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Ardha Matsyendrasana I, a commonly practised half form of the pose. For Ardha Matsyendrasana I, sit with one leg bent on the ground, the foot tucked in close to the body, and cross the other leg over across the body, the knee raised and bent, and the foot on the ground by the outside of the other leg. Twist the body and grasp the raised knee.
The pose is entered from Trikonasana (triangle pose), where one foot is kept forward. The arm opposite to the foot that is forward would come onto the hip. While stretching up with the rear leg and out with the front hand so that only the fingertips remain on the ground, the hand on the hip can gradually reach up towards the ceiling. [6]
Mittra illustrated 908 poses and variations in his 1984 Master Yoga Chart, and many more have been created since then. [77] [79] The number of asanas has thus grown increasingly rapidly with time, as summarised in the table.
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.
Eka Pada Supta Virasana (One-Legged Reclining Hero Pose) or Ardha Supta Virasana (Half Reclined Hero Pose [8]) has one leg folded under the body while the other is being stretched. [14] Light on Yoga shows Yogadandasana as a variant of Virasana, one bent leg being rotated inwards until the foot supports the armpit on the same side. [15]
Viparita Virabhadrasana, Reverse Warrior Pose (Sanskrit विपरीत viparīta, "reversed" [19] [20]), is a variant of Virabhadrasana II, with the upper body and forward arm tilted backwards. The lower arm may be stretched down the rear leg, or it may reach round the back to the opposite hip.
One difficulty is naming; the existence of a medieval pose with the name of a current standing pose is not proof that the two are the same, as the names given to poses may change, and the same name may be used for different poses. For example, the name Garudasana, Eagle Pose, is used for a sitting pose in the Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā, 2.37. [4]
The legs are then straightened into the two-legged pose, Dvi Pada Viparita Dandasana, and the hands are arranged holding the head as for yoga headstand (Sirsasana). Alternatively, advanced students can enter the asana from Sirsasana, arching the back, lowering the legs to the floor, and then straightening the legs. [4] [6]