Yoga Therapy

tl

On Four Feet,
By S. Ramast4r'amj,
Trusres,

Sa r ir a m Aa d ya m
DharmasaadhanamI

J(

Kh a lu ca n a l al ong l he spi nal col um n in the back. Y ou shoul d

b r e a th notmal l y a few ti mes
Bo d y ( He a lth ) is th e fo u n - b e fo r e starti ng the practi ce.
dation of all dharmic activit- T h is posi ti on i s arso know n
ies.
a s T a dasanaS thi thi (or Tree
Po se .)
As has been mentioned,
Asa n a s co u ld b e b r o a d ly cla - T a d a sana - V i nyasa (1)
ssified into standing. sitting,
su p in e .p r o n e a n d b a la n cin g .
T h e vari ati ons i n Tadasana
In th is, a g r o u p o f im p o r ta n t fo llo w. A fter compl eteexharsta n d in g a sa n a s, a lo n g with a tio n , l ock the chi n aqai nsl
a fe w u se fu l vin ya sa s a le th e to p of the chest. Thi s as
ta ke n u p .
Ja la n dharabandhamenti oned
in th e previ ous i ssue. Then
slo wly and deepl y i nhal eand
SAMASTHITHI
raise both arms straight over
It is th e sta r tin g p o sitio n head - the movement of the
in ths practice, in fact the qqr:'"1@=dentire,t-session starts from sa- e s, stretchi ng sl ow l y the knm a sth ith i En d e n d s with it. e e s, hi ps, shoul ders, el bow s,
wr ists and the neck. The i nF6E-i6?Arffi
sta n d e r e ct. with th e fe e t h a la tion and the compl eti on
{ u lly r e stin g o n th e g r o u n d o f th e movenent shoul d synand together. The ankles and ch r o ni se.One shoul d adj ust
th e p ace, the sl ow er the betrne Knees are repr-EtGiiE
The knees are not to be flex- te r . B reathi ng i s to be dono
ed. Chest is kept erect and with a hi ssi ng sound i n the
th r o a t, created by the parti al
the s[og!glljre_9!g$!y
thrown back, so that the sh- clo sing of the gl ottrs w hi ch
ouroEisii6reno ro appro- is a id ed by the chi n l ock (Jal
xir.ateeachother,forminga a n d h arabandha). Then exh-

\\

For Asanas
Krishnamachara
Yoga Mandiram

alins and pressing the balls movement,especiallyin the

of the feet togretht-dGt@
morningand has a tonic effheelses high aspossible,str- ect on the musclesand joineTdEi-ng
well the body, espe- ts (Sandhis). C_tgy:lSj!!cially the ankles and calf drencould pra4ice to aid in
muscles,in the process.Re- ih-ctodEi66-f,6i6lii]fer Sketch(3). Onecould stay in the posture for a few TADASANA VINYASA (2L

sffi

...

gtnnrng,
-,---------.:i wnil e n o l d r n g t n e
breath out (Bahya Kumbhaka). Then on rnhjlalign-bri:
ng down the heels slowlJ
and deliberately, again synchronising with the breathing
(with the hissing sound).
This may be repeated 3 to 6
times.
In t he bag i n n i n g , m a n y
may have difficulty maintaining balance or keeping the
ankles and knees together or
stretching the ankle. But if
one proceeds step by step,first a few cntimeters - one
c8n stay comfortably in th6
posture. After some time, one
can stay in the stretchod posture and complete a few rounds of breathing.. Then exhalinO gt back tor Samasthithi. This is a good strarching
@

Fromr$3ggg@i$i. i nhaling
raisearms and iqlq!gg,!!q
gers.Then as yegj:lglg,ig
ess the feet and bend_lhglql-

soto-tG76IGi6GEiing the left side of the body

especially the side ribs in the
process. The posture looks
like a tree swaying to a heThe
avy northerly wind.
upper body should neitner
stoop forward nor be pushed backward. The whole
movement should be done in
the vertical plane.'One could
stav in the Dosture for a few

s@

9g!-fnhaling,then, returnto
the original position. The
samemovement is repeated
in the opposite directionas
well, so that movgmgntsact
as Pratikriyasto each other.
tt will be good to keep the

b,

il

fr

n.

w1+
A.ea-

F{y.#5

A
m

feet and kn6es(without benvfli

ring","
",Jl*,If,"a,
ding) together all through locked and
turned outwa.d,
the procoss.Refsrto sketch
(4).
the kneesand lowerthe body
half way through. (Sketch
Bfmffiffiutd
not be
TADASANA V!NyASA(3).
raised and one should fecl
From Samasthithi. again the stretchingat the knos
with the armsraisedand fin- and not stiffenthem especigers interlocked,while exh- ally the hamstrings.In this
t*i.t (tor.io
- position,the thighs ar.fgr"ting
per bodv to the l6ft sideto
gglrod-and the
""_["]-!9.1!9the extentpossibleandthen posture resemblesa chair,
strotch tho neck and look staJ-U_Ue po$s9.l9l_el9y
up. The feet position are not seconds,then raise backto
to be alteredand the kneos ttie stitng point.oJ .t ; ;..
a.s also kept together. Refer
to sksrch (5). Stay in the
posture for a Tdi-seconds PURNA UTKATASANA
and on inhatation lA;;ii6'
ttr_"_g"naii-g-T6ifr
Startasfor ArdhaUtkatasafi ;a-6;,r
the chin. The same movem- na, but as you exhalesit doent is to be repeated on the wn.-alLlh.e_!v-qy,
f lexing fully

tffi

other side. which also acts

a s a co u n te r to th e p r e vio u s not drop forward over the
movement.
knees.Thearms and shoul-

dersare stretched.The feet

This Viryglgggy-3:gjg_
are futty on the sround, bur
.
d_o!e!!!!!._eltr9_!9plt!_9h&- not rhe sear (butrocks). Stay
uldglleve]-.bur the hea.g|
is in the posture for a few se_
not_raiged
as in the orevious. conds. Then inhale raising,
vgtlltion While turning right pressingthe heels and stretthe hadalso is turnedto the ching the ankles,heels,back,
right side,along with stret- shouldersand neck. Refer.
ched right shoulderand arm, Sketch7.
Againthere is no displacementof tho feet,which point
There are some Vinyasas
front. lnsteadof keepingthe (not illustrated) which may
arms at shoulder level, yet also be tried. One is to keep
(whichsho- the srms at shoutderand
ajg$g@!S!
uld not be attomptedby b- complete the movementa.
ginners)would require
!9g- AnotherVinyasawould requirb keepins the palm tosePln9.Sgrylm:=losgtgl-bq
hrnd the back like salutino ther between the shoulders
(Pranam).The palms' posi- in the back like saluting(prtion is iilustratedin Skotch2. anam),the hand positionas

7_

shown in sktch (2). Theso

aremorodifficultvinyasasrequiring some dogreeof suppleness of the knees and
shoulders.Extensionsol this
asanaincludevariationsin
the position of the leg, like
one while keeping
stretching
t he ot her on t h e g r o u n d .
ARDHA UTTANASANA
Th is is again d o n e w i t h a r , ms rais ed,f ing e r s i n t e r l o c k e d
and turned outward. Then as
you exhale, press the feet,
push bac k t he h i p s a n d b e n d
forward with the back straight and horiz o n t a l . T h e k n e es are not to be bent. Refer
Ske tc h (8) T h e n i n h a l i n g
co me up t o ori g i n a l p o s i t i o n ,
sl i g ht ly arc hin g t h e b a c k a s
well. The Vinyasas in this
include keeping the arms stretched at shoulder level, or
wi th palm s t o g e t h e r o n t h e
bsck etc.
PURNA UTTANASANA
Wi t h arm s p o s i t i o n a s b e fore, exhaling, press feet and
wi thout bend i n g t h e k n e e s ,
sl owly bend f o r w a r d a n d
pl a c e t he palm s , b y t h e s i d e
ol the feet, on the groud. lf
i t i s not pos s i b l e , t o u c h t h e
ground or hold the ankles.
Th en inhale a n d r a i s e t h e
head without changing thr
position of the Palms.As You
exhale, try to touch the knees with the forohead. lnhale
, then. as you raise to original.
i position. This is Putna Utta'
I

nasana or lull strstching pose

i n vo lvin g th e b a ck o f th e
logs, hamstrings and knees,
t he b a ck, n e ck a n d sh o u ld e r s.
Y o u m a y a lso h o ld th e to e s
w ith th e th u m b , in d e x a n d
mid d le fin g e r s wh e n it is
k n o wn a s Pa d a n g u sh ta sa n a
( ske tch 9 ) . T h e r e a r e a n u m b er o f va r ia tio n s in th is a sa n a, p e r ta in in gto th e p o sitio n
o f h a n d s a n d p a lm s. Sin ce
t his in vo lve s a co n sid e r a b le
s tr e tch in g th e stu b b o r n h a m strings arlJ also use of^stom a ch m u scle s to sta y in p o sit i o n . it is n e ce ssa r y to d o a
suitable counterpose. Purna
Utka ta sa n am e n tio n e d e a r lie r
(sketch 7) could be repeated
a co u p le o f tim e s wh e n th e
hamstring and knees are relaxe d , so a lso th e lo we r a b d o mcn,

few seconds,

T h e 'control ' agai nst over

d o in g - w hi ch i s to be avoi ded - is the breath itself.
Wh e n i t tends to become short, it is an indication to tho
practitioner to take rest. lt
ca n b e done by returni ngto
T ONES UP M USCL ES
Sa m a s thi thi and do normal
Tadasana, Uttanasana. and b r e a thi ng.Thi s i nbui l t check
Utkatasana form a group of is a n addi ti onal advantagei n
asa n a s. wh ich co u ld b e a o u r rAcharya's P addhati . U ng o o d b e g in n in g fo r lim b e r in g less otherwise mentioned,
up the joints tggi0g up the b r e a thi ng shoul d be dono
muscles. lt is to be observed th r o u gh throat constri cti on
th a t it m a y n o t b e p o ssib le m e n tioned at the begi nni ng.
to r e a ch th e fin a l p o sitio n in
th e b e g in n in g itse lf. F o r HET PS D IGE S TION
some, due to their physical .
This group of asanas espec o n d itio n ( Sa r ir a sth ith i) a g e
cially, Utkatasana and Uttanand constitution, it may not
asana helps tone up the digebe possible to do so even
Aftcr some Praafter considerable practice. stiv system.
But the benefits start accru- ctice , when one i s steady i n
ing when one does conscio- the posture (Sthira), the
usly and withthe iight breath- M o o labandhaand U ddi yana(referred in ihe preing and'feeling'. the stretch- bandha
ing and stay with it fof a vious issue) could be tried

aftgr xhalation, lt is good.? during menstruationis to bo

6sp6ciallyfor women,asthey'- avoided.
work on the pelvic muscles The mornings are ideally
and is useful against certain suitedfor practice, at about
casesof menstrualdisorders or before sunrise, However,
as dyssmenorrhoa.
They also abhyasa in the eveningsis
impriilEthetoneof the pelvic betterthan skipping the pramuscleswhich will be use- cticefor the day.Oneshould
ful during labour and help not practiceuntil threehours
reduce post-natalcomplica- aftet a solid meal and half
tionasprolapseetc.Theseare
an hour after intake of
contraindicatedfor pregnant fluids.
women. Practiceof asanas The above group is not

xXxXx
x

axhaustiveof standing poetures,but argtaken for simplicity and maximum advantage.Therearsotherstanding

asanaswith feetspreadabout
3' (Trikonasana
Sthithi),about 5' (Prasarithapada
Sthithi)
and culminatingin spreading
the feet for over 7', when it
becomes Samakona Sthithi
when one sits as it wrewith
legs apartat 180o.Well that
is for the adeptsI