Asana is defined as “posture;” its literal meaning is “seat.” Originally, asana served as a stable pose for prolonged seated meditation. More than just stretching, the yoga poses open the energy channels, chakras and psychic centers of the body. Asanas purify and strengthen the body, as well as control, calm and focus the mind.
When holding a yoga posture, make sure you can breathe slowly and deeply, using Dirga or Ujjiayi Pranayama. Go to your edge in the posture, holding where you feel a good stretch and/or your body working, but don’t feel pain, strain or fatigue. If you have not practiced yoga postures before, please read our beginner’s guide.
Are you curious about yoga but don’t know how to start? Yoga for Beginners was written just for you! Our book's unique approach first takes you through the basics to get started and then teaches you the poses in the context of a yoga practice sequence. With this sequence based learning approach, you can easily jump from section to section and learn only as much as you wish to practice, or you can progress page by page to begin and deepen your practice of yoga in a linear progression.
Purchase Yoga for Beginners on Amazon.com
