Instructions: Get into a kneeling position on the mat keeping the spine straight and elongated and place your hands on your hips. The knees should be parallel and hip distance apart. Keep the knees and shoulders perfectly aligned and the soles of the feet should face the ceiling. Inhale, and push your tailbone in towards the pubis till you feel the tug/pull below the navel. Gently arch your back backwards pushing your hips forward and gently slide your palms to clasp the soles of the feet. Straighten your arms, pushing the arched body upwards while keeping the spine elongated. Allow the head to fall back gently and gaze towards the ceiling. Do not strain the neck and keep the shoulders wide and away from the neck. Breathe calmly and hold the position for 30 to 60 seconds. Release the pose gently without straining the back.

Benefits:

• It massages the internal organs and improves digestion and elimination.
• It strengthens the spine and the shoulders.
• It gives relief from lower back ache.
• It relieves menstrual discomfort.

Caution:

• Persons with back or neck injury should avoid this asana.
• This asana should be avoided by persons suffering from high or low blood pressure, insomnia and migraine.

Instructions: Lie on your belly with your arms on the sides palms up, forehead resting on the floor. Turn your big toes toward each other and rotate the thighs slightly inwards and make the buttocks firm. Inhale and lift your head, upper torso, arms and legs away from the floor. Use the back muscles to lift the chest up and do not put pressure on the neck. You’ll be resting on your lower ribs, belly and front pelvis. Keep the buttocks and the leg muscles firm and the big toes turned toward each other. Raise your arms parallel to the floor and stretch back actively through your fingertips increasing the stretch. Push the shoulders away from the ears and towards each other and keep the upper arms engaged. List the head up gently without jutting out the chin and putting pressure on the neck. Gaze forward or slightly upward. Stay in the pose for 30- 60 seconds. Exhale and release the pose. Repeat 2-3 times.

Benefits:

• It regulates metabolism and helps you lose weight.
• It helps in reducing fat from the stomach.
• It activates the kidneys, liver and the reproductive organs.
• It invigorates the entire body, stimulates the internal organs and enhances blood circulation.
• It regulates the acid-base balance in the body.
• It strengthens and tones the arms, thighs, shoulders, legs, calf muscles and hips.
• It tones and rejuvenates the spine.
• It helps reduce stress and tension.
• It helps in curing constipation, gas troubles, indigestion, dysentery, acidity and other abdominal disorders.
• It helps in the prevention of piles.

Caution:

• Should be avoided in case of lower back injury.

Instructions: Lie down on the floor on your stomach. Bring your arms forward, fold them to cup your chin with both the hands resting the elbows on the ground for support. Keep the elbows shoulder distance apart. Keep the shoulders square and away from the ears and the neck straight and look ahead. The legs should be kept stretched along the floor with the toes pointing outwards. The legs should not be more than shoulder width apart. Hold the pose breathing calmly. Stay in the asana for a few minutes. Lower your hands first to ease out of the pose gently.

Benefits:

• It relaxes the muscles of the shoulders and the spine.
• It provides relief in slip disc, spondylitis and sciatica.
• It prevent any form of backache.
• It expands the lungs and helps in respiratory disorders.
• It stretches and tones the muscles of the abdomen, chest and the neck region.
• It calms the mind and provides relief from stress and anxiety.

Caution:

• This asana should be avoided by persons suffering from neck and lower back injuries.

Instructions: Sit on the floor with your legs extended and held closely together. Bend your knee and slide your left foot under your right knee and place it outside your right hip. Then cross your right leg over the left, piling the right knee on top of the left, and bring your right foot to lie outside the left hip. Sit keeping the weight evenly distributed between the sitting/hip bones. Keep the spine erect and the shoulders expanded and away from the ears. Inhale and stretch your right arm straight out to the right while keeping it parallel to the floor. While exhaling sweep your arm behind your torso and tuck your forearm in the hollow of your lower back, with your right elbow against the right side of your torso and the fingers facing the neck. Glide the hand up gradually as far as you can towards the neck till the forearm is settled on the spine with your palm facing outwards and the back of the hand resting between the shoulder blades. Keep the right elbow tucked into the right side of your torso. Now inhale and extend your left arm forward and then turning your palm up stretch your arm straight up toward the ceiling with your palm turned back. Exhale and bend your elbow and stretch downwards as much as you can to clasp the right hand placed between the shoulder blades. Hook the fingers of the right and the left hand if you are comfortable. Keep your left elbow pointed towards the ceiling and the right elbow pointed towards the floor. The spine should be kept erect. And the left raised arm should be kept close beside the left side of your head. Hold the pose breathing calmly for a minute. Unclasp your fingers and release the hands to move out of the asana. Uncross your legs and repeat on the other side. Rest in a simple cross legged position for a few minutes once the asana is done on both sides. Beginners can use a scarf in case they find clasping of hands difficult to begin with.

Benefits:

• It tones and strengthens the muscles in the back.
• It stretches and strengthens the muscles of the ankles, hips and thighs, shoulders, triceps, inner armpits and chest.
• It provides relief from sciatica.
• It stimulates the kidneys and is very good for diabetics.
• It calms the mind and reduces stress and anxiety.

Caution:

• This asana should be avoided by persons suffering from shoulder, knee or back pain and injuries.

Instructions: Sit on the floor with legs stretched out. Fold the left leg and tuck the left foot into the right thigh and then fold the right leg and tuck the right foot into the left thigh. Cross the legs right across the groin. Keep the hands on your knees or in chin mudra (as in image) if you are using the posture for meditating. Sit erect keeping the spine straight and elongated. Focus on your breathing pattern. You may alternate the crossing of the legs on alternate days when practicing yoga regularly. Stay in the asana for at least 2-3 minutes.

Benefits:

• It is a very good pose for performing breathing exercises and for meditation.

Caution:

• It should be avoided by people suffering from knee or leg injuries.

Instructions: Sit on the floor or on a mat with legs stretched out in front of you while keeping the spine erect. Bend the right knee and bring the right foot to rest on the left thigh with the sole of the feet facing upward and the heel placed close to the abdomen. Do the same with the left leg and foot. With both the legs crossed and feet placed on opposite thighs, place your hands on the knees in mudra position. Keep the head straight and spine erect. Stay in the posture calmly focussing on the breathing pattern as you inhale and exhale deeply. Stay in the posture for as long as you can.

Benefits:

• It calms the mind and reduces stress and anxiety.
• It improves digestion.
• It reduces muscular tension and brings blood pressure under control.

Caution:

• This asana should be avoided by those suffering from a knee or ankle injury.

Instructions: Stand upright with your feet shoulder width apart and the arms raised up. Tighten your front thigh muscles and keeping your legs completely straight, exhale and bend forward from your hip joints keeping your torso straight. Bend your torso and head as one unit and bring the arms down and bend the elbows out to the sides. Slide and hook the fingers under the feet and grip the big toes firmly. Press your toes down firmly against your fingers and press the your forehead into your shins. Keep the torso straight and do not curve the back while getting into the pose and while in it. Hold the pose for a minute breathing calmly. Inhale and lift the body to the original position making sure your torso and head comes back to a standing position as a single unit. Repeat 3-4 times.

Benefits:

• It massages the internal organs and improves the digestive system and elimination of wastes.
• It stimulates the liver and kidneys and helps in better removal of toxins.
• It helps in reducing stress and anxiety.
• It tones and strengthens the calves and hamstrings.
• It provides relief from menopause and menstrual disorders.
• It provides relief from headaches and insomnia.

Caution:

• It should be avoided by people suffering from lower back injuries.

Instructions: Lie flat on your back in a comfortable posture with the legs outstretched and the arms by your side. Place the hands underneath the hips, palms facing down. Bring the elbows closer toward the waist and each other. Cross your legs such that your feet cross each other close to the groin area with your thighs and knees pressed against the floor or keep them straight as in image. Inhale deeply and lift your chest and head up from in between the shoulder blades and then keeping the chest elevated lower the head backward and allow the crown to touch the floor gently. Make sure the weight of the body while lifting is borne by the shoulders and the elbows and no pressure is put on the neck and the head. You can bring the hands forward from below the hips to clasp the feet (if the legs are crossed) or else leave them under the hips as per your comfort level. Hold the position for as long as you can breathing calmly. Now lift the head up and gently lower the chest and the head back to the lying positon and untangle your legs without a jerk. Repeat the asana 2-3 times.

Benefits:

• It tones and stimulates the pituitary, parathyroid and pineal glands.
• It gives the throat and the digestive organs a good massage and aids in digestion and elimination.
• It tones and strengthens the spine, chest and the shoulder region.
• It expands the chest and gives relief from respiratory disorders.
• It strengthens the muscles of the upper back, the shoulders and neck.
• It calms the mind and provides relief from anxiety and stress.
• It is a good treatment for menstrual disorders.

Caution:

• It should be avoided by people suffering from lower back and neck injuries.

Instructions: Sit on the floor with your legs stretched out in front of you. Place your arms in a resting position at your sides. Bend your knees and bring them toward your left hip, such that the weight of your body is now resting on your right buttock.You may rest the inner side of your right ankle on the inner left thigh. Inhale slowly and stretch your spine to lengthen it as much as possible. Then, exhale slowly and twist your upper trunk to the maximum extent possible towards the right. You may keep your right hand on the floor and your left hand will rest on the outer part of the thigh of your right leg. Ensure that the hip on your left side presses down the weight of the body on the floor and is not raised while twisting. Try to apply a lengthening force to your spine with each breath, and twist your body further with each exhalation.Turning your head, look out over the shoulder on your right. Remain in this pose for a minute. Exhale slowly and gently untwist your trunk to revert to come back to the centre twisted position. Repeat on the other side.

Benefits:

• It gives the hips, spine, and shoulders a good stretch and strengthens the muscles.
• It tones and reduces the fat from the waist and the abdomen.
• It massages the internal organs, improves digestion and metabolism.
• It provides relief from neck pain, sciatica and lower back pain.
• It reduces stress and anxiety.
• It provides relief from carpal tunnel syndrome.

Caution:

• This asana should be avoided by persons suffering from spinal and hip injuries.
• Women should avoid this asana during mensuration.
• Avoid this asana if you have low or high blood pressure.

Instructions: Sit cross legged keeping the spine straight and the shoulders broad. Fold your hands in a traditional greeting posture pressing the palms together finger to finger and rest the thumbs close to the sternum. The fingers should be pointing upwards as in image. Raise your elbows to stay aligned with the wrists and bow your head slightly in reverence. Stay in this posture for as long as you want focusing on your breathing pattern.

Benefits :

• It is known to balance the right and the left hemispheres of the brain restoring peace and calm.
• It reduces stress and anxiety.
• It is a very good pose for meditation.

Caution:

• Persons with knee injuries can avoid the sitting posture and can perform this mudra while standing straight.