instead, place your foot on the floor up against the inner thigh of the opposite leg.

9 Extend both legs forward again. Keeping the knees straight, reach forward with a gentle rocking, bouncing movement.

10 Sit with both feet to one side. With the spine straight and head up, turn to the opposite side, performing a gentle spinal twist. Hold for a few seconds then repeat on the other side.

11 Chatus Pada Kriya: ‘the 4-footed movement’ (Chatus means 4 and Pada means foot). Crawl around on the floor on your hands and knees. Move slowly relaxing the spine, shoulders and hip areas.

12 Vyaghrah Pranayama (tiger breath): In the chatus pada position, inhale while slowly lowering the abdomen toward the floor and raising the head, neck and chin skyward into a nice back bend. Note: The breath should be deep and slow (to a 6 second count). Exhale and slowly lower the head, while at the same time pushing firmly with the arms and raising the back into a nice high arch. Repeat this movement with the corresponding breath 3 to 6 times.

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Vajra AsanaIn Sanskrit, vajra refers to ‘Indra’s thunderbolt’ (Indra is known as the king of the Gods). Therefore vajra asana is called the ‘thun-derbolt pose’. The term vajra can also be translated as ‘diamond’, and hence this posture is also often referred to as the ‘diamond pose’.

Technique Begin by kneeling with the body fully upright.

Bring both the knees, as well as the feet and heels together.

Sit down upon the heels so that they are pressing directly into the buttocks.

Keep the spine straight and vertical and the head and neck in vertical alignment with the spine.

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Some Initial DiscomfortThough vajra asana is not a dangerous position, due to modern lifestyles many people have a lack of mobility in their knee and ankle joints as well as a lot of tension throughout the legs, and thus many may find initial difficulty in assuming this position. Those who have had surgical repairs or alterations to either of these joints, however, will want to use caution and move only within the ‘pain-free’ range of motion. For the rest, any initial pain in the knees, feet, ankles or calves (or other muscles) will vanish with steady practice.

If this posture is uncomfortable in the beginning, try to main-tain it for up to 30 seconds, but do not over-push yourself. When

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there is pain or cramping, rise up onto your knees for a few moments until it subsides, and then resume sitting. If the pain and/or cramping is persistent, then stretch the legs out in front of you and perform some of the loosening jattis, such as leg rolling and thumping.

Effects and BenefitsVajra asana has been found useful for many problems in the abdominal organs due to the fact that compressing the leg mus-cles partially inhibits the blood from flowing through the legs, thus enhancing the circulation to the abdominal organs. It is rec-ommended for those who suffer from poor digestion, heaviness in the stomach, flatulence, and general lack of tone in the digestive tract. It will help the stomach to work with increased strength. Vajra asana is also recommended for those who have to stand a lot because of their job. Some other notable benefits include:

Relieving sciatica and helps to remedy varicose veins and any nervous or circulatory dysfunctions of the lower regions. Eliminating heel and foot aches.Relieving muscle pain in the legs and thighs. Relaxes and regenerated the lumbar area of the back, benefiting hyperlordosis, scoliosis, spondylitis and all back problems. Contributes to eliminating certain menstrual dysfunctions, relieving pain and irregularity. Its regular practice helps to normalize the sleep cycle and reduce the period of sleeping time necessary.

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Shava AsanaShava asana (pronounced sha wa asana) means the ‘pose of the corpse’. It is the primary position used in yoga for relaxation, one in which we attempt to literally mimic the ‘lifeless state’ by com-pletely letting go of all conscious tension.

TechniqueLie down on your back with the legs and feet together and the arms straight down along the sides with the palms face upwards.

Optimally, the head should be directed toward the north, or if that is not possible, then toward the east.

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Beginning the RelaxationBegin by observing the breath, to which you should become a passive witness. Focus your attention on the act of breathing without influencing it. This can be difficult because the mere fact of becoming aware of the breath causes us to change it unwill-ingly. So proceed slowly and let yourself breathe as passively as possible. Simply note where and how the breath moves into the body and the rhythm with which it happens. Perceive the depth of the inhalation, the pace, and the area of distension of the body as it proceeds.

After a few moments of observing, begin to adjust the breath into a uniform rhythm, allowing the abdomen to rise and lower, and the chest to expand and contract calmly and regularly. Con-tinue like this until you feel the inner calmness of this pleasant breath.

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Now you will begin to influence the breath, or rather, the expelling of air, to make it slower but not deeper. Let the expi-ration (outgoing breath) flow spontaneously without pushing it further than it would like to go by itself. Proceed, gradually slow-ing down the exhalation to approximately double the inhalation time. This 1:2 ratio is the natural breath of the relaxed state. It can be observed in the breath of a new born baby, or that of a sleeping animal such as a cat.

The Structured RelaxationThis slowing of the breath is the first ‘structured relaxation’ tech-nique that we will experiment with in shava asana. There is much too be gain in the yogic relaxation, therefore it is very important to perform this ‘conscious’, structured relaxation for at least 5 to 10 minutes at the end of every yoga session (building up to a minimum of 15 minutes later on, as your practice progresses). After this period, you may continue on with the structured relax-ation process further, or simply let go and allow yourself to drift off as you may.

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Practice Summary – Day 1We have embarked into our exploration of yoga by laying a basic structure for daily practice, which includes the 3 basic compo-nents of ‘warm up’, ‘practice’ and ‘relaxation’.

Today’s practice session goes as follows:

Vajra Asana Sit in vajra asana for 30 to 60 seconds, or as long as comfortable. If cramping or pain is felt, straighten your legs and perform a few light jattis to relieve the pain.

Note: In the beginning much tension will be found, especially for those who are not used to regular exercise or the specific types of movements introduced. Take your time and perform all exer-cises only within a comfortable, pain-free range, allowing your abilities to gradually and steadily increase over time.

Jattis Perform each of the jattis for 30 to 60 seconds, and even repeat them all again 2 or 3 times if desired.

Shava AsanaPractice slowing the breath as outlined.

Final Relaxation

Practices