Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The name comes from the Sanskrit गौ go meaning "cow", मुख mukha meaning "face" or "mouth", [2] and आसन āsana meaning "posture" or "seat". [3] The crossed legs are said to look like a cow's mouth, while the bent elbows supposedly look like a cow's ears.
A single asana is listed for each main pose, whether or not there are variations. Thus for Sirsasana (Yoga headstand), only one pose is illustrated, although the pose can be varied by moving the legs apart sideways or front-and-back, by lowering one leg to the floor, by folding the legs into lotus posture, by turning the hips to one side, by placing the hands differently on the ground, and so on.
The Yogatārāvalī ("A String of Stars on Yoga" [1]) is a short yoga text of 29 verses from the 13th or 14th century, covering both haṭha yoga and rāja yoga (the yoga of Patanjali). It mentions the yogic sleep state of samadhi or yoganidra. The text was used by the author of the 15th century Haṭhapradīpikā.
The following are the 26 postures of Bikram Yoga, as it names them; some of the Sanskrit names differ from those used for the same or closely related poses in other schools of yoga, and some of them are otherwise used for different poses.
The reclining form of the pose, used in Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, [6] is Supta Vajrasana. [7]Laghuvajrasana, an advanced pose in Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga and Iyengar Yoga, has the thighs raised halfway from the sitting position, the crown of the head on the floor and the hands grasping the ankles.
Yoganidrasana is described in the 17th century Haṭha Ratnāvalī 3.70. [4] The pose is illustrated in an 18th century painting of the eight yoga chakras in Mysore. [5] It is illustrated as "Pasini Mudra" (not an asana) in Theos Bernard's 1943 book Hatha Yoga: The Report of A Personal Experience. [6]
The Dattātreyayogaśāstra is the first text to describe and teach yoga as having three types, namely mantra yoga, laya yoga, and hatha yoga. All three lead to samadhi , the goal of raja yoga . Mantra yoga consists simply of repeating mantras until powers ( siddhis ) are obtained.
Shavasana is performed on the back with the legs spread as wide as the yoga mat and arms relaxed to both the sides of the body, and the eyes closed. The whole body is relaxed on the floor with an awareness of the chest and abdomen rising and falling with each breath.