Pelvic floor muscles are the support system of the internal organs. The pelvic floor muscles together with the respiratory diaphragm above, create the bottom and top of our abdominal cavity. A term often used in yoga is the perineum. However, the muscles of the perineum form the most superficial layer and do not contribute to stabilizing the pelvic floor. The muscle group doing so is the levator ani group, which means "elevators of the anus". Basic Sequences Where to start if you are new or a beginner. These posture flows are simple, short and only contain basic postures. Meditation Basics Meditation is a focusing of the mind on a single object, creating the cessation of all thought. As thoughts dissipate, the mind becomes quiet, and we are able to be fully in the present moment. The techniques of meditation are simple and easy to learn, but the ability to keep the mind focused takes time, patience and practice. The benefits of a regular meditation practice include reduction of stress, tension, anxiety and frustration, as well as improved memory, concentration, inner peace and whole body well-being. This can be practised in either a sitting or a standing position. While standing, place your hands firmly on the thighs, keep the legs apart, and bend your trunk slightly forward.

Since its first publication by the Bihar School of Yoga in 1969, it has been reprinted thirteen times and translated into many languages. It is the main reference text used by yoga teachers and students of Bihar Yoga/Satyananda Yoga within the International Yoga Fellowship Movement, and many other traditions as well. This comprehensive text provides clear illustrations, step by step directions and details of chakra awareness. It guides the practitioner or teacher from the simplest to the most advanced practices of the hatha yoga system. A therapeutic index is included for use by doctors and yoga therapists incorporating recent information from research into yoga. APMB doesn’t win hands down in all dimensions. Graphics is one area in which Light on Yoga is much more useful than APMB. Iyengar’s book uses photographs, and given Iyengar’s penchant for perfect alignment, his book’s photos are quite informative. APMB has line drawings, but some of the drawings suggest incorrect alignments (e.g. the knee well forward of the toes in an asana for which the shin should be perpendicular to the floor.) This would be a damning criticism if I thought anyone should or could learn yoga from the drawings in a book, but since I think pictures are just there to remind one of the general form of the asana, I don’t deduct too much for this flaw. [On the other hand, Iyengar is so flexible that his photos can be a little demoralizing for a person incapable of touching his or her skull to his or her coccyx.] Those who've read my review of LoY may well be surprised by this statement. Indeed, there are ways in which LoY is definitely superior-most notably in its extensive five-year plus asana program, as well as therapeutic programs to treat specific ailments. But there are also ways-important ways-that Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha (henceforth APMB) has the edge.

Iyengar’s book also has more information. While Light on Yoga has many more asana, each book has a few postures that the other doesn’t, but—for the most part—both of the books hit all the classic asanas of Hatha Yoga. I don’t give a lot of credit for having more asana or variations because both books have more than enough material to keep beginner, intermediate, and advanced students busy.

Yoga Lessons Need inspiration for your yoga class or practice? Use the themes in our Yoga Lessons for focus, intention and guidance. Our Yoga Lessons are not lesson plans, but general outlines with spiritual quotes, focused intentions, lists of yoga practices and further off-the-mat homework exercises. Want to share a yoga lesson with us? Post it here! Swami Satyananda Saraswati was disciple of Swami Sivananda and became a wandering mendicant. He founded the the International Yoga Fellowship in 1963 and the Bihar School of Yoga in 1964. Both works are largely collections of detailed descriptions of yogasanas (postures), breathing methods ( pranayama), mudra, bandha, and, in the case of APMB, Shatkarma (cleansing practices.) Shatkarma is not well-known in the West, but it is a series of 6 cleansing practices that, along with asana and pranayama, are part of the trio making up Hatha Yoga. Prana means life force or vital energy. These are the forces or energies which we need to carry out life activities. What can we term as life activities? How do you know if someone is alive or not? You know because they breathe, move, speak, think. Right? So, these activities are called life activities. The energy or the force we need to do these activities is called prana. There are five major pranas that provide energy for five different kinds of life activities.Sun Salutations Often considered the core of hatha yoga practice, Sun Salutations are traditionally practiced at sunrise to warm and energize the body. We have several Sun Salutation sequences available with varying levels of difficulty, from basic to intermediate. What I find most appealing about this book is that the author, Swami Satyananda Saraswati, advocates and passionately believes in the pursuit of holistic health and spiritual wellbeing. Furthermore, unlike other publications I have browsed through which guide the student through the practices of Yoga with lavish and glossy photo-illustrations, this manual uses written expositions of each of the exercises in combination with clear and simple line drawings. I personally recommend this book to any individual wishing to explore how the practices of Yoga can profoundly invigorate, integrate and harmonise ones mental, psychological and physical self. Wonderful book for anyone hoping to create a home yoga practice. Seriously, good for absolute beginners but even people who have been taking yoga lessons for several years will be pleasantly surprised how much they can learn from this book originally written in the 1960s. Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha is recognised internationally as one of the most systematic yoga manuals available today.

Pranayama Pranayama are breathing exercises developed by the ancient yogis for purification. Prana translates into “life force energy” and Yama translates into “control or mastery of”. Thus, Pranyama is used to control, cultivate, and modify the Prana in the body. Prana is taken in through the air we breathe, and since the pranayama exercises increase the amount of air we take in, they also increase our intake of Prana. For all pranayama (except Kapalabhati), the breath is slow and steady, breathed in and out of the nose and down into the belly. Always sit with a straight spine and a relaxed body. While you are practicing pranayama, let go of any thoughts by focusing on the breathing involved with the pranayama. APMB, by contrast, is intelligently arranged for someone who wants to take charge of their yoga routine. A peek at the table of contents immediately shows what I mean. The major division is by experience level-beginner's group, intermediate group, and advanced group-but then within each of these groups the asanas are arranged according to their specific characteristics. So for example, under the intermediate group you have asanas that employ padmasana, or forward bending practices, or spinal twisting, etc. The beginner's group is especially well suited for complete neophytes, and it would be advice well heeded to not begin the intermediate practices until you're thoroughly comfortable them. They include warm-ups (the pawanmuktasana series), relaxation postures, standing postures, vajrasana-based postures and others, including surya and chandra namaskara. Throughout the past eighteen months I have discovered, in this book, a wonderful aide and reliable companion to my daily practice of Yoga. Published by The Bihar School of Yoga since 1969, the versatile format of Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha should appeal to a beginner, intermediate or an advanced student of Yoga. Comprehensive yet clear, step-by-step and illustrated directions on the way in which each of the exercises should be performed enable the reader to pursue Yoga practice both safely and mindfully. As the title suggests, four main aspects of Yoga are covered within. The ‘Asana’ chapter which covers the Yoga stretches and postures has three sub-headings which help the student to select, attempt and perfect the physical exercises of Yoga according to their own ability. The following chapters cover ‘Pranayama’ - the expansion and control of breath, ‘Bandha’ – the control and focused contraction of the flow of spiritual energy, ‘Mudra’ – physical gestures used to promote and stimulate the flow of psychic energy and also ‘Shatkarma’ - techniques which can be used to physically cleanse and purify the body. Subsequent to these chapters is an introduction to the psychic physiology of Yoga, which outlines and briefly discusses the importance of Prana and Chakra awareness. This Yoga manual then concludes with a therapeutic index and an index of practices. Contraction mudras involve the engagement of subtle skeletal muscles, mostly in the area of the pelvis. These mudras concentrate the prana in the body and prime the energy channels (nadis) for the awakening of kundalini.Warm-up Sequences Use these sequences of simple stretches to warm up prior to any of the pose sequences. Kaya (postural) mudras are similar to asana, but combine the other types of simple mudras with pranayama and concentration. These are the most complicated mudras and require the most amounts of concentration and focus to hold. Kaya mudras invigorate the prana in the body and direct the prana into specific chakras (energy centers). Inspiration Inspiration is an essential component to a healthy and vibrant yoga practice. We actively seek out inspirational teachers, photographers, places, videos and stories to share with you. Please let us know what inspires you! Generally, prana is understood as energy. Right and wrong! Not all energies are the same. Like there is energy in food, there is energy in the battery but these are different types of energy. You cannot replace food with batteries as a means of a human energy source.

One thing that surprised me is that I found APMB to be more forthright and scientific in its approach. I’d always heard Iyengar was modern and relatively scientifically oriented. After all, this is the man who introduced props for students who cannot perform asanas without proper alignment otherwise—so as to avoid injuries. Now I know that the Bihar School is also known for integrating present-day research into its understanding of yoga, but I was initially not so familiar with Bihar. So while both texts are better than most about depicting the risks, as indicated, Iyengar gives short shrift to the contra-indications and occasionally suggests an extreme posture for a severe ailment. While I applaud Iyengar’s passion, I think it has made him prone to see yoga as a panacea for all ills and to downplay the risks—at least in the late 1960’s when Light on Yoga was written. (Both books were written in the late 60’s, but—based solely on the front matter—it appears there may have been more revised editions for the APMB. Asana Prana Yama Mudra Bandha is recognised internationally as one of the most systematic yoga manuals today. Since it's first publication by the Bihar School of yoga in 1969 it has been reprinted seventeen times and translated into many languages. It is the main reference text used by Yoga teachers and students of Bihar Yoga/Satyananda Yoga within the International Yoga Movement, and many other traditions as well. This comprehensive text provides clear illustrations. step by step directions and details of chakra awareness. It guides the practitioner or teacher from the simplest to the most advanced practices of hatha yoga system. A therapeutic index is provided for use by doctors and yoga therapists incorporating recent information from research into yoga. This edition successfully brings the exposition of yoga practices to the standard of a university text. This latest Fourth Revised Edition has been revised and updated under the direction of Swami Niranjananda Saraswati,the successor of Swami Satyananda Saraswati. Since publication of the first edition,interest in yoga has spread widely.Now the book is used in ashrams,centres and yoga schools in many countries as the standard textbook for teachers and students alike.The techniques presented have been assimilated by fields as diverse as medicine,education,entetainment,business,sports and the training of spiritual aspirants. Mudras (gesture, seal) are subtle physical movements of the hands, face, and or body. Complex mudras involve the whole body in a combination of asana, pranayama, bandha and visualization, while simple mudras range from hand positions to meditation techniques. The purpose of a mudra is to activate and create a circuit of prana in the body. This circuit channels the prana in a specific way to create a subtle effect on koshas and to regulate and awaken the prana, chakras and kundalini, Mudras are used only after proficiency in asana, pranayama and bandha has been achieved, and when one has obtained some cultivation and awareness of prana. In hatha yoga, the level of progression is asana, pranayama, bandha, mudra, samadhi. Thus, mudra is the advanced practice leading up to the attainment of enlightenment or samadhi.Philosophy of Yoga The main philosophy of yoga is simple: mind, body and spirit are all one and cannot be clearly separated. Yet there is a multitude of philosophical ideas developed by looking into the deeper dimensions of the body, mind and spirit. Do not attempt to hold your breath in this position longer than you can do so comfortably without inhaling. It is common to cough a bit when learning Mula means base, foundation. Imagine a diamond shape made up of anus, genitals, and perineum. These muscles are part of the pelvic floor. When these muscles are activated, there is a lifting action.