Bharadvajasana ( sa, भरद्वाजासन;

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...

: ''Bharadvājāsana'') or Bharadvaja's twist is a twisting

asana An asana is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and later extended in hatha yoga ...

in modern

yoga as exercise 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 ...

Etymology and origins

The asana is dedicated to the sage Bharadvāja who was one of the Seven Great Sages or

Rishi ''Rishi'' () is a term for an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mentions in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "great yogis" o ...

. He was the father of

Drona Droṇa ( sa, द्रोण, Droṇa), also referred to as Dronacharya ( sa, द्रोणाचार्य, Droṇācārya), is a major character of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he serves as the royal preceptor of the Kaur ...

, a master of military arts and the royal

guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan- Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...

Kaurava ''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his wi ...

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledge ...

s and the Devastras, the princes who fought the great war of the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the K ...

. A different asana is illustrated under the name Bharadvajasana in the 19th century '' Sritattvanidhi''; it somewhat resembles

Mayurasana Mayūrāsana ( sa, मयूरासन) or Peacock pose is a hand-balancing asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise with the body held horizontal over the hands. It is one of the oldest non-seated asanas. Etymology and origins The ...

with the legs in Padmasana, but as drawn it would be impossible to perform. The pose currently known by the name Bharadvajasana is a modern one, first seen in the 20th century. It is described in the works of two of

Krishnamacharya Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (18 November 1888 – 28 February 1989) was an Indian yoga teacher, ayurvedic healer and scholar. He is seen as one of the most important gurus of modern yoga, and is often called "the father of modern yoga" for h ...

's pupils,

B. K. S. Iyengar Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar (14 December 1918 – 20 August 2014) was an Indian teacher of yoga and author. He is founder of the style of yoga as exercise, known as " Iyengar Yoga", and was considered one of the foremost yoga guru ...

's 1966 ''

Light on Yoga ''Light on Yoga: Yoga Dipika'' (Sanskrit: योग दीपिका, "Yoga Dīpikā") is a 1966 book on the Iyengar Yoga style of modern yoga as exercise by B. K. S. Iyengar, first published in English. It describes more than 200 yoga posture ...

'' and

Pattabhi Jois K. Pattabhi Jois (26 July 1915 – 18 May 2009) was an Indian yoga guru who developed and popularized the flowing style of yoga as exercise known as Ashtanga vinyasa yoga. In 1948, Jois established the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mys ...

's Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga.

Description

Bharadvājāsana is a seated spinal twist. Bharadvajasana I is the basic form, with the legs as in

Virasana Virasana ( sa, वीरासन; IAST: ''vīrāsana'') 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 ...

(hero pose), one foot on the floor and the other ankle cradled in the arch of the foot below.

Baddha Konasana Baddha Konasana ( sa, बद्धकोणासन ; IAST: ''baddhakoṇāsana''), Bound Angle Pose, Butterfly Pose, or Cobbler's Pose (after the typical sitting position of Indian cobblers when they work), and historically called Bhadrasana, Th ...

and

Marichyasana Marichyasana ( sa, मरीच्यासन ; IAST: ''Maricyāsana'', the pose of the sage Marichi) is a sitting twist asana in modern yoga as exercise, in some forms combined with a forward bend. Etymology and origins The name of the pose i ...

can be used to prepare for Bharadvajasana. Utthita

trikonasana Trikonasana or Utthita Trikonasana ( sa, उत्थित त्रिकोणासन; IAST: ''utthita trikoṇāsana''), xtendedTriangle Pose is a standing asana in modern yoga as exercise. Variations include Baddha Trikonasana (bound tria ...

, extended triangle pose, is a suitable counter pose to Bharadvajasana.

Variations

Bharadvajasana II is an advanced form requiring high hip mobility; one leg is bent as in Padmasana (lotus position), while the other leg is bent as in Virasana. Bharadvajasana on chair is a variant performed sitting sideways on an armless chair. This does not require hip mobility; the arms grasp the back of the chair to assist with the twist.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bharadvajasana Sitting asanas Twisting asanas Hip-opening asanas Asymmetric asanas

Etymology and origins

Description

Variations

See also

References

Sources