Virasana. Hero Pose

"Veera" means a heroic, brave, a hero. This posture resembles a warrior in a sitting position. At first glance it seems simple Virasana. Nevertheless, during the first years of practice for many was the traditional sitting position is not easy. Students complain of a burning sensation in the hips, sore knees and ankles. 

Disregard Virasanoy should not, even if you think that it brings nothing but suffering. Although its effect is not immediately pose Hero is very useful. In Virasane we improve the mobility of the knees and ankles, as well as learning to wrap the thigh inward. Posture reduces tension in the legs, improves digestion and relieves you from unpleasant sensations in the stomach. In addition, Virasana - one of the traditional provisions for pranayama and meditation. If it is done correctly, it can stay a few minutes, watching his inner feelings. In other words, this asana promotes awareness, which is the cornerstone of the practice of yoga. 
Summary Virasana 

1. Kneel, holding them together. 

2. Dissolve the foot and rotate them so that the foot looked at the ceiling. Keep your toes and feet in a straight line, pulling them back. 

3. Keep your feet so that the distance between them was 30-45 cm Lower down the buttocks, until they lie on the floor, but not on the heel. Make one or two breaths. 

4. Keep your buttocks so that they are touching the floor. Now the inner surface of the calves should be close to the outer surface of the thighs. 

5. Turn the palm of your hand so that they looked down, and put them on their knees. 

6. Keep your weight on your hips and lift the waist and the sides of the trunk upwards. 

7. Open the chest, lift your neck and look straight ahead. 

8. Breathe normally and stay in that position for one minute, and thereafter for as long as you can. Herewith: 

(1) the body should not lean forward; 
(2) omit the groin and hips down; 
(3) do not let the footsteps left her side; 
(4) do not sit on their heels 
(5) keep the natural curve of the waist 

9. Place the palms on the floor, lift your buttocks and connect the foot. Now straighten your legs. 

Special notes: 

(1) In this Asana the pressure falls on his knees and ankles so that it is sometimes difficult to put your buttocks on the floor. Put under your buttocks folded blanket to the body weight was evenly distributed between the knees, feet and buttocks. Gradually reduces the thickness of the blanket. 
(2) If the foot can not bend back, hold them horizontally. 
(3) If you find it difficult to keep the body straight, then firmly uprites hands on his knees and pressed his groin down so that the body pulled up from the base of the pelvis. 
Detail Virasana 
A simplified version of the posture of the Hero 

When performing this variation Virasana you need a blanket and a brick, which will help avoid stress in the knees. Support is needed for most beginners. Moreover, it is possible that for the safe execution of postures of these materials is not enough. Even if you do not feel any inconvenience in the classical variant Virasana, try to do it using supporting materials - is within reach, so you can work in a better position. Then follow the asana without support. 

Fold the blanket in four and place it in the center of rug. Brick, place close to the smooth edge of the blanket across the rug. The blanket will help reduce pressure on the ankle, and brick - relieving pressure from the knees. 

Kneel in front of a brick so that the legs were on the blanket, and feet - on the mat. Toes should be directed strictly ago, and the soles are deployed to the ceiling. Inner side of knees in contact with each other, and the heels are separated at a distance slightly greater than the width of the pelvis. Carefully lowered to the brick. 

Observe the sensations in the legs. What happens to the feet, ankles, shins, knees and hips? If you feel too much pressure on the ankles or knees, put under the legs have one or two blankets. If you feel a burning sensation, sharp pain or a spot in the knees, dissolve them by the width of the pelvis so that the thigh bones were parallel to each other and the edges of the mat, and then increase support under the pelvis. 

As soon as you feel comfortable, begin to align posture. First check the position of feet. Before making any amendments, make sure they are positioned symmetrically: equally wrapped inside the heel - at the same distance from the pelvis, and ankle are parallel to each other. In addition, the foot must be on one line with the shins. Pull the outer side ankle and firmly push both heels to the pelvis. Place your hands under the foot and fingers send out your skin - so the foot will be less stringent. 


wrong 
Do not let your feet cross on the side  


wrong 
Do not sit on their heels  


correctly 
Keep the natural curve of the waist 


Now pay attention to their knees. When the correct position, they retain their mobility and does not hurt either during or after the posture. Nevertheless, students often showered her knees inward and pererastyagivayut popliteal ligament, which can lead to injury. If your knees hurt, sit above. On the other hand, the slight discomfort is natural - it can occur if you are Virasanu first time. 

Palms send the skin over the knees, freeing them from excessive pressure. Observe the sensations in her lap - most likely, they will be different. 

Then focus attention on the front surface of the thighs. Do you feel stiffness or tension? Hips should wrap inside, and the lower leg - well pressed to the floor. Feeling the strength and stability in the legs, breathe evenly. Feel how Virasana helps to revive and relax your feet.

Uttanasana. Bending forward from a standing position

Description technique Uttanasany 

1. Stand in . 

2. Squeeze your knees, pull both legs, lift both arms to the ceiling, palms look forward. When lifting the arms pull the whole body, as in Vrikshasane. Make one or two breaths. 

3. Pull the spine, exhale and bend your body forward. 

4. Place the palms on the floor side of the stop. Pull the body forward, for this lift his head up and arch the spine. Make one or two breaths. 

5. Exhaling, move the head to knees 

6. Breathe normally, stay in this final position 30-60 seconds. Herewith: 

(1) pull out the lower ribs and the back of the torso so that his head touched his knees and lay on them; 
(2) first turn abdominal muscles, the front part of the torso and the diaphragm to the floor. 

7. Inhale as you navigate to the provisions described in paragraphs 3 and 4, and then in . 

Special notes: 

(1) First, it is difficult to lay hands on the floor, so place your fingertips on the floor and use the bars - put them side by side with feet and put his fingers on top of bars. 
(2) Do not bend your knees so that they touched the head. 
(3) Do not strain your neck and chest. 
(4) Those who have dismissed the vertebral disc, should practice Parshvottanasanu, Prasarita Padottanasanu, Padangusthasana and Uttanasanu, pulling the torso forward so that the spine bends. Then on the spine will not be any pressure. Do not tilt your body and touch the knees. 
(5) When the body is properly bend in Uttanasane not need to pull his hands above his head, as in position 2. You can immediately move to position 4. 
The effect of the practice Uttanasany 

This asana cures stomach pain, tones the liver, spleen and kidneys. It also eases menstrual pain. The heart can be slowed down, healthier spinal nerves. If the position to withstand not less than two minutes, disappears every mental depression. This asana is particularly useful for easily excitable people, since it calms the brain cells. After performing this asana, there is calm and cool, her eyes begin to shine, mind pacified. 

Those in the exercise Shirshasany experiencing heaviness in the head, a rush of blood or other unpleasant sensations, you should first make Uttanasanu; after that they can easily stand on its head in Shirshasane

Vrikshasana. Tree Pose

"Vriksha" means a tree. In this posture the whole body is stretched upward, like a tree. 
Brief description of technology Vrikshasany 


1. Stand in . 

2. Bend the right leg at the knee and place the right heel at the base of the left thigh. Put a foot on the left thigh, drawing his fingers down. 

3. Balancing on his left leg, lift the outstretched arms up so that they were close to the ears. 

4. Keep the pose for a few seconds, breathe deeply. Then throw up, to separate the hands, straighten your right leg and return to. 

5. Repeat the pose, balancing on right leg and placing the left heel at the base of the right thigh. Perform the pose equal time to both sides, and then return to and relax. 
A detailed description of techniques Vrikshasany 

Vrikshasana - pose "tree". Standing on one foot to take the second foot, bent at the knee, and put it on the inner surface of the thigh supporting legs, fingers down - heel up. The heel should be located close to the pubic bone, and the very surface of the foot and ankle - constitute a single plane with the front surface of the thigh support leg, which should stretch the muscles to such an extent that the feet in them "drowning", but relied on a hard surface. The support leg at the knee straight, patella, tucked up in the air. Knee bent legs are not tipped forwards, it is fully deployed into the trunk. 

His hands are stretched upwards, fully extended at the elbow, so that the inner surface of their touches to the ears. The palms of hands joined together. The body of a string stretched upward, but without tangible tension and bending at the waist. Attention should be paid to the immobility of the supporting foot. When it becomes full, the eyes can be closed, but it will not be soon, but at first can be fixed Vrikshasanu, catching sight of any point in the interior. If the belly completely relaxed, the breath is built in a special way, comes comfort, be so comfortable that you do not want to go out of position.
Subtleties performance Vrikshasany: 
There are two rules perform asanas. Call them conditionally so, execution pozymolodogo (growing) tree and the old. If done correctly, the first option exercises, we hands, head and entire body constantly tyanemsya up, with his shoulders pressed to the ears. If done correctly, the second version of the whole body, and especially the head, and erect, but the shoulders, by contrast, tend to descend down from the ears and slightly retract. This allows the maximum straighten the spine in the thoracic region. 
In this variant to enhance the straightening of the spine is allowed to use the capture cross thumbs, filming excess voltage, aimed at maturing tight junction between the palms. Both versions are correct and practiced in schools. The task of practitioners is to learn both varieties, starting with the first. 
For state can provide the energy function of the tree, as well as its symbolic meaning. Men raise their hands palms down on the breath, gathering energy from the earth, to exhale, the hand sink palms up, picking up energy from space.

The effect of the practice Pashchimottanasany

In animals, the spine is horizontal, and the heart - underneath, which provides health and more stamina. In humans, the spine is upright, but his heart did not lower it, so people quickly get tired and prone to heart disease. In Pashchimottanasane spine rectified to a horizontal position, and the heart is at a lower level. Sufficient long stay in this pose massages the heart, spine and abdominal organs, toning and strengthening them, and also gives repose mind. 

The practice of asanas strengthens the Achilles tendons and relaxes the joints of the hips. It effectively helps remove excess fat in the abdominal area. Asana tones all the abdominal organs, helps eliminate diabetes. In addition, pashchimottanasana activates the kidneys, liver, adrenal glands and pancreas; tones the pelvic organs, and therefore particularly effective in eliminating the female reproductive system disorders, provides a powerful fresh blood to the spinal nerves and muscles, helping to make them healthier. Pashchimottanasana extolled the ancient texts devoted to yoga as a powerful means of spiritual awakening.

Additional description Pashchimottanasany

Pashchimottanasana can be translated as "stretching the buttocks." Purpose poses - take shape at the waist like a sheet of paper, while the body is placed on straight legs. Canonical form can be seen in sesion Yoga Deepika (4, № 160). 

In the finished version Pashchimottanasany spin is more or less flat arc. A person who falls on his feet to his knees, while the angle of the waist with a floor of not more than forty-five degrees, than it is sharper - the more perfect pose. However, individual configuration Pashchimottanasany depends solely on the structure and shape of the chest, with its barrel-shaped angle of the surface of the waist to the floor increases, with flattening - decreases. 

In the illustrations of substandard materials knees in Pashimottanasane slouching in part, why his legs get kind of kind of an elongated diamond-shaped, strongly departing from the floor in the popliteal region. Of course, this position is wrong. 
A feet in Pashimottanasane must be: 

a), tightly knitted together; 

b), do not pull the sock, as do gymnasts, thus reducing stretching back surface, the fingers have to apply for themselves, but the heel forward to the soles of the feet were more or less perpendicular to the floor, while the rear surface of the hip maximally adjacent to it. 

in), soles of the feet form a single plane, and not turn to each other, like the palms of hands folded. Conversely, when competent performance poses inside edges of feet a little as if "pushed" forward, and the outer slant off slightly back and out. 

When inflexible man sits on the floor with his body perpendicular to the floor, his legs had been stretched. The work begins with the fact that you are sitting upright, let go of them inside, especially the thigh muscles, while relaxing your mind. Feet should remain on the floor in the "unfasten" state, as it were autonomous from the body. And if relaxation is born, the body itself will begin to flow forward and down. If Pashchimottanasanu done correctly, the legs lie on the floor, straight as a stick, they just do not "want" to bend at the knees. The feeling that the bones literally run into the hips, and back stretches. In the third approach, the body is placed on his feet, and feeling well and did not arise at the final form of even more convenient than to enter it. 

Head position. Texts require that all positions not related with special bending of the spine, it is stored directly as possible. Therefore any stage Pashimottanasany do not have to hang my head. 

Back. If it is too much sgorblena, then, according to Tantra, the practitioner receives a "puncture" in the Manipura chakra and loses energy. 

Eyes. They should be possible to close (in all asanas, where possible), however, someone relaxation, including mental, is given it is easier with eyes open, it's idiosyncrasies. Perhaps a third, intermediate position of the eyes - half-closed. 

If the initial level of flexibility does not allow to get his hands feet, you need to move through them, strap, scarf - anything that you can, holding him to sit freely. If the body is an obtuse angle with the feet, then attempts Pashchimottanasany inappropriate, it should be replaced Uttanasanoy (№ 47, "Deepika ...»). To move away from feelings, we can not draw hands to the floor, and say - in a pile of books. 

Therapeutic Effects Pashchimottanasany amenable to pathological lumbar lordosis, in conjunction with the twisting and deflection ago this posture eliminates lumbagos, radiculitis, helps to prevent miscarriages in women (a function of the reproductive sphere depend on the state of the lumbar spine). 

Contraindications: overweight, fat layer of the abdomen, pregnancy, more than three months, inguinal hernia and spinal.

Subtleties performance Pashchimottanasany:

Log in asana should be performed slowly, listening to the needs of the body. 
At the first stage of development greater attention paid to relaxation of the body in the pose, not straightness of the legs. For this position to get used gradually. 
In addition, for performing asanas should be possible to relax the feet as well as the legs are always in a tone that discourages relaxing the gluteal muscles and lower leg flexor muscles, stretching which allows the body to take shape in half. 
At the next stage of development it is important to make sure that the rear surface of the legs, especially the popliteal part, lying close to the floor (at the initial stage of development in relaxing her knees raised up from the floor). It is straining the front thigh muscles, pulling kneecaps, and advance the body forward until the popliteal surface of the feet gradually not lie on the floor. 
It is important to follow the footsteps, they should be in the same plane, ie as they are, as we stand on the floor. To enhance the impact of posture may seek to withdraw their toes and the outer edges of feet as much as possible for themselves, and base of the thumb and the internal edges of the feet, on the contrary - from himself. Thus, the foot as it unfolds from the inside out, stretching the inner surface of the foot. 
During inclination strive to keep the spine most evenly, and bend only in the hip sustavah10. 
For better extraction of the spine and opening the lower energy centers (chakras) should strive to rotate the thigh inward, while spreading the buttocks to the sides, and the sacrum and coccyx - and back up. 
Asana is symmetric, and must follow a symmetrical distribution of the burden of its execution. At the initial stage is particularly important to keep track of which muscles are stretched, which are compressed, which muscles are stretched, which is relaxed, and which muscles to relax moleno, without introducing changes in the very energoformu ace 

Contraindications: 

This asana is not recommended to perform at: 
There shifted vertebral discs. 
Chronic arthritis and sciatica. 
Asthma. 
Pregnancy. 
Sharp pain in the spine. 
If you have any problems in the lumbar spine and hip joints to perform asana with extreme caution.

Pashchimottanasana. Pose Stretch the buttocks

This posture is also called Ugrasana or Brahmachariasana. "Pashchima" literally means west, and is also used to denote the entire back side of the body from head to toe. East called the entire front side of the body of the person to socks. Crown - this is the upper, or north, side, and the soles and heels - lower, or southern, side. In this Asana the back side of the body receives an intense stretch, hence the name. "Ugra" means a menacing, powerful, noble. "Brahmacharya" means religious education, discipline and chastity. 
Technicque Pashchimottanasany 

Sit on the floor, his legs stretched forward, put his hands on her hips. Relax your whole body, osobennomyshtsy back. Slowly bend your torso forward, sliding her hands on her legs. Try to capture large toe rings from the index, middle and big fingers. If this is not possible, grasp the heel, ankle or lower leg, as close to the feet. 

Try to mentally relax the muscles of the legs and back. With hand bend your torso to the feet (without bending them). This movement should be smooth, bezryvkov and unnecessary stress. If you can, touch the knees forehead. Beginners should bend forward as far as it allows flexibility of their spinal muscles, and in any case not to make excessive efforts. Stay in the final position for as long as you can, but without the discomfort, try to relax the body. Then slowly return to starting position. 

Note: Try not to bend your knees, as one of the objectives of this asana - the gradual stretching of muscles of the back of the legs. Do not over train. Over time, these muscles are stretched. After a few weeks or months of regular exercise you will be able to touch the knees, forehead or chin. 

Breathing: In the sitting position breathing normally. Bending forward, exhale slowly. Hold the body in a tilted position, inhale. When trying to tilt the body even more forward with his hands, exhale. In the final position and breathe slowly and deeply. Returning to the starting position, inhale. 

Length of practice: Trained people can be in the final position of up to 5 minutes without feeling discomfort and tension. Beginners should perform asana several times during one session remaining in the final position only a short time. Persons who practice this asana with the aim of spiritual development, we recommend a long stay in the final position in a totally relaxed state.