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Seven: Seated Forward Bend (Paschimothanasana)
‘Paschima’ means back and ‘Uttana’ means stretching. This is an excellent asana that stretches the whole body from head to toes.
Steps for Performing Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend Pose)
1.Sit down erect with your legs together stretched in front of you.
2.Place the palms on your respective knees.
3.Bend your head and trunk slowly forward to catch the toes with the thumb, index and middle fingers without bending your knees.
4.Slowly bend till your forehead touches your knees. You may keep the face between the knees.
5.Take a deep breath and exhale slowly. Try to touch your head to your both knees.
6.Bend the arm and try to touch the floor with your elbows
7.Exhale completely and holding out your breath. Remain in this pose for a few seconds then slowly return to your starting position.
8.Breathe normally.
9.Repeat this asana for 3-4 rounds.
Benefits of Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend Pose)
•It acts as a stress reliever.
•Remove anxiety, anger and irritability.
•Calms the mind.
•Reduces fat deposits in the abdomen.
•Stretches the spine and makes it more flexible.
•Helps cure stomach pain, headache, piles, diabetes, hip pain, back pain and body ache.
•Relieves constipation, removes sluggishness of liver, dyspepsia, belching and gastritis.
•Good for constipation and digestive disorder.
•Stretches lower back, hamstrings and hips.
•Massages and tones the abdominal and pelvic organs.
•Tones the shoulders.
Who Should Avoid the Forward Bend Pose
•Pregnant women.
•Person suffering from slip disc, sciatica problem, and asthma.
•Ulcer patients.
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Eight: Bakasana (Crane Pose)
This is an excellent exercise to develop your sense of balance, coordination, and concentration and strengthen your arms, hands, shoulders, and abdominal muscles. This asana also gives an active stretching to the back. I won’t elaborate more about it but if you’re interested, you can learn more on the ‘net.
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Asanas for Meditation
Four asanas are recommended for the purpose of Japa and meditation. They’re Padmasana, Sidhasana, Svastikasana and Sukhasana. To master asana-Jaya, you must be able to sit in any one of these four asanas at a stretch for full three hours without shaking the body. Without securing a steady asana, you won’t do well in meditation. The steadier you are in your asana, the better you’ll concentrate. If you can be steady in the posture even for one hour, you’ll be able to focus and acquire calmed mind.
When preparing to sit on the pose, say, ‘I am as firm as a rock.’ Say it five, six times. After a year of regular practice you’ll be able to sit for three hours at a stretch. Start with half an hour and gradually increase the period.
One: Padmasana – The Lotus Pose for Meditation
Amongst the four poses prescribed for Japa and Dhyana, Padmasana comes foremost. It’s the best asana for meditation. Padmasana is suitable for lean people as well as youths.
Padmasana or the Lotus Pose is an important meditative asana and is mentioned in most yogic texts. In Sanskrit, ‘Padma’ means lotus and ‘Asana’ means pose. The hand mudras may vary, but the legs are always shown seated in the lotus pose.
Padmasana is considered one of the best poses for meditation. In Padmasana, the legs are locked together and the lower body is absolutely stable. Also, the back and spine will be straight. This is perfect for longer periods of meditation, as the body can be held motionless, with least distractions.
Padmasana may not be easy for beginners who are used to sitting in chairs all the time. In such cases, a little practice will be required to bring flexibility into the legs. One can do any exercise that stretches the lower legs, thigh and waist muscles to get this flexibility. Also the joints (ankles, knee and waist) should be made flexible by doing Pawanmuktasana series of exercises. Those suffering from backache and sacral pain, weak knee joints, etc. should avoid this asana.
How to Do Padmasana (Lotus Pose)
1.Sit on the floor comfortably crossing your legs.
2.Lift the left leg and place it on the right thigh.
3.Lift the right leg and place it over the left leg. The knees must touch the floor but don’t worry if they don’t as they will with practice when the legs become flexible.
4.Pull and adjust the legs so that the feet face upwards and the heels are tucked in at the waist level near the pubic bone.
5.With the spine erect, broaden your chest and put the arms in the gap between the feet. Put the left palm over the right palm. Relax the muscles in the abdomen and chest. Relax the shoulders.
6.Breathe slowly and deeply. Focus the awareness on the breathing process. Balance and align the entire body.
7.Stay in this position for as long as you comfortably can. Meditators should sit for at least 20 minutes. 30 minutes to an hour is good enough for most practitioners.
8.The body should be absolutely still and relaxed and there should be no pains or stress, otherwise instead of meditating, the focus will be on the body and its discomforts. You may use a soft support such as pillow, cushion, etc., under the buttocks for comfort.
9.Traditionally, Padmasana is practiced with right leg over left leg; however,