Bālāsana (Sanskrit : बालासन) or Child Pose, [1] is a kneeling asana in modern yoga as exercise. Balasana is a counter asana for various asanas and is usually practiced before and after Sirsasana. [2]
Bālāsana (Sanskrit : बालासन) or Child Pose, [1] is a kneeling asana in modern yoga as exercise. Balasana is a counter asana for various asanas and is usually practiced before and after Sirsasana. [2]
The name comes from the Sanskrit words बाल bala, "child" and आसन āsana, "posture" or "seat". [3]
Balasana is not described until the 20th century; a similar pose appears in Niels Bukh's 1924 Primary Gymnastics. [4] [5]
Ananda Balasana is illustrated as Kandukasana (Ball Pose) in the 19th century Sritattvanidhi . [6]
From a kneeling position, bring the forehead to the floor and relax the arms alongside the body, palms upwards. [7]
If need be, and during pregnancy, the knees can be spread. [7] The arms may be stretched forward in front of the head. [8] If there is discomfort in the neck and shoulders, a rolled blanket may be placed on the backs of the lower legs, and the forearms can be stacked and the forehead rested on them. [9]
Uttana Shishosana or "Extended Puppy Pose" stretches forwards from all fours until the forearms and forehead are resting on the floor and the thighs are vertical, giving a pose intermediate between Balasana and Adho Mukha Shvanasana (Downward Dog Pose). [10]
Parsva Balasana (Sanskrit : पार्श्व बालासन, 'Side child pose'), [11] also called Sucirandhrasana (सुचिरंध्रासन), "Eye of the Needle Pose", or "Thread the Needle Pose", has the head and feet as in Balasana, the knees bent, the hips raised, and one shoulder on the floor, with the arm on that side stretched out in front of the face at right angles to the body along the floor. The other arm may be stretched forwards over the head, folded behind the back, or stretched straight up into the air. [12]
Shasangasana (शसांगासन) or "Rabbit Pose", practised in Bikram Yoga, has the tailbone lifted until the thighs are vertical and the head and arms point back towards the feet, creating an intense flexion of the spine. [13]
Pashchimottanasana, Seated Forward Bend, or Intense Dorsal Stretch is a seated forward-bending asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise. Janusirsasana is a variant with one knee bent out to the side; Upavishthakonasana has the legs straight and wide apart.
Downward Dog Pose or Downward-facing Dog Pose, also called Adho Mukha Svanasana, is an inversion asana, often practised as part of a flowing sequence of poses, especially Surya Namaskar, the Salute to the Sun. The asana is commonly used in modern yoga as exercise. The asana does not have formally named variations, but several playful variants are used to assist beginning practitioners to become comfortable in the pose.
Cobra Pose or Bhujangasana is a reclining back-bending asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise. It is also performed in a cycle of asanas in Surya Namaskar, Salute to the Sun, as an alternative to Urdhva Mukha Svanasana, Upward Dog Pose. The Yin Yoga form is Sphinx Pose.
Halasana or Plough pose is an inverted asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise. Its variations include Karnapidasana with the knees by the ears, and Supta Konasana with the feet wide apart.
Tadasana, Mountain pose or Samasthiti is a standing asana in modern yoga as exercise; it is not described in medieval hatha yoga texts. It is the basis for several other standing asanas.
Chakrasana or Urdhva Dhanurasana is a backbending asana in yoga as exercise. The one-legged variant is often chosen by yoga practitioners who wish to advertise themselves.
Virasana or Hero Pose is a kneeling asana in modern yoga as exercise. Medieval hatha yoga texts describe a cross-legged meditation asana under the same name. Supta Virasana is the reclining form of the pose; it provides a stronger stretch.
Kukkutasana, Cockerel Pose, or Rooster Posture is an arm-balancing asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise, derived from the seated Padmasana, lotus position. It is one of the oldest non-seated asanas. Similar hand-balancing poses known from the 20th century include Pendant Pose or Lolasana, and Scale Pose or Tulasana.
Kapotasana or Pigeon Pose is a kneeling back-bending asana in modern yoga as exercise. Asanas based on One-legged King Pigeon pose, Rajakapotasana, are also sometimes called "Pigeon".
Virabhadrasana or Warrior Pose is a group of related lunging standing asanas in modern yoga as exercise commemorating the exploits of a mythical warrior, Virabhadra. The name of the pose derives from the Hindu myth, but the pose is not recorded in the hatha yoga tradition until the 20th century. Virabhadrasana has some similarity with poses in the gymnastics of Niels Bukh the early 20th century; it has been suggested that it was adopted into yoga from the tradition of physical culture in India at that time, which was influenced by European gymnastics.
Astavakrasana or Eight-Angle Pose is a hand-balancing asana in modern yoga as exercise dedicated to the sage Astavakra, the spiritual guru of King Janaka.
Utthita Parshvakonasana, Extended Side Angle Pose, is an asana in modern yoga as exercise. It is first described in 20th century texts.
Parshvottanasana or Intense Side Stretch Pose is a standing and forward bending asana in modern yoga as exercise.
Bidalasana or Marjariasana, both meaning Cat Pose in Sanskrit, is a kneeling asana in modern yoga as exercise. A variant with one leg held up is Vyaghrasana, Tiger Pose; a similar variant with one leg held straight out is Chakravakasana, Sunbird Pose. A variant with the back lowered is Bitilasana, Cow Pose; this is often used as the counter-posture, and a widely used exercise is to alternate between Cat and Cow Poses repeatedly.
Tittibhasana or Firefly pose is an arm-balancing asana with the legs stretched out forwards in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise. Variants include Bhujapidasana, with the legs crossed at the ankle, and Eka Hasta Bhujasana, with one leg stretched out forwards.
Parighasana or Gate Pose is a kneeling asana in modern yoga as exercise.
Scorpion pose or Vrischikasana is an inverted asana in modern yoga as exercise that combines a forearm balance and backbend; the variant with hands rather than forearms on the floor, elbows bent, is called Ganda Bherundasana. Light on Yoga treats both forearm and hand balance forms as variants of this pose. It is a part of the headstand cycle in some yoga traditions.
Mandukasana or Frog pose is a group of seated asanas in Hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise, all of which put the body in a shape like that of a frog. Another frog-like posture is Bhekasana.
Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana, Standing Big Toe Hold or Extended Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose is a standing balancing asana in modern yoga as exercise.
The standing asanas are the yoga poses or asanas with one or both feet on the ground, and the body more or less upright. They are among the most distinctive features of modern yoga as exercise. Until the 20th century there were very few of these, the best example being Vrikshasana, Tree Pose. From the time of Krishnamacharya in Mysore, many standing poses have been created. Two major sources of these asanas have been identified: the exercise sequence Surya Namaskar ; and the gymnastics widely practised in India at the time, based on the prevailing physical culture.
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