Yoga Postures (Asanas)

Introduction

Our physical body needs exercise to function properly and to feel well and healthy. Yoga postures (asanas), provide a perfect mean to achieve this objective by reinforcing and harmonizing the activity of all the body systems: muscular, digestive circulatory, respiratory, endocrine, nervous… without provoking any muscular or nervous fatigue.We can find 5 main groups of postures: inverted poses, forward bends, backward bends, twists and balancing poses, each one bringing specific benefits to the body. For example, inverted poses are excellent for the blood circulation and the irrigation of the brain. Forward bends act upon the digestive system and the flexibility of the back muscles and the legs. Backward bends stimulate the spinal nerves and strengthen the back muscles. Twist poses are excellent for the spine and digestion. Balancing poses help to work on concentration and self confidence…

Sun Salutation (Surya Namaskaar)

The Sun Salutation is a series of twelve movements synchronized with the breath that prepare the body for the postures.

This dynamic exercise stimulates more than a hundred muscles in the body and allows to keep the spine and the back muscles strong and flexible.The Sun Salutation can also be practiced at home in the morning and constitutes an excellent way to wake up the body and the mind and to start the day on the right foot.

The 12 basic postures (Rishikesh series)

This ancient series of postures originates from Rishikesh, in India, where it was practiced by numerous Indian yogis before being offered to the West through the great yogi and sage Swami Sivananda and his disciple Swami Vishnu-Devananda who started to teach it when he arrived to the United States in the sixties.