A List Of The Best Sivananda Yoga Poses

Every modern adaptation of the 5,000-year-old system of yoga was born out of the desire of a yoga master to impart his understanding of the benefits of yoga in his own way. Sivanada yoga is such a style. Created by Dr. Kuppuswami, who later became known as Swami Sivananda, this system of yoga is based upon his understanding of how the body works and which poses would be the most beneficial. He limited his style to 12 basic postures --- consisting of inversions, back bends, twists, forward bends and balancing poses --- which he considered the best to stretch and strengthen your body in an effective way. Choose from among Sivananda yoga poses to create a practice that is best for you.

Inversions

Known as the king of all Hatha yoga poses, the headstand is the first pose performed in a Sivananda class. The headstand is revered for its many benefits, not the least of which is the act of allowing your body to relax against the normal pull of gravity.

If the headstand is the king of all poses, then the shoulder stand may be classified as the queen or mother of all poses. It focuses on regulating the thyroid gland, which is responsible for your body's metabolism.

Plough pose is traditionally performed after the shoulder stand. Instead of rolling out of a shoulder stand to an upright position, performing the plough pose has you drop your feet behind your head, which provides a deeper massage of the thyroid while giving your spine an intense stretch.

Fish pose is a natural counter-pose to plough. Lie on the floor with your hands resting under the small of your back, then rise up on your elbows and tip your head back to create a deep opening of your chest.

Forward Bend

The sitting forward bend, which stretches your hamstrings, calves and back, is performed while seated on the floor with your legs extended in front of you. Reaching forward to grasp your toes with your hands, you use your inhales and exhales to relax into the pose. You must never risk forcing into this spinal stretch but learn how to ease into it over time.

Back Bends

The cobra, locust and bow poses make up the back-bend portion of a Sivananda yoga class. Back bends were designed to expand the chest and strengthen your back muscles.

Cobra is performed lying on your stomach with your hands resting by your shoulders. Lifting your head and shoulders from the floor, you use your back muscles rather than your hands to maintain the lift.

Locust pose requires that you lift not only your head and shoulders, but also your feet and legs off the floor for a more intense back bend. To avoid compression in your spine, stretch your arms and legs away from each other while grounding your pelvis into the floor for support.

From locust, grasp your ankles with both hands to achieve the bow pose. While maintaining an even breath, pull your feet away from your hands in order to lift your limbs even higher off the floor.

Twist

There is only one twist in the Sivananda yoga system. Called Ardha Matsyendrasana, or half lord of the fishes, this seated pose aims to help you maintain the flexibility of your spine by twisting laterally. It stretches the space between your vertebrae and has the added benefit of soothing the sciatic nerves, which can become pinched through inactivity and prolonged sitting.

Balancing Poses

Crow pose has many variations, all of which involve balancing on your hands while the rest of your body hovers above the floor. Crow pose requires great strength in your wrists and forearms but has the benefit of teaching you focus.

The standing forward bend is similar to the sitting version except that you are letting gravity help pull your hands toward your feet. This is a restful pose that stretches your spine, hamstrings and calves.

Triangle pose completes the 12 basic poses performed in a Sivananda class. Performed in a wide-legged stance and bending from the waist sideways to reach the floor with your hand, triangle is a soothing stretch for the sides of your body.