Awkward Pose - Utkatasana

Benefits: Awkward pose or chair aligns the whole skeletal system back into centre and opens the pelvic area. It aids in digestion, corrects immune disorders, arthritis of knees hips and ankles, and strengthens the lower limbs. Strengthens and firms upper arms, abdominal muscles and all muscles of thighs, calves and hips.

Anatomical Focus: Triceps,deltoids,abdominal muscles,quadriceps. Contraindications and Cautions: Ankles injuries, knees injuries.

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Eagle Pose Garudasana (balance pose)

Benefits: Eagle pose relieves tension in the neck, shoulders and legs. This posture strengthens the lower extremities and increases mobility in the hip girdle. By creating pressure in the joints, you stimulate the synovial membrane.

Anatomical Focus: Sartorius, gastrocnemius, soleus, peronius longus/brevis, abductor, mangus longus.

Contraindications and Cautions: People with knee injuries and low back discomfort should avoid this pose.

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Koormasana (tortoise pose) Seated Intense Forward Bend

Benefits: Strengthens, hips, strengthens back, opens chest cavity, back, shoulder joint, pelvis and thighs, stimulates internal organs.

Anatomical Focus: Hips, shoulders, mid-back, hips/thighs, core.

Contraindications and Cautions: Sciatica, slipped disc, hernia, pregnancy.

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Benefits: Both legs are strengthened in this pose. The hamstrings (the biceps femoris, semitendinosus and the semimembranosus) are stretched in the supporting leg and strengthened in the raised leg. The gluteal muscles are stretched on one leg and strengthened on the other. This causes them to be raised on one side.

Anatomical Focus: Some leg adductors are involved in the inward rotation of the hip. These are, the pectineus, adductor brevis and adductor longus, the gracilis and adductor magnus. Shoulders are stretched and the arms are strengthened.

Contraindications and Cautions: High blood pressure.

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Benefits: The extended side angle stretches the side of the body. However it is a pose that like Triangle involves all the muscles in the body. The gluteal muscles are toned and the muscles around the lateral lower abdomen are stretched. Toward the lower back the quadratus lumborum a big muscle that runs along the top of the pelvis and attaches to the bones in the spine is significantly stretched.

Anatomical Focus: The shoulders muscles such as the rotator cuff and closer to the spine the rhomboideus major and minor. Muscles in the shoulders and neck are toned such as the upper trapezius muscles and the levator scapulae. The latissimus dorsi is stretched. This is a big muscle that attaches to many bones in the spine (from the sacrum to the lower shoulders) and gathers beside the ribs to attach to the humerus.

Contraindications and Cautions: Headache, high or low blood pressure, insomnia. Individuals with any neck problems don't turn your head to look at the top arm; instead look straight ahead with the sides of the neck lengthened
evenly, or look down at the floor.

Benefits: Stretches the shoulders and chest, stretches the thighs, groins, and abdomen, strengthens the legs and ankles, improves balance.

Anatomical Focus: Knees, ankles, abdomen, pelvis, groins, chest, shoulders, spine, kidneys, lungs.

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Camel Pose-Ushtrasana (backbend pose)

Benefits: Stretches the thoracic, abdominal and pelvic cavities. Stimulates the organs of the abdomen, chest and back Improves digestion strengthens the muscles of the back, legs, buttocks and shoulders.

Focus: Rectus femoris, rectus abdominis, pectorial maximus, deltoid, spine, pelvic, gluteus maximus.

Cautions: Low back injuries, neck, hip and knee injuries.

Full Boat Pose-Paripurna Navasana

Benefits: Strengthens the abdomen, hip flexors, and spine. Stimulates the kidneys, thyroid and prostate glands, and intestines. Helps relieve stress, relieve gas and improves digestion. The stomach will become flattened and more trim. A number of internal organs including the kidneys, live, gall bladder, and spleen are toned.

Anatomical Focus: Deep abdominal muscles, back muscles of the spine, hip flexors.

Contraindications and Cautions: Asthma, headache, heart problems, insomnia, low blood pressure, pregnancy neck injury: Sit with your back near a wall to perform this pose. As you tilt your
torso back rest the back of your head on the wall.

Yoga and the importance of Pranayama

Standing Heating Breath (Bhastrika Pranayama)

is an empowering chest/thoracic type of breathing technique that has a very important place in hatha yoga. The Standing Heating Breath benefits are numerous, they range from physiological to postural, mental, psychological and emotional. This type of pranayama has been adopted by Bikram as part of the initial warm up sequence and as a mean to energize/detoxify the body in preparation of yoga practice consequently is now associate with hot yoga, however, this technique of forcefully and quick breathe in from nose and breathe out from mouth exists for centuries.

Blower in Sankrit is called Bhastrika. Hence exhalation of breath forcibly and quickly is the main feature of Bhastrika Pranayama. One should inhale & exhale breath like a blower. It is in a way a combination of Kapalbhati & Ujjayi. Among all the Kumbhakaras, this Pranayama is considered the best.