H 

Hanumanasana - Monkey God Pose / Full Split

"For a devoted soul, nothing is impossible."

Hanuman is a Hindu deity who symbolizes complete devotion and service.

This pose imitates a daring leap he made over a great distance to save his masters and kingdom. It is a pose of effort then surrender.

Yours truly at Samoa, Humboldt County, CA ~2009. Photo: Jessica Adkisson.

Vertical form. Anchorage, AK, 2012.

Start with half splits - ardha (half) Hanumanasana. 

Extend the front leg and sit back on bent toes, rear foot.
Stretch the front leg out to maximum comfort range then breathe deeply for six breaths or more. Repeat on the other side.

G 

Garudasana 

Garuda is a powerful protective creature in Hindu post-Vedic mythology, one of three principle animal deities, sometimes referred to in English as an eagle (though this is not accurate). Garuda may be depicted in art as follows.

Courtesy of Nagoya Garuda Health Club

Encyclopedia Mythica explains, "Garuda is the king of the birds. He mocks the wind with the speed of his flight. As the appointed charger of Vishnu he is venerated by all, including humans. Garuda is the son of Kashyap, a great sage, and Vinata, a daughter of Daksha, a famous king. He was hatched from an egg Vinata laid. He has the head, wings, talons, and beak of an eagle and the body and limbs of a man. He has a white face, red wings and golden body. When he was born he was so brilliant that he was mistaken for Agni, the god of fire, and worshipped.

Garuda was born with a great hatred for the evil and he is supposed to roam about the universe devouring the bad..."

Garudasana, Garuda pose, involves balancing on one leg, with arms and legs wrapped around each other, to temporarily restrict blood flow to the extremities, and stretch connective tissues around the joints, so that when released a burst of fresh oxygenated blood floods these areas. It can also be performed while lying on the back, so one does not need to focus on the balancing aspect of the pose. Here are images of the pose you may follow for practice instructions.

Anatomy of Garudasana, courtesy of Yoga Anatomy.

Garudasana on the ground, courtesy of Deborah Shemesh.

Upon her first practice of this pose, a student of mine declared, "When I release my arms and legs afterward it feels like I took a shot of whiskey." This is the potent increase in blood flowing to areas momentarily cut off and then reinfused. 

Garudasana in the studio, Namaste North. 
Anchorage, AK, 2013.

Gaurdasana while perched in a tree. 
Alaska, 2013.

F 

Forgetting/Forgiving/Forging a Path

I want to wax for a second about forgetting. It is important to let go, to stop recalling, even those bits of knowledge we wish to retain. The gift of forgetting lies in the rest the conscious mind receives when we cease pushing it to perform a novel task, like holding onto thoughts about a new practice. To test how deeply we have retained something we learned, we can stop rehearsing it, then later attempt to recall it, and see what comes.

People have debated with me that this requires different amounts of initial learning and repetition before trying cessation as a test of mastery; so be it.

A Buddhist parable addresses the need to absorb knowledge, yes including muscle memory, to the point that we can "transcend" or stop thinking about it, in order to let it become part of us.

Steps 6-10 describe the beginning of "body clairvoyance", the beginnings of having unconscious control, wherein we have transcended the need to "make" our bodies do something consciously- we have forgotten it was necessary.

Courtesy of Bandha Yoga

Moving on to forgetting's cousin, forgiveness, a solid start toward this path is traced in this article from Zenhabits.

Surely you know that forgiveness benefits your health by lowering bloodpressure and other stress-related fatigue symptoms, which is turn affect social habits and self esteem, etc. ...

BUT

Even more directly, that area in your back, the "back of the heart" to the left of the spine and maybe even the right, if you feel evenly through the chakra, will stop aching when you release long-term resentment, fear, guilt and mistrust. These are physically painful when, as they usually are, they are somatized into the posterior portion of the heart organ area, the back of the chest, as perceived by the person somatizing. You deserve a rest from this low-grade ache. 

Just imagine, in your mind, letting go of that grudge, any grudge, how about a big one? Maybe you put your hand on your heart, maybe you lean back into a wall or chair or lie on the floor or your bed to let the back of the heart rest, and you breathe full breaths, in and out of the nose, picturing a larger area around your heart, into which it expands with each breath. Let yourself rest from - start to forget - your reasons for grudging, just for a moment, just for these few breaths, as you picture your heart area growing larger, and you feel the beating of the organ, contracting and releasing, filling your vascular system with life-giving blood. Let it heal you. Breathe fully and evenly. Remember that you deserve to live, feeling the best way that you can, feeling that you can always, always, always make choices for your greatest benefit in the present and future. You can ensure you have the energy freed up to forge and follow a new path forward. Picture your heart organ a bright red, expanding through the space you have made for it, pushing away emotional muck and debris, infusing the space with it's color, liveliness, regular rhythm. Feel the intelligence of the heart, and let it guide you.

E 

Eka Hasta Chakrasana - Onehanded Wheel Pose

Courtesy of Yoga Namaskar

This is fun to say and fun to do. "Ek-kuh" "Hah-stah" "Chah-Krah-Sah-Nah." Yes, a one-handed wheel pose. 

Why do it? It feels INCREDIBLE if you have a spine that can articulate thusly, safely. The profound stretch of the whole front of the body has an immediate therapeutic application: an antidote to stress tension through physical increase in tissue expansion and vascular capacity. This allows fresh blood, with fresh oxygen, into areas deprived of movement due to postural habits such as caving the chest and drooping the head when working at a desk in a chair. 

Wheel pose corrects the closed-off front body posture many assume while typing, which can cause antisocial feelings. As social psychologist Amy Cuddy famously explained in a TED talk about posture, self-perception, physiology and social interaction, body poses don't just change how others perceive you, they instantly change your body chemistry. Many find moving into and holding full wheel pose facilitates releasing worries, reducing anxiety and stress that accumulate while working seated, and increasing positive feelings about social interaction and self, in general. Pushing one hand up toward the sky or overhead toward the horizon in one-handed wheel pose further lengthens the side of the body, requiring additional contraction of the core muscles (front and back) to balance, making this a power pose.

What are the benefits? 
1) Stimulation and increased efficiency of the internal organs in the abdomen due to the profound stretch through the upper abdominal muscles, as well as through the front body muscles in general. 
2) Since wheel pose lengthens the front muscles that become short while sitting for prolonged periods, it relieves tensions accumulated by sedentary work. A common sensation during and after posing in wheel is exhilaration, accompanied by cool tingling as bloodflow increases in the quadriceps (thigh muscles), pectorals (chest muscles), and triceps (rear upper arm muscles) among others.

Where it makes you stronger: calves, hamstrings, glutes, trapezius, deltoids, rotator cuffs.

Yous truly foolishly spinning into one-handed wheel in the road! Alaska, 2013.

D

Dhanurasana

Bow Pose

A perennial favorite to observe, Dhanurasana, the bow pose, is a deep backbend that also engages the pectoral (chest), gluteal (rump) and hamstring (back of the thigh) muscles. Holding the ankles while kicking back into the hands pulls the torso off the ground and articulates the vertebrae. This stimulates the gastrointestinal system so aids digestion, including healing long term digestive problems, with regular practice. 

Of the variations shown below , all can be called "floor bow" as opposed to a standing variation in which the practitioner stands on one straight leg and forms the bow-shaped pose with one leg and one or two arms.

Floor Bow


 Me in supine bow, with my hubs as base, in acroyoga.

Standing bow, by yours truly.

My students in inverted standing bow, on aerial yoga silks.

C

Chandra Namaskar - Moon Salutation 

Teaching a type of Moon Salutation at Namaste North Studio, Anchorage, Alaska.

It is likely you have heard of Sun Salutations, Surya Namaskar, in the context of yoga practice. Chandra Namaskar, Moon Salutation, is similar in that it is also a vinyasa flow sequencing poses and movement with breath, in order to achieve a specific physiological goal. The point of a salutation flow is to lengthen large muscles, align the skeleton, and especially stretch between all the vertebra to increase blood flow locally, and oxygen uptake and exchange for waste products in the circulatory system. 

The movement in a salutation flow can be done slowly, along with slow breathing, as in Chandra Namaskar, to calm the nervous system and relax the body after stress and before rest. Or, by contrast, the flow may be quick to excite the nervous system and warm the body, as in Sun Salutation, done before exercise or seated meditation in lotus pose (a lot easier when the joints are mobile and muscles warm and flexible.)

Moon Salutation is so named because the curved-spine postures along with deep lunges intend to depict the phases of the moon. In addition, the energetic quality of cooling and calming the body/mind (we'll say relaxing the nervous system) is associated with the cooler nighttime light of the moon.

Charted Steps in Chandra Namaskar - Two Similar Variations:

Courtesy of Marianna Cappeletti YOGA

Courtesy of The Elephant Flies

For a pose by pose photo presentation scope out

 Yoga International's Chandra Namaskar.

B 

Breath 

Breath dictates how we experience all that is.
When the inhale and exhale are equal in length, breath brings equilibrium to the nervous system.
A long exhale releases excess waste product buildup from the lungs and blood. 
An inhale longer than exhale brings in additional oxygen.

In daily life as well as during focused physical movement we need a certain depth of breath to release carbon dioxide buildup and prevent oxygen deficiency that occur if we "get behind" on our breathing. Think of when you suddenly sprint, run up some stairs, or move much more quickly than usual, and end up panting for breath. This is a healthy physical response -- your respiratory and vascular systems refreshing the elements they need to continue supporting your physical life.

Even breath, which supports calm thinking and serenity, can be achieved in this way:
Inhale (through the nose if you can) for 6 seconds, pause with full lungs for one second, exhaling through the nose for 6 seconds, and pausing with empty lungs for one second. Repeat. Notice any change in how you feel.
 
How to Breathe during Yoga Pose (Asana) Practice, in Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga:
The breathing technique performed with vinyasa is called ujjayi [victorious breath] (Scott 20), which consists of puraka [inhalation] and rechaka [exhalation] ("Ashtanga Yoga"). "Both the inhale and exhale should be steady and even, the length of the inhale should be the same length as the exhale" ("Ashtanga Yoga"). Over time, the length and intensity of the inhalation and exhalation should increase, such that the increased stretching of the breath initiates the increased stretching of the body (Scott 21). Long, even breathing also increases the internal fire and strengthens and purifies the nervous system ("Ashtanga Yoga").

From "Ashtanga Yoga Background".
Works Therein Cited include:
Scott, John. Ashtanga Yoga: The Definitive Step-by-Step Guide to Dynamic Yoga. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2000.
"Ashtanga Yoga." Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute: Method. 2001. 11 June 2003 <http://www.ayri.org/method.html>.

Since breath is the most crucial focus of pose (asana) practice, here are further resources to peruse on the role of breath, breath practices (pranayama) and how breath affects health in yoga and beyond.

Further reading on Breath in Yoga:
How Yoga Affects Breathing 
How Yoga Affects Your Nervous System
What Yoga Therapists Should Know About the Anatomy of Breathing  
Nadi Shodana to Balance the Nervous System

Therapeutic Use:
Breathing, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, and Yoga 
Yoga and Mild Asthma

A 

Ashtanga Yoga 

A methodology for controlling one's own mind by linking breath with movement. This movement-breath system is called Vinyasa in Sanskrit, the language of many foundational yoga texts. Each movement, for example, reaching the arms overhead, corresponds with an inhale or exhale. This is one Vinyasa, one inhale (puraka) or exhale (rechaka), along with one movement.

See an essential cheat sheet on Ashtanga Yoga from the man credited with bringing it to the US -
Pattabhi Jois on the practice of Ashtanga Yoga

First, Kill Your Science:  

Delusions in Objectivity, in Brief

A lot of casual "science" falls far short of scientific.

Scientific method requires falsifiability of all hypotheses. 

Otherwise, all experimental conclusions are circumstantial.

Regarding the human body's joints, tissues and organs we have some working knowledge, and a lot of medically relevant conjecture, which assists in treating conditions we deem unacceptable ("sickness," "abnormality," "impairment," and "dysfunction.") But how do we determine the norm and criteria for health, correct form and function of the body, and furthermore the mind and behavior?

The history of medicine shows how often our views of body, mind and "health" have changed.

Our perception of what is inside, composing, and surrounding the body is contextual, culturally.

For example, are you able to feel qi? Can you move prana through your shishumne nadi?

 

Maybe you've received diagnosis that there is stagnance in your triple burner, or seen medieval drawings of a five lobed liver?

Our perceptions of what is physically immutable about the body rely on cultural reality to establish expectations, toward which any particular body tends either to conform or not.

Practicing yoga asana, meaning poses, can change joint alignment and muscle length, strength and endurance, promote more efficient respiration, and alter biochemically induced (really, any) moods. Allopathic medicine, supported by "Western science", "proves" these benefits occur with as little as 15 minutes of yoga pose practice per day. So, of course, you should be totally convinced. Right.

Using the asana (pose) practice diagrams and descriptions for physical guidance helps busy-minded and body-minded folks connect breath (called "prana" which also means energy) with body position and thought process. Through this union the practitioner gets ready for meditation, whether seated, still, or moving. Some say this is yoga's oldest purpose: to unite our perceived being into an awareness that contemplates, and is represented by, a single point.

That is, single-pointed awareness.
Then, to remove the point.

Yoga history describes this union in terms of a transcendent divine that connects with the meat-brain of the physical body when we control our thoughts and movement through breath. "Yoga may be defined as any practice involving the body, but ultimately it boils down to a process of embodying divine consciousness." The Hindu Yogi Science of Breath (pdf) (project gutenberg) describes the long-standing evidence -- from baseline physical to esoteric -- that "breath is life."

This blog presents the background, the science and story, of yoga's approach to knowing the body.