Postures of Bikram Yoga

Last updated

The following are the 26 postures of Bikram Yoga, as it names them; some of the Sanskrit names differ from those used for the same or closely related poses in other schools of yoga, and some of them are otherwise used for different poses. The postures include 24 asanas (poses in modern yoga as exercise), one pranayama breathing exercise, and one shatkarma, a purification making use of forced breathing. Bikram Yoga was devised by Bikram Choudhury around 1971 when he moved to America. [1] [2] [3] [ unreliable source? ]

#Bikram Yoga's SanskritTranslationAppearanceNearest equivalent
in other schools
1प्राणायाम
Prāṇāyāma
Standing Deep Breathing
Bpose1.jpg
(not an asana;
Yoga breathing,
usually practised sitting)
2अर्धचन्द्रासन with पादहस्तासन
Ardhacandrāsana with
Pādahastāsana
Half Moon Pose with
Hands To Feet Pose
Bpose2.jpg
Indudalasana
3उत्कटासन
Utkaṭāsana
Awkward Pose
Bpose3.jpg
Utkatasana
4गरुडासन
Garuḍāsana
Eagle Pose
Bpose4.jpg
Garudasana
5दण्डायमन जानुशीर्षासन
Daṇḍāyamana Jānuśīrṣāsana
Standing Head To Knee Pose
Bpose5.jpg
Utthita Padangusthasana
6दण्डायमन धनुरासन
Daṇḍāyamana Dhanurāsana
Standing Bow Pose
Bpose6.jpg
Natarajasana
Dancer Pose
7तुलादण्डासन
Tulādaṇḍāsana
Balancing Stick Pose
Bpose7.jpg
Virabhadrasana III
Warrior III
8दण्डायमन विभक्तपाद पश्चिमोत्तानासन
Daṇḍāyamana Vibhaktapāda Paścimottānāsana
Standing Separate Leg Stretching Pose
Bpose8.jpg
Prasarita Padottanasana
Wide Stance Forward Bend
9त्रिकोणासन
Trikoṇāsana
Triangle Pose
Bpose9.jpg
Parsvakonasana
Extended Side Angle Pose
10दण्डायमन विभक्तपाद जानुशीर्षासन
Daṇḍāyamana Vibhaktapāda Jānuśīrṣāsana
Standing Separate Leg Head To Knee Pose
Bpose11.jpg
Parsvottanasana
Intense Side Stretch Pose
11ताडासन
Tāḍāsana
Tree Pose
Bpose10.jpg
Vrikshasana
12पादाङ्गुष्ठासन
Pādāṅguṣṭhāsana
Toe Stand Pose
Bpose12.jpg
Malasana
13शवासन
Śavāsana
Corpse Pose
Bpose13.jpg
Savasana
14पवनमुक्तासन
Pavanamuktāsana
Wind Relieving Pose
Bpose14.jpg
Pavanamuktasana
15पादहस्तासन
Pādahastāsana
Situp
Bpose15.jpg
Paschimottanasana
Seated Forward Bend
16भुजङ्गासन
Bhujaṅgāsana
Cobra Pose
Bpose16.jpg
Bhujangasana
17शलभासन
Śalabhāsana
Locust Pose
Bpose17.jpg
Ardha Salabhasana
18पूर्णशलभासन
Pūrṇaśalabhāsana
Full Locust Pose
Bpose18.jpg
Salabhasana
19धनुरासन
Dhanurāsana
Bow Pose
Bpose19.jpg
Dhanurasana
20सुप्तवज्रासन
Suptavajrāsana
Reclining Thunderbolt Pose
Bpose20.jpg
Supta Virasana
Reclining Hero Pose
21अर्धकूर्मासन
Ardhakūrmāsana
Half Tortoise Pose
Bpose21.jpg
Balasana
Child Pose
22उष्ट्रासन
Uṣṭrāsana
Camel Pose
Bpose22.jpg
Ustrasana
23शसांगासना
Śasāṁgāsanā
Rabbit Pose
Bpose23.jpg
Balasana
Child Pose
24जानुशीर्षासन with पश्चिमोत्तानासन
Jānuśīrṣāsana with
Paścimottānāsana
Head To Knee Pose with
Back Stretching Pose
Bpose24.jpg
Janusirsasana
25अर्धमत्स्येन्द्रासन
Ardha Matsyendrāsana
Half Lord of the Fishes Pose
Bpose25.jpg
Ardha Matsyendrasana
26कपालभाति
Kapālabhāti
"Skull polishing"
Bpose26.jpg
(not an asana:
a shatkarma,
a purification)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bikram Yoga</span> System of yoga in a heated room

Bikram Yoga is a system of hot yoga, a type of yoga as exercise, spread by Bikram Choudhury and based on the teachings of B. C. Ghosh, that became popular in the early 1970s. Classes consist of a fixed sequence of 26 postures, practised in a room heated to 105 °F (41 °C) with a humidity of 40%, intended to replicate the climate of India. The room is fitted with carpets and the walls are covered in mirrors. The instructor may adjust the students' yoga postures. Choudhury's teaching style was abrasive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashtanga vinyasa yoga</span> School of modern yoga

Ashtanga vinyasa yoga is a style of yoga as exercise popularised by K. Pattabhi Jois during the twentieth century, often promoted as a dynamic form of classical Indian (hatha) yoga. Jois claimed to have learnt the system from his teacher Tirumalai Krishnamacharya. The style is energetic, synchronising breath with movements. The individual poses (asanas) are linked by flowing movements (vinyasas).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asana</span> Postures in hatha yoga and modern yoga practice

An āsana is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose, and later extended in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise, to any type of position, adding reclining, standing, inverted, twisting, and balancing poses. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali define "asana" as "[a position that] is steady and comfortable". Patanjali mentions the ability to sit for extended periods as one of the eight limbs of his system. Asanas are also called yoga poses or yoga postures in English.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bikram Choudhury</span> Indian-American yoga teacher Bikram Yoga

Bikram Choudhury is an Indian-American yoga guru, and the founder of Bikram Yoga, a form of hot yoga consisting of a fixed series of 26 postures practised in a hot environment of 40 °C (104 °F). The business became a success in the United States and then across the Western world, with a variety of celebrity pupils. His former wife Rajashree Choudhury assisted him in the yoga business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balasana</span> Kneeling posture in modern yoga

Bālāsana or Child Pose, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shavasana</span> Relaxed reclining posture in hatha yoga

Shavasana, Corpse Pose, or Mritasana, is an asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise, often used for relaxation at the end of a session. It is the usual pose for the practice of yoga nidra meditation, and is an important pose in Restorative Yoga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tree pose</span> Standing balancing posture in hatha yoga

Tree pose or Vrikshasana is a balancing asana. It is one of the very few standing poses in medieval hatha yoga, and remains popular in modern yoga as exercise. The pose has been called iconic of modern yoga; it is often featured in yoga magazines, and practised in public displays such as for the International Day of Yoga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ustrasana</span> Kneeling back-bending posture in modern yoga

Ustrasana, Ushtrasana, or Camel Pose is a kneeling back-bending asana in modern yoga as exercise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yin Yoga</span> A slow-paced school of modern yoga as exercise

Yin Yoga is slow-paced style of yoga, incorporating principles of traditional Chinese medicine, with asanas (postures) that are held for longer periods of time than in other yoga styles. Advanced practitioners may stay in one asana for five minutes or more. The sequences of postures are meant to stimulate the channels of the subtle body - known as meridians in Chinese medicine and as nadis in Hatha yoga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaturanga Dandasana</span> Reclining posture in modern yoga

Chaturanga Dandasana or Four-Limbed Staff pose, also known as Low Plank, is an asana in modern yoga as exercise and in some forms of Surya Namaskar, in which a straight body parallel to the ground is supported by the toes and palms, with elbows at a right angle along the body. The variation Kumbhakasana, Phalakasana, or High Plank has the arms straight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ardha chandrasana</span> Standing posture in modern yoga

Ardha Chandrasana or Half Moon Pose is a standing asana in modern yoga as exercise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hot yoga</span> Yoga as exercise performed in hot conditions

Hot yoga is a form of yoga as exercise performed under hot and humid conditions, resulting in considerable sweating. Some hot yoga practices seek to replicate the heat and humidity of India, where yoga originated. Bikram Choudhury has suggested that the heated environment of Bikram Yoga helps to prepare the body for movement and to "remove impurities".

Bikram Choudhury made a series of claims that his yoga practice, Bikram Yoga, was under copyright and that it could not be taught or presented by anyone whom he had not authorized, starting in 2002. In 2011 Choudhury started a lawsuit against Yoga to the People, a competing yoga studio founded by a former student of Bikram's and with a location near one of the Bikram Yoga studios in New York. As a result of that lawsuit, the United States Copyright Office issued a clarification that yoga postures (asanas) could not be copyrighted in the way claimed by Bikram, and that Yoga to the People and others could continue to freely teach these exercises. In 2015, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling that the Bikram Yoga Sequence was not copyrightable subject matter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Core Strength Vinyasa Yoga</span> School of modern yoga

Core Strength Vinyasa Yoga is a style of yoga as exercise created by American yogini Sadie Nardini in 2006. Central to this style is a movement referred to as a 'wave' (softening). The structure of this practice includes a 7-step framework which is applied to each pose within a sequence. Nardini incorporates aspects of Kundalini Yoga, Sivananda Yoga, Anusara Yoga, Iyengar Yoga, and portions of movement sequences from Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. Maintaining an internal focus on joy in the moment is part of the practice philosophy. This style integrates postures with learnings from many disciplines including physics, biology, and geometry, influenced by the works of Leslie Kaminoff. It incorporates traditional yoga philosophy from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. It emphasizes muscles that are deep within the body and includes the use of 'waves' in order to enter and exit poses. Examples include physical moves that activate muscles close to the spine—such as psoas and quadratus lumborum in order to build support for the body from within before generating outward expression of that movement. The purpose of deep core focused poses in this practice is to improve and deepen breathing. This perspective differs from other styles in which the purpose of deep core work is to stabilize the back. In this practice, keeping belly soft and core strong improve breathing. "Belly Bonfire" breath is one example of a deep core breath technique that involves focus and target of attention and breath with softer abs. Pelvis is viewed as the body's physical center of gravity in this system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utthita Padangusthasana</span> Standing balancing posture in yoga as exercise

Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana, Standing Big Toe Hold or Extended Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose is a standing balancing asana in modern yoga as exercise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yoga as exercise</span> Physical activity consisting mainly of yoga poses

Yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting mainly of postures, often connected by flowing sequences, sometimes accompanied by breathing exercises, and frequently ending with relaxation lying down or meditation. Yoga in this form has become familiar across the world, especially in the US and Europe. It is derived from medieval Haṭha yoga, which made use of similar postures, but it is generally simply called "yoga". Academics have given yoga as exercise a variety of names, including modern postural yoga and transnational anglophone yoga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishnu Charan Ghosh</span> Indian bodybuilder and Hathayogi

Bishnu Charan Ghosh was an Indian bodybuilder and Hathayogi. He was the younger brother of yogi Paramahansa Yogananda, who wrote the 1946 book Autobiography of a Yogi. In 1923, he founded the College of Physical Education, Calcutta. His writings influenced the development of modern yoga as exercise in India and Bikram Choudhury founded Bikram Yoga based on his teachings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Standing asanas</span> Yoga poses with one or both feet on the ground

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postural yoga in India</span> History of how yoga returned to India

Postural yoga began in India as a variant of traditional yoga, which was a mainly meditational practice; it has spread across the world and returned to the Indian subcontinent in different forms. The ancient Yoga Sutras of Patanjali mention yoga postures, asanas, only briefly, as meditation seats. Medieval Haṭha yoga made use of a small number of asanas alongside other techniques such as pranayama, shatkarmas, and mudras, but it was despised and almost extinct by the start of the 20th century. At that time, the revival of postural yoga was at first driven by Indian nationalism. Advocates such as Yogendra and Kuvalayananda made yoga acceptable in the 1920s, treating it as a medical subject. From the 1930s, the "father of modern yoga" Krishnamacharya developed a vigorous postural yoga, influenced by gymnastics, with transitions (vinyasas) that allowed one pose to flow into the next.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yoga using props</span> Use of objects to assist yoga postures

Props used in yoga include chairs, blocks, belts, mats, blankets, bolsters, and straps. They are used in postural yoga to assist with correct alignment in an asana, for ease in mindful yoga practice, to enable poses to be held for longer periods in Yin Yoga, where support may allow muscles to relax, and to enable people with movement restricted for any reason, such as stiffness, injury, or arthritis, to continue with their practice.

References

  1. "26 Bikram Yoga Poses". www.bikramyogaposesguide.com.
  2. Duffin, Erin (3 November 2015). "The 26 Poses of Bikram Yoga". DoYouYoga. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  3. Achanta, Ramya (13 August 2019). "The 26 Bikram Yoga Poses – A Complete Step-By-Step Guide". StyleCraze.