Living with Siva Resource 1: Hatha Yoga - Twenty-Four Hatha Yoga Asanas
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Hatha Yoga
At dawn a devotee practices an advanced hatha yoga asana as part of a series that will prepare him for meditation. Each day in his shrine room, where Lord Ganesha has been installed in a stone wall, he follows a one-hour spiritual routine of yoga, worship and meditation.

Twenty-Four
Hatha Yoga Asanas

Hatha Yoga Block Art

A System of
Body Tuning
and Preparation
for Meditation


RESENTED HERE ARE EIGHT SETS OF THREE POSTURES TO BE PERFORMED IN SERIES. THESE RELATIVELY EASY ASANAS CONSTITUTE A BALANCED SYSTEM FOR DAILY USE. EACH POSE IS TO BE HELD IN RELAXED STILLNESS FOR 30 TO 120 SECONDS, WITH out straining. As maximum stretch and flexibility are achieved, subtle stimulation of the physical and psychic nerve system occurs.

Perform the postures daily in the privacy of your own room, without drawing attention to yourself. Naturally, they should not be performed after meals. Don't worry if you can't perform the poses perfectly, or if some are difficult for you. Do the best you can. Progress at your own pace. With practice, you will find the body becoming more supple, reflecting the mind's flexibility, alertness and freedom from subconscious repressions. By controlling breath we control thought and life energy, or prana. Yogis call this pranayama. The pranayama for these asanas is simple: breathe in for nine equal counts (ideally counting with the heartbeat), then hold one count, breathe out nine counts, hold one, and so on.

Each set includes a color visualization to quiet the mind and intensify healing. The color of the background wall in each illustration is the color to visualize while in that pose. Mentally fill your body with that color, from your head to your toes; or imagine yourself suspended in space, surrounded on all sides by the color. If you discover tensions in the body or mind, visualize them flowing away as you exhale. At the end of your yoga session, sit quietly and plunge into meditation. Tradition sets the best times for hatha yoga at dawn, noon and twilight. Minimally, only twelve minutes of time is needed.

Cautions: Anyone with neck or back problems should abstain from poses that place strain on the spine, such as the headstand and the shoulder stand. For best results, hatha yoga should be taught by a qualified teacher. The instructions given here are a rudimentary aid.

Set One Visualize deep, ruby red for physical vitality.

1. Bend the right leg back around the thigh and tuck the right foot along the contour of the buttocks. Bring the left leg in front of the torso, tucking it close to the groin. Hands are on the knees, in the akasha mudra, palms up, thumb and index fingers touching. Keep the spine, the powerhouse of the body, straight and the head erect and balanced at the top of the spine.
2. Assume the same posture as in asana one, but with the leg positions reversed. Remember to keep the spine erect and the head balanced atop the spine. Become aware of the breath, equalized as nine counts in, holding one count, and nine counts out. Flood your mind and body with ruby red throughout this set. Do not strain; try to relax into the pose, letting go of all anxieties.
3. Tuck the right leg into the groin area, then place the left leg in front of it. This is a variation of the accomplished pose, siddhasana,. If possible, keep both legs resting fully on the floor. Try to sense the energy of the inner and outer nerve system building up to a high point as you sustain each pose. When this peak is felt, gracefully shift during the out-breath to the next asana.

Set Two Visualize marigold orange for pure, selfless service.

4. From the last pose of set one straighten the left leg, lean forward and grasp the left foot with the thumb and index fingers of both hands. This is the janu shirshasana, head-to-knee pose. Relax into the position, letting the head drop lower and lower. In full flexibility the head rests on the knee, elbows lower to the floor, and the torso rests on the leg.
5. Perform the same pose on the right side. Do not strain; rather relax into the pose, letting all anxieties depart. Remain conscious of your breath and mentally surround yourself with the color orange. Be perfectly at ease, one with Siva's perfect universe.
6. Extend both legs into the forward bend, pashchimottanasana. Grasp the toes with the thumb and index fingers and let the head gently lower to the knees. In the ideal pose, the legs are straight and elbows will lower to the floor.

Set Three Visualize sun-glow yellow for purified intellect.

7. Lying face-up on the floor, raise the legs and -- with the hands in the mid-back region to support the body -- raise the torso until the entire body is vertical over the shoulders. This is the shoulder stand, sarvangasana. Keep the spine straight, feet together, torso perpendicular to the floor. Visualize yellow.

As you perform the hatha yoga asanas, put out of your mind all thoughts relating to your work, family, friends, associates, problems and challenges that normally concern you. Relax. Relax. Relax. Be completely at peace with yourself and fully enjoy this contemplative art.
8. Lower the legs slowly over the head until the toes touch the floor. Then lower the arms, palms down. This is the plough pose, halasana.
9. End the set with the corpse pose, sharvasana, by lowering the legs to the floor in front of you. Let the hands rest loosely by the sides, palms down. Every muscle is relaxed. Imagine you are floating in the ocean, without a worry in the world.

Set Four Visualize emerald green for physical/emotional health.

10. Kneel and spread the feet apart, and sit between the ankles, hands on the knees, palms down. This is the heroic pose, virasana. Visualize emerald green. In all poses, breathe deeply, fully and diaphragmatically. Let go of tensions in the solar plexus until you are breathing as a baby breathes -- not by moving the chest, but by allowing the diaphragm to lower and expand naturally. Think of the action of a bellows which, when expanded, creates a vacuum and allows air to enter. Do not force the breath; relax the body and quiet the mind.
11. Still kneeling, arch back as far as possible until the head touches the floor behind you. This is the couch pose, paryankasana. Hold the palms together over the chest in namaskara.
12. When you reach the height of energy, bring the torso up (ideally without aid from the arms) and bend forward until the forehead touches the floor, palms down near the head, buttocks on the floor between the ankles.

Set Five Visualize bright royal blue for peace of mind.

13. Move the upper body forward, inhale, arch the back slowly and extend the arms until straight, in the cobra pose, bhujangasana. Hold the pose for two or three breaths, then lower the torso gracefully, one vertebrae at a time starting at the base of the spine.
14. Bring the legs up, reach back and clasp the ankles. Inhale as you pull the legs up and raise the head and upper body into the bow pose, dhanurasana. Look up and back. Hold for two or three rounds of breathing. Visualize royal blue. Exhale as you release the legs and lower to the full prone position.
15. Rise into a kneeling position, buttocks on the ankles, and lower the upper body to the floor, in the panchanga pranamasana, "five-limb prostration," forehead touching the floor, arms forward, palms down.

Set Six Visualize purple for the outpouring of spiritual knowledge.

16. From the last asana, move the body forward and form a triangle of forearms and head, hands clasped behind the head, fingers interwoven. The hairline touches the floor. Raise the body slowly, keeping the knees bent. Pause, then extend the legs vertically into the headstand, salamba shirshasana. Keep most of the body weight on the arms, not the head.
17. When ready to come down, bend and tuck in the knees and carefully lower into the curled pelvic pose. Remain for at least eight cycles of breath to allow the blood to equalize. Fill your mind with purple.
18. Slowly rise into the upright pelvic pose, hands on knees, palms down. Keep the head down momentarily against the chest in a bandha, or lock, and then straighten the neck.

Set Seven Visualize lavender to purify karma through divine sight.

19. Sit on the left hip and place the right foot over the left knee. Insert the left arm under the bent right knee. Extend the right arm behind the back and clasp the left hand with the right, or, as an easier alternative, grasp the right knee with the left arm. Keep the spine as straight as possible. This is the spinal twist, matsyendrasana. Turn the head slowly to the left each time you inhale, and back to the right as you exhale.
20. Repeat the spinal twist pose on the opposite side, visualizing lavender. In each asana, be totally at ease. Harnessing the breath's three phases (inhalation, retention and exhalation) directs the flow of calming and relaxing body and mind.
21. Coming out of the twist, bring the soles together and hold the feet with both hands in the bound-eagle pose, baddha konasana. Let the knees lower to the floor. Free the mind of thoughts and tensions, and you will be more aware, more alive, more serene.

Set Eight Visualize white for purity in thought, word and deed.

22. Extend the right leg and place the left ankle high on the right thigh. Stretch forward and clasp the right foot with the thumb and index finger. Visualize white. This is a variation of the head-to-knee pose, janu shirshasana.
23. Repeat this same procedure on the left side, with the right foot on the left thigh. Asanas elongate, tone and strengthen muscle tissue, massage the organs, stimulate the nerves and balance the pingala and ida nadis.
24. Finally, assume the lotus posture, padmasana. The right foot is already on the left thigh. To complete the lotus, carefully place the left foot on the right thigh. Spine straight with the hands resting in the lap, palms open, right hand on top, with the thumbs gently touching in dhyana mudra. When physical tensions are released through hatha yoga, mental-emotional tensions are automatically dissolved. This is a great secret and a wonderful tool that you can use every day of your life.

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