MY

Yoga System --Simple Asanas

N K Srinivasan Introduction
I have been in love with the Yoga system--mainly asanas and pranayama-- since my school days. I learned the basic Surya Namaskar or sun salutation from my uncle who was an adept and a regular practitioner. He was also muscularly built. Later, after I saw a few people practising the asanas in distant Chennai [Old name : Madras, India}, including T. Krishnamacharya, I started practising on my own. [Thirumalai Krishnamacharya is considered Father of Modern Yoga and is the guru of three famous yoga teachers-B K S Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois and Indra Devi. Indra Devi was called "First Lady of Yoga" in the west.] I always admired the Iyengar yoga of Shri B K S Iyengar. [ I met him for the first time last year --2012-- in his Insititute in Pune and spoke to him for a few minutes in Tamil. he is 94 years old now.]I find that his method of

yoga [Hatha yoga] can be modified or simplified to suit our needs, as it has been done by many modern yogis, especially women practising the yoga in the West. His book " The Light on Yoga" is the standard text I rely upon. Of course I have read or consulted a dozen books on Yoga during my practice extending over more than 55 years.[ I also read several books in Tamil language on yoga and interacted with Swami Gitananda of Puduchery.] [Incidentally I am also an Iyengar---that is ,I belong to the Vaishnava sect of Iyengars by birth in South India. My wife has the clan name of Thirumalai--the same clan as Thirumalai Krishnamacharya.] I have been thinking about a 'minimal set of asanas" for a busy person and for seniors , leading to maximum benefits. If one can do "Surya namaskar" or Sun salutations", that would suffice.But even this is not easy for many beginners and senior persons.Hence I developed my own system of yoga.

Some general precautions and warnings

1. Do not practise yoga without going through proper medical check up. 2. Avoid much of yoga if you suffer from heart ailments and high blood pressure. Ask your yoga teacher. 3.Some develop retinal detachment due to Yoga. 4.If you had hernia , consult a physician before starting some yoga postures. 5 Those with vertigo or dizziness, should avoid certain poses or asanas. 6 Pregnant women should consult a physician and a trained yoga teacher before starting yoga.

 Ustrasana--Camel Pose But if you are a normal person with some flexibility in your limbs and muscles, you can practice with some direction or guidance of a teacher. You may try simple poses , learned from a book or DVD or video clips. I am in my seventh decade and practise yoga daily.

General Instructions 1 Do not practise yoga on an empty stomach or full stomach,loaded with food. Let 2 hours elapse after heavy meal before you do Yoga. If you had breakfast, let an hour elapse before doing yoga. 2 Always wear loose clothing while doing yoga. 3 Repeat yoga postures only 2 or 3 times...do not overdo..Yoga asanas are not repetitive exercises.[I have seen some books suggesting that you repeat 6 or 8 times.That is not required. Even doing once only is sufficient for many persons; but in beginning stages, you may like to repeat for learning the posture.] 4 Each pose you hold or maintain only for 10 seconds to 1 minute. Advanced yogis can do for about 2 to 3 minutes. [In ancient times yogis could maintain certain poses for a hour or so.But this is not recommended for modern persons.] 5 Controlled breathing is important,which you should learn from a teacher. Ujjayi pranayama is to be learned by serious students. Never practise pranayama without instruction from a teacher.

6 Rest for 1 minute between the asanas. 7 Practise daily at about the same time. 8 We normally take 15 or 16 breaths per minute. So a count of breaths becomes an easy method for timing your poses. Thus eight breaths would be about 30 seconds. 9 In general, standing poses and back bend poses are more strenuous. You may practise other poses for two weeks before attempting these hard poses.

Adho Mukha Svana Asana Benefits of Yoga There had been several books and articles on this aspect. I will make a brief note on this.

Two important things to improve with yoga are: 1 your breathing system-2 Your spine In fact the main benefits of yoga flow from these two systems--lungs and spinal cord. Yoga has been found to benefit people with lung problems and those with lower back pain.In fact many approach a yoga teacher for relief from spinal problems. You can improve your digestion system easily through yoga. It will help maintain a good digestive system to pretty old age....assuming that you also follow a sensible dietary habits.

In general, yoga improves the flexibility of your muscles and joints.Yoga helps to avoid or reduce old age problems like joint pains, knee pains and arthritis. With these improvements, come other benefits like balance, good circulation of blood, muscular strength and calmness of mind.

 { I am unable to say anything definite about weight reduction for obese persons through Yoga.But a general statement given in Yoga literature is that yoga stimulates sluggish glands which produce various hormones. These hormones affect the basal metabolic rate and may help to balance your weight.For instance , a

sluggish thyroid gland may lead to increase in weight. Yoga can help to activate endocrine glands and can help to control your weight and avoid obesity.]

MY SYSTEM OF YOGA
In exploring for a minimal set of yoga poses or asanas for general health that would be most suitable for seniors , I concluded that the following set of asanas would be the optimal system: * Sukhasana [Meditative pose] * Tadasana * Adho-mukha-svana- asana * Balasana [Resting pose] *Ustra-asana * Vajrasana * Virabhadra-asana * Ardha Matsyendrasana *Vrikshasana * Savasana [meditative pose]

Only this set of ten asanas. Again each can be repeated twice.

Note that in each of these poses, there are variations--from easy to difficult or advanced positions. Choose the easy form first. Practise for a week or two. Certain props, supports and belts ,as suggested by BKS Iyengar ,can be used. Support with chairs may be helpful too. If not anything else, use a wall for support and alignment. Practise each pose from 10 seconds to 2 minutes except Savasana and Sukhasana--you can maintain these poses for 5 to 10 minutes. Lastly, it is important to start a Yoga session with a short chant or prayer, as we do for most important activities in India. [You can select your own chant or prayer.] One Tip: You may check your blood pressure 10 minutes after a yoga session and keep a record with date.You may also count your pulse rate. Notes on these poses To explain further, this set of 9 asanas,except savasana, are based on two main poses: forward bending "downward facing dog pose"

-adho-mukha-svana asana and the back bending Ustrasana [Camel pose]. These are my favorite ones for general benefit. Other asanas in this set fit in well with these two asanas. Vajrasana [Hero pose] is the initial seating position for other asanas. Vrikshasana [ Tree pose] helps to improve balance and may be helpful to reduce joint problems and arthritis. Balasana or Child pose is a relaxing pose--can be done at any time during the day,especially after a tiring day in the office or after a long drive. Among these asanas, Veerabhadra asana or warrior pose is a bit difficult; but practice gently Virabhadra 1 pose in the early stages; them move on to Virabhadra 2 and Virabhadra 3. Savasana ,the corpse pose,the 10th one, is the relaxing, meditative pose.This pose can be practised by all and is an excellent method for reducing hypertension or high blood pressure. You should practise this for 5 to 10 minutes. Keep your mind calm during the savasana. This asana is the last one to be done in a session.

A simple,easy sequence is as follows: Vajrasana --> Balasana --> Adho-mukha-svanasana --> Urdhva mukha svanasa --> balasana. hero (thunderbolt) --> child --> downward dog --> upward dog--> child I have not included the poses-- Bhujanga asana [Cobra pose] or Dhanur asana {bow pose } and several others. Trikonasana [Triangle pose} is not included as this might turn out to be difficult or harmful to some persons. You may add these poses at your discretion based on your fitness level. The head stands or inversions are not included,as they can cause severe strain for many and may cause eye problems like retinal detachment.It is better to avoid them after the age of forty. You may do them if you are guided by an experienced yoga teacher.

Optional Poses After you gain some experience with yoga, you can add these poses for relaxation and for additional benefits: * Ardha bhujangasana--half-cobra or sphinx pose

* Nataraja pose-* Paschimottana asana * Uttana asana * Salabhasana * Dandasana -Plank pose *Baddha Konasana * Viparita Karani [ A note on Viparita Karani--- It is an "inverted action" pose-- an easy substitute for difficult inverted poses like Sarvangaasana [shoulder stand]. You lift your legs and recline them on a wall--called "leg-on-wall pose". It is simple to achieve this pose. Ask your friend to help you with this pose. Stay in this pose initially for 5 minutes and then extend to about 20 minutes after a few weeks. A comfortable variation of this pose is to lie flat and place the legs on a chair or a cot , bending your knees.Your thighs will be vertical. Breathe normally and keep your mind calm during this long session for this pose. To relax, you can cover your eyes with an eye pad or napkin. The benefits of this pose are many--I can write a

separate essay on that. If you have varicose veins , you may do this, if you do not have contra-indications for this pose. The results may vary,but the veins may disappear in a month . It is good for the heart. It is helpful for digestion.It can cure gastritis , constipation and bloating of the stomach. It can reduce back pain and also arthritis. Viparita Karani is credited with giving a youthful appearance. Read also about contra-indications for this pose.Those with high blood pressure, migrane,retinal problems,Glaucoma and other eye complications should avoid this pose.] Contact : nksrinivasan@hotmail.com

References Though there are literally about a hundred books on yoga, I am suggesting only a few. There are many other excellent books as well. 1 B K S Iyengar -- Light on Yoga [Yoga Dipika][ A standard text and ,in my opinion, 'The Bible of Yoga".

2 Swami Vishnudevananda --The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga--Three Rivers Press. 3 B K S Iyengar---Iyengar Yoga for beginners..D K Publishing 3 Hansraj Yadav--Yoga for students--Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai [2002] 4 Silva Mehta and Shyam Mehta--Yoga-The Iyengar Way --Alfred Knopf, N Y.[ A useful instructional manual.] 5 Apa Pant ---Surya Namaskar --Orient Longmans, 1998 6 Indra Devi--Yoga for you.[1948] 7 Phulgendra Sinha - Yoga cure for common diseases--Orient Paperbacks, New Delhi. 8 Suza Francina -- New Yoga for healthy aging-- [2007] 9 A G Mohan et al -- Yoga Therapy..... Shambala [2004] 10 Gary Kraftsow --- Yoga for wellness..., Penguin books (1999) 11 Yoga Journal & Timothy McCall --Yoga as medicine --Bantam books. 12 Sivananda Yoga Centre--Yoga-101 Essential Tips --DK pub; [A pocket reference book]. 13 James Hewitt-The Complete Yoga book --Schoken books 14 Swami Satyananda --Asana, Pranayama, Mudra,

Kriya--Bihar School of Yoga, Munger, India [Note: Indra Devi [1899-2002] was called the "First lady of yoga" and her book "Yoga for You" introduced Yoga in America around 1948 and later in Argentina.] ----------------------------------------------------Yoga Therapy Yoga can cure common ailments as well as chronic diseases like asthma,back pain, migraine, diabetes and arthritis and several degenerative diseases. Yoga cure implies following strict diet regulations , including a vegetarian diet to be effective. I am not experienced in this branch of yoga and one should consult an experienced yoga therapist. The reference books cited here may be helpful. Restorative Poses There are several restorative poses ,especially for senior citizens--- to relax, to reduce stresses and to rejuvenate and ,perhaps confer longevity! Besides the easy Savasana or Corpse pose, one can do several reclining or supine poses. These poses begin with "supta" in their names.Two most important ones are :

"supta baddha konasana" and " supta virasana"..Maintain these poses for 3 to 5 minutes for great benefits, but begin with only 1 minute practice. Another restorative pose for all is : Viparita Karan i or "Leg on the wall" to be done for about 10 minutes. ------------------------------------------------ See the website of "Yoga Journal" for detailed instruction on each asana. [Several websites and video clips can help you.] --------------- Om Tat Sat ------------------