At some point in a yoga class you may have heard the teacher say, “Savasana is the most important pose“. Depending on your reason for practicing yoga you may have found this statement confusing. Why would sava (corpse), sometimes called mrti (death), asana (pose) be more important than dynamic standing poses like warrior one, or [...]

(my-yer-ahs-anna) mayura = peacock One of the best detoxifying poses is Mayurasana. This pose is one of the first 15 asanas ever to be written down. The first Yogis practicing asana understood its tremendous health benefits. Here’s what Svatmarama wrote about mayurasana in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika: “Mayurasana quickly alleviates all diseases like enlargement of [...]

Salabasana and Bhujangasana Salabhasana (sha-la-BAHS-anna) Salabha- Locust or Grasshopper, Asana- Pose Bhujangasana (boo-jang-GAHS-anna) Bhujanga- Serpent, Snake, Asana- Pose Salabhasana variations are simple backbends performed while lying prone (on the belly) that prepare the body for deeper backbending practice by strengthening and lengthening the muscles of the back, legs and “core”. There are many variations of [...]

In case you felt bored with your asana practice and were wondering what else there was to do… Check out the Advanced Ashtanga Series… And then take a deep breath and remind yourself that there are always things to aspire towards ; ) Absolutely Ashtanga is a great website and asana resource run by Sacramento [...]

(Raji Thron is pictured here demonstrating Ashtangasana. Please don’t try this one at home, unprepared or unsupervised.) Ever wonder what pose is which one, where and how? Good thing there’s this kick-asana (ooh…) web index of asana variations complete with notes, references, instructions and bibliography. And if you’re wondering what to do with all these [...]

Feeling tired? Grab your friend and take 10 minutes out of the day for this recharge pose. It’s not often that we sit back-to-back with someone. Just that by itself is deeply relaxing, (it’s definitely more relaxing if it’s someone that you know and trust,)  add in a gentle twist and restorative backbend and let [...]

Darren Rhodes performs every asana from Tadasana to Savasana for the making of the poster. Very inspiring! http://vimeo.com/2516383