Approaching Ardha Matsyendrasana

Approaching Ardha Matsyendrasana
Ardha (n.) = Half
Matsya (n.) = Fish
Indra (n.) = King
Asana (n.) = Pose

Though transliterating this Asana may be called as King of fish pose, it is not called in such a way. The Asana has been invented by a sage named Matsyendranath, and hence is named after him.

The Asana does exert pressure on the Pancreas which is responsible for secretion of the hormone insulin that regulates the blood sugar.

 

Hence Matsyendrasana is excellent for fighting diabetes. The above figure illustraes an approach to achieving the Ardha Matsyendrasana, which is a difficult Asana in itelf. In the next few posts, I shall publish the approach and finally reach the Ardha Matsyendrasana.

Kapotasana

Kapotasana

Kapota (n.) = Pigeon
Asana (n.) = Posture




Well, after a long time I am posting another entry. All these days I have been busy perfecting the new Asanas I have been learning. I hope to publish them soon.

Ardha Chandrasana

Ardha (adj.) = Half
Chandra (n.) = Moon
Asana (n.) = Pose



Ardha Chandrasana

 

I am still a novice in this Asana, though the picture was shot in Mar, 2008. Hence I would group it with the "incorrect Asana" tag.

Critique
1) the neck is still not flexible enough to have the chin aligned with the hand. ( I am able to do the Parshva Konasana with the chin is alinged with the arm now)

2) The knee is still not facing forward, it's facing downward.

3) the raised leg is still not in one straight line with the trunk of the body.

Sarvangasana

Sarvangasana

Sarva (n.) = All
Anga (n.) = Limb
Asana (n.) = Posture

Together these words will mean the posture which exercises all limbs

 

Self Critique:

Well, thanks to my back pain which is almost gone now, I have not been doing this Asana or any other forward bending Asana for a long time. As I reported sometime earlier, I recently started doing Sarvangasana regularly. But years of non-practice has led to reduce the quality that I seek in everything. First defect in this posture that I see, that the body is not as perpendicular to the ground as I would like it to be. Second, the weight of the body is still borne by wrists and hands here - the force applied by the hands and the waists can be clearly seen. Ideally, the palms should merely rest on the back, they should not exert pressure of the waist to hold the torso straight.

Breathing: Breathe in as you raise the legs to the position, breathe normal as you hold the position, and breathe out as you lower the limbs to the ground.

How to execute the posture:

1) Lie in Savasana
2) perform Ardha halasana
3) Raise your back from the ground with the help of the hands and legs moving from Ardha halasana without resting and in one sweeping motion

Kanochee Muktahasta Seershasana

Kanochee Muktahasta Seershasana

Kanochee (n.) = Elbow
Seersha (n.) = Head, crown, pinnacle
Asana (.) = Posture

This is the fourth variation of Muktahasta Seershasana of which I spoke sometime Ago. Here, the balance is on the elbows.

 

I find this Asana quite tough. Balancing on the elbows!!! I would be considering myself successful if I were able to balance on the elbow points, with no part of the forearm supporting me.

Bharadwajasana

Bharadwajasana

Alternate spelling: Bharadvajasana

This Asana has been named after Sage Bharadwaja

Who was sage Bharadwaja?
Sage Bharadwaja belongs to the Brahmin clan which was known for its physical activities and practice of the martial arts. He was the father of sage Dronacharya, the teacher of the Pandavas and Kauravas in Mahabharata.

The birth of Drona is quite interesting which has been recounted in the Mahabharata quite elaborately. Since in this case Drona was not born out of a woman, but a clay pot.

Sage Bharadwaja's other son was sage Garga - who was also a vedic scholar as his father. Garga was also a renowned astrologer who gave Krishna his name.

 

I found this Asana very useful in progressing to Ardha-Matsyedrasana

Breathing: Breath in when twisting the torso to the back. I am still, as usual, still to go a long way grappling this Asana. The twist here should be even more pronounced.

Vatayanasana

Vatayanasana

Vata (n.) = Wind, air, breeze
Ayana (n.) = Direction, Phase
Vatayana (n.) = Window
Asana (n.) = Posture

Now, why this particular Asana is named in this way, I am not sure. Does it have something to do with wind such as Pavanmuktasana has? Not sure again.

 

Breathing: Inhale as you raise your arm (picture above), exhale as you touch your toes (picture below)

 

Well, I have given it a practice label, since, I am only tentatively doing forward bends these days. Didn't do it for more than two years - courtesy my back pain. As the back pain recedes, reclaims my forward bend its lost territory. yet, I have miles to go in here too. Not only the finger tip will touch the ground, but the full plain of the palm (karatal)

Supta Padangusthasana

Supta Padangusthasana
Supta (adj.) = Asleep
Pada (n.) = Leg
Angushtha (n.) = Thumb
Asana (n.) = Posture

Together the above should mean "Lying big toe posture"

I find this Asana to be one of most difficult in the Padangusthasana series. It really is the graduating Asana in the series. There's only one which I can think of more challenging than or as challenging as this Asana which is Parsha Padangusthasana.

 

Right Leg

As ususal, I still have a lot to achieve in this Asana (I am just a student :)) - the comfort that I seek while practicing this Asana, I hope would come in about a year or thereabouts.

 

Left Leg

Breathing: Breathe in as the legs are extended
Drishti: Nasagre

Naukasana

Naukasana

Nauka (n.) = Boat
Asana (n.) = Posture

Naukasana is also known as Navasana. But the latter, I feel, is a Hindi, and not a Sankrita word.

Hence I prefer to call it as Naukasana

 

One friend asked me how to do a Naukasana. I assume that it would be in the mind of my visitors too. Well, I have seen multiple ways of doing this Asana. However, the easiest way I find is as provided below:

1. Sit with your back straight
2. Extend both your legs forward as you would when you are doing the Paschimottanasana
3. Place your hands, palm down on yor knees;
4. Breathe in
5. Breathe out and tilt backwards, and extend your arms towards the knees

Supta Urdha Pada Vajrasana

Supta Urdha Pada Vajrasana

Supta (adj.) = Asleep
Urdha (n./adj.) = High
Pada (n.) = Leg
Vajra (n.) = Thunder
Asana (n.) = Posture

In this pose I am entering into the Supta Urdha Pada Vajrasana. The full Supta Urdha Pada Vajrasana is much tougher, and is not shown here. Let me overcome the challeges in this Vinyasa entry, then perhaps I shall be able to do that Asana.

 

Upavishta Konasana

Upavishta Konasana

Upavishta (adj.) = Seated
Kona (n.) = Angle
Asana (n.) = Posture

Upavesan (v.) = Sit

To me, this Asana is a natural extention of the all Padangushthasanas.

 

Well, I have a lot of miles to go in this Asana. It is nowhere near the way it should be.

 

Nirlamba Sarpasana

Nirlamba Sarpasana

Nirlamba (adj.) = Without support
Sarpa (n.) = Snake
Asana (n.) = Posture

Quite a few days ago I published the Bhujangasana. Nirlamba Sarpasana is the next step to it.

 

Everything remains the same - the breathing, the drishti.

Utthanapadasana

Utthanapadasana / Utthitapadasana

Utthana (n.) = Raising up (not in the sense of bringing up, however - which is nurturing), Rise up
Utthita (adj.) = Raised, Risen
Pada (n.) = Leg
Asana (n.) = Posture


Sometime ago I published the Utthitapadasana, and Utthanapadasana which are what I learnt as a child. The word Utthita has the noun form as Utthana.

 

Now, I see Utthanapadasana being performed as it is performed in the above picture. Kind of interesting I would say, for it takes in the benefits from Utthitapadasana and Matsyasana both at one go.



For the grammar enthusiasts: Ut = This sound is not a word, it is called Upasarga in Sanskrita grammar - which is close to a preposition. Upasarga adds additional meaning to a word root.

Ut means up.
Thana this word root means place.

All Upasargas preceds a word root to form a word. Here Ut + thana together formed this word Utthana

If you add a different Upasarga, for example aba to Thana it will form Abasthana (n.) = Placement. Similarly Pra + thana = Prasthana (n.) which means to go away.
Again, Abhi+ Ut+thana = Abbhutthana (n.) Germination

Matsyasana - the plain vanilla one

Matsyasana - the plain vanilla version


Over the last three posting I progressed from the Saral version of Matsyasana to this version of Matsyasana, which is the most standard version.

However, there is a more difficult version too, which I am not able to do as of now, may be in about two years in future I shall be able to do it. That is the Baddha Padma version - which is: perform a Baddha Padmasana , then perform Matsyasana.

 

Drishti: Nasagre, or Bhru-Madhye

Breathing: As you raise your body from the floor and go into Matsyasana, inhale. Breathe normally as you hold the posture.

Benefits: Matsyasana is one of the Asanas that benefits hypothyroidism cases to a good extent. To achieve the full benefit, however, a complementary Asana - that is one of the following Asanas: Sasangasana, Sarvangasana, or Kavandhasana/Kandharasana needs to be executed.

Of all the above Asanans I have posted only the Kandharasana, which is also known as Kavandhasana, in this blog.

Approaching Matsyasana

Approaching Matsyasana

Matsya (n.) = Fish

Asana (n.) = Posture

Someday before I talked about Saral Matsyasana.

This picture below is the first step toward the Matsyasana. Lie on your back and do a Padmasana. The legs in Padmasana assume the shape of the tail of a fish - perhaps more specifically a Rohu fish.

 

When I started relearning Matsyasana (lost after a long non-practice since the childhood days) about three years ago, I found it tough to do exactly what has been done in the photograph above. Though I was able to do the padmasana, and lie down, but the legs would stay up, without touching the ground. Even now I am not able to do it if I am doing Padmasana with my right leg first.

Trikonasana

Trikonasana

Tri (n.) = Three
Kona (n.) = Angle
Trikona (n.) = Triangle
Asana (n.) = Posture

It is said that the beginner and the intermediate Asanas are the toughest asanas. Because they are the toughest to overcome when the body is just about getting used to the way of Yoga.

I firmly second that. For the last two years I have been practising the Tirkonasana, and I am yet to do it well. It is so tough since it calls for alignment of the chin in the line of the shoulder.

 

I am kind of doing the Trikonasana well when when I am required to align my chin with my left shoulder (as in the above photograph). But, still there's a lot to achieve.

 

But I am yet to achieve the alignment in for the right shoulder (as in the above photograph). Hence, the above is an incorrect posture.

To note: when the straightline alignment between the shoulder and chin is achieved, the alignment between the chest and the legs/ground are achieved at the same time. The chest then normal/perpendicular to the ground as if if you draw a straight line from one shoulder to the other, the line would be perpendicular to the ground, and not inclined at an acute/obtuse angle. This imparts the posture a yogic beauty. this beauty is somewhat achieved in the first photograph. However, it is not there in the second photograph.

Perfection, how true it is, is not easily reached. I have seen a lot of yoga instructures too did not achieve the perfection an intermediate Asana (trikonansana is a typical case) demands.

Mukta Hasta Shirshasana - Variation 4

Mukta Hasta Shirshasana - variation 4

In this variation balancing is done on the elbows. This is also a standard variation (unlike the Dwi-anguli and the Tiryak versions) and a part of the Ashtanga intermediate series.


However, right now I haven't any photograph for this version. For me it is a challenging version - I find it tough to balance myself on the elbows.

I shall have myself shot doing this posture later and upload the same presently.

Dwi Anguli Seershasana

Dwi Anguli Seershasana

Dwi (n.) = Two
Anguli (n.) = Finger
Seersha (n.) = Head
Asana (n.) = Posture

Well this is not a standard Seershasana posture. However, this is an approach to finally reaching the target of Nirlamba Seershasana. Which is without any hand support.

Even the dwi-anguli version feels quite tough for me!!! I am, though an old-timer in Seershasana, not that advanced - it feels :).

 

The weight is not balanced on exactly the tip of the fingers. So, proceed to the tip in the next photo.

 

Wow! the moment I try to advance to the tip, the centre of gravity changes and the body tilts to the back!

 

Now balanced a little more, but still a long way to go - the position does not look elegant as it should.

Sanmukha Baddha Hasta Seershasana

Sanmukha Baddha Hasta Seershasana

Sanmukha (n.) = front
Baddha (adj.) = closed, interlocked
Hasta (n.) = hand, arm
Seersha (n.) = Head, top
Asana = posture

Here, in this Asana, the arms are inter-locked to the front of the head.

 

Below is given a close-up of the interlock structure of the arms, for a better understanding of how the arms are during the Asana.

 

Breathing: As usual, breathe in while raising the legs up in the air. Breathe deeply and slowly while holding the position. Hold the position for at least 5 breaths. My one slow breathing cycle takes approximately 15 seconds - of course it varies from person to person, as also it varies in my case too - As I am developing in the way of Yoga, my breathing cycle is getting longer.

Mukta Hasta Seershasana

Mukta Hasta Seershasana - Variation 0


This is the plain vanilla version of the Mukta Hasta Seeshasana. The other variations of Mukta Hasta provided earlier were the real variation.

 

Actually this is the version I had learnt first in the childhood days, even before the Baddha Hasta version and variations. Pretty easy stuff when you are trying it against a wall - that's what I did in the childhood days. hehe!