Ashtanga Yoga Series

This Web page is jam-packed with the Ashtanga Yoga Series postures and other free yoga exercises.

Click on the Blue Headings to discover more details and diagrams for each.

1. Begin this Ashtanga Yoga Series from Cat Pose -- Marjariasana -- hands and knee's touching the floor

2. extend your arms and hands out in front of you, shoulder width apart

3. pull the upper arm bones -- humerus -- into the shoulder joints, and lengthen the spine

4. rotate the upper arm bones spreading the shoulder joints

5. curl your toes under and exhale, lifting the pelvis and sitting bones into the air toward the sky

6. keep the knee's bent and heels off the floor

7. lengthen through the spine and arms, stretching the pelvis up toward the sky

8. straighten the legs moving your heels toward the floor

9. Inhale, draw energy up the arms and legs into the pelvis

10. exhale, allowing all this energy to penetrate throughout the core of your body

11. hold the pose for as long as you desire, breathing in and out deeply

12. when completed, bend your legs and come back to Cat Pose.

13. Repeat the steps again for more intense results.

Next pose in the Ashtanga Yoga Series is...

1. start in a kneeling position -- Cat Pose, knees and hands on the floor

2. bend and move the right leg forward placing your right foot between your hands. Knee directly above your ankle

3. tighten the right leg muscles to support the knee in this position

4. tuck the toes in on the left foot

5. sink your pelvis down toward the floor, keeping it square

6. for a variation, take your left knee off the floor and straighten the left back leg

7. create a line of energy from the head, through the spine to the back heel

8. as you inhale, draw energy up through the legs into the pelvis

9. exhale, allow the cleansing energy go out of the pelvis toward the floor

10. keep the spine and neck lengthened as you hold the pose for as long as comfortable - few seconds to a minute

11. repeat for the other side by coming back into Cat Pose.

Next pose in the Ashtanga Yoga Series is...

1. Start in a kneeling position or Cat Pose, facing a wall if you desire

2. interlock your fingers in front of you, on the floor

3. spread your arms and elbows out on the floor, creating a stable base

4. lift your hips into the air and position the top of your head into the interlocked hands and fingers

5. walk your feet toward your head

6. contract and engage your abdominal muscles to stabilize your torso

7. when ready, gently push your toes away from the floor, raising your legs upward

8. keep the back and legs straight, arms and shoulders relaxed

9. tighten the leg muscles so the legs are touching each other. [Beginners may rest their feet and/or legs against the wall.]

10. lift and create space in the lower back by gently tucking in your sacrum to stabilize your pelvis and hips

11. allow your shoulders to relax and move away from your ears, and lengthen your neck

12. relax your face, head, eyes, and jaw

13. with the downward pressure of your forearms against the floor, the pressure on the top of your head is light

14. As you inhale, pull energy through your feet, body, and down into your head

15. as you exhale, lengthen your spine and torso toward the sky allowing the head to rest lighter on the floor

16. hold the pose for as long as you desire, breathing in and out deeply

17. when completed, slowly bend at the waist bringing your feet back to the floor

18. then, move back into kneeling position

19. rest - lie on the floor in Savasana or Corpse Pose for a few minutes.

Next pose in the Ashtanga Yoga Series is...

1. Start in a standing position, legs together, hands on hips

2. keep the toes pointing forward and root your feet deep into the earth

3. lengthen your whole body upward through the torso and top of the head

4. keep your shoulders back and square

5. exhale, bring your arms out to your sides

6. activate your legs by tightening your thigh muscles and bringing your patella or knee-cap upwards

7. keep your sacrum or tail-bone scooped down and under, bend forward from the hips keeping your back lengthened

8. stretching your arms, move your hands to the legs, feet or the floor. Use a block if necessary

9. relax your neck, head, face, and jaw

10. as you inhale, draw the energy up the legs and into your pelvis

11. as you exhale, lengthen the spine

12. hold the pose for as long as you desire, breathing in and out deeply

Next pose in the Ashtanga Yoga Series is...

1. start in a kneeling position, knees and hands on the floor

2. bend and move one leg between your hands. Knee above your ankle

3. extend the other leg back, toes touching the floor

4. breathe deeply, lengthening your back, neck, and extended leg. Breathe

5. when ready, push up and balance with your arm and leg into Half Moon Pose

6. turn your head and face the sky to naturally open up the torso

7. breathe into the core of your body, the area just below your navel -- your center of gravity and balance

8. with every exhalation, have a sense of your energy flowing out of your head, hands, and feet

9. hold the pose for as long as you desire, breathing in and out deeply

10. when ready, exhale down back into runners pose, then relax.

11. repeat the steps for the other side.

Next pose in the Ashtanga Yoga Series is...

1. start on all fours - knee's and hands on the floor

2. place the flats of your feet on the floor or curl your toes under

3. Inhale, lift the sacrum and head up, stretching the back.

4. Hold the move for a couple of seconds, feeling the stretch on the front of your body

5. Exhale, contract your abs, arching your back, bringing your sacrum and head toward each other.

6. Repeat several times, inhaling and exhaling as you move the spine.

Next pose in the Ashtanga Yoga Series is...

1. begin in Mountain Pose -- Tadasana, arms straight above your head

2. step the right leg forward and engage the muscles

3. keeping your pelvis stabilized, move your torso forward over the right leg

4. allow the left foot to come off the floor and use as a counter-balance

5. have your torso parallel to the floor and have a sense of your whole body being supported by the grounded right leg

6. keep the pelvis and rib cage level by dropping the left hip down

7. relax your face and jaw and lengthen the spine

8. hold the pose for as long as is comfortable breathing deep and steady

9. when complete, drop the left foot down to the ground and repeat for the other side

Next pose in the Ashtanga Yoga Series is...

1. place a bolster in front of you so when you are in the pose, the head does not touch the ground

2. start in a squat pose, hands on the floor hip width apart, fingers spread out

3. place your inner knee's on the upper arms or elbows, bringing the knee's as close to the under arms as possible

4. create tension against the arms with the knee's

5. begin to lean forward allowing the weight of your body to rest on the arms

6. lift the feet off the floor and rest your head on the bolster in front of you

7. keep the spine lengthened and shoulders down away from your ears

8. hold Kakasana Pose for as long as comfortable, then rock back onto your feet

Next pose in the Ashtanga Yoga Series is...

1. start by lying on your back, knee's bent, feet on the floor hip width apart, directly under the knee's

2. place the arms stretched out on the floor just away from your body

3. gently scoop the sacrum or tail-bone to lengthen the lower back

4. inhale, engage the legs by pushing them into the floor, lifting your pelvis toward the sky

5. exhale, lengthen the front and the back of your torso

6. now, breath deeply, expanding the rib cage and chest

7. hold this pose for as long as comfortable

8. when releasing the Bridge Pose, slowly come to the floor, one vertabra at a time

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Therapeutic Ashtanga Yoga Series

The yoga poses presented in this website have the reputation for helping in certain disorders and illnesses.

They are never a substitute for medical attention, though they may aid in the correction of some disorders.

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