|
Gomukhasana
Gomukhasana (; ) or Cow Face Pose is a seated asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise, sometimes used for meditation. Etymology and origins The name comes from the Sanskrit meaning "cow", meaning "face" or "mouth", and meaning "posture" or "seat". The crossed legs are said to look like a cow's mouth, while the bent elbows supposedly look like a cow's ears. The pose is ancient as it is described in the ''Darshana Upanishad'' (3.3–4), written around the 4th century. It is described within the 84 asanas in the 17th-century ''Haṭha Ratnāvalī'' (3.7–20). However, the current form of Gomukhasana with the hands behind the back is mentioned only in such ancient tantric texts as the ''Ahirbudhnya Samhita''. It is sometimes used for meditation and pranayama. Description The pose is entered from kneeling by crossing the legs; the heel of the upper leg is tucked in under the lower thigh near the buttock. The arm on the lower leg side is raised, the forearm bent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yoga Using Props
Props used in yoga include chairs, Yoga brick, blocks, belts, Yoga mat, mats, blankets, bolsters, and straps. They are used in Yoga as exercise, 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. One prop, the yoga strap, has an ancient history, being depicted in temple sculptures and described in manuscripts from ancient and medieval times; it was used in ''Sopasrayasana'', also called ''Yogapattasana'', a seated Meditation posture, meditation pose with the legs crossed and supported by the strap. In modern times, the use of props is associated especially with the yoga guru B. K. S. Iyengar; his disciplined style required props including belts, blocks, and ropes. History The ''yogapaṭṭa'' in sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medieval Hatha Yoga Asanas
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and transitioned into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history: classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early Middle Ages, Early, High Middle Ages, High, and Late Middle Ages. Population decline, counterurbanisation, the collapse of centralised authority, invasions, and mass migrations of tribes, which had begun in late antiquity, continued into the Early Middle Ages. The large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the 7th century, North Africa and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meditation Asanas
Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditation process itself. Techniques are broadly classified into focused (or concentrative) and open monitoring methods. Focused methods involve attention to specific objects like breath or mantras, while open monitoring includes mindfulness and awareness of mental events. Meditation is practiced in numerous religious traditions, though it is also practised independently from any religious or spiritual influences for its health benefits. The earliest records of meditation (''dhyana'') are found in the Upanishads, and meditation plays a salient role in the contemplative repertoire of Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism. Meditation-like techniques are also known in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, in the context of remembrance of and prayer and devoti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhist Meditation
Buddhist meditation is the practice of meditation in Buddhism. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are ''bhavana, bhāvanā'' ("mental development") and ''Dhyāna in Buddhism, jhāna/dhyāna'' (a state of meditative absorption resulting in a calm and luminous mind). Buddhists pursue meditation as part of the path toward Moksha, liberation from defilements (''Kleshas (Buddhism), kleshas'') and clinging and craving (''upādāna''), also called Bodhi, awakening, which results in the attainment of nirvana. The Indian Schools of Buddhism, Buddhist schools relied on numerous meditation techniques to attain meditative absorption, some of which remain influential in certain modern schools of Buddhism. Classic Buddhist meditations include ''anapanasati'' (mindfulness of breathing), ''Patikulamanasikara, asubha bhavana'' ("reflections on repulsiveness");Deleanu, Florin (1992)Mindfulness of Breathing in the Dhyāna Sūtras Transactions of the Internatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sitting Asanas
An āsana (Sanskrit: आसन) 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 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 " position thatis steady and comfortable". Patanjali mentions the ability to sit for extended periods as one of the eight limbs of his system.Patanjali ''Yoga sutras'', Book II:29, 46 Asanas are also called yoga poses or yoga postures in English. The 10th or 11th century '' Goraksha Sataka'' and the 15th century ''Hatha Yoga Pradipika'' identify 84 asanas; the 17th century '' Hatha Ratnavali'' provides a different list of 84 asanas, describing some of them. In the 20th century, Indian nationalism favoured physical culture in response to colon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Asanas
An asana (Sanskrit: आसन, IAST: āsana) is a body posture, used in both medieval hatha yoga and modern yoga. The term is derived from the Sanskrit word for 'seat'. While many of the oldest mentioned asanas are indeed seated postures for meditation, asanas may be standing, seated, arm-balances, twists, inversions, forward bends, backbends, or reclining in prone or supine positions. The asanas have been given a variety of English names by competing schools of yoga. The traditional number of asanas is the symbolic 84, but different texts identify different selections, sometimes listing their names without describing them. Some names have been given to different asanas over the centuries, and some asanas have been known by a variety of names, making tracing and the assignment of dates difficult. For example, the name Muktasana is now given to a variant of Siddhasana with one foot in front of the other, but has also been used for Siddhasana and other cross-legged meditation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Purvottanasana
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 (Salute to the Sun), 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. Etymology and origins The name comes from the , "four"; , "limb"; , "staff"; and ; , "posture" or "seat". The pose was unknown in hatha yoga until the 20th century ''Light on Yoga'', but the pose appears in the 1896 ''Vyayama Dipika'', a manual of gymnastics, as part of the "very old" sequence of ''danda'' exercises. The historian of yoga Norman Sjoman suggests that it is one of the poses adopted into yoga as exercise in Mysore by Krishnamacharya and forming the "primary foundation" for his vinyasas with flowing movements between poses. The pose would then have been taken up by his pupils Pattabhi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paschimottanasana
Pashchimottanasana (), Seated Forward Bend, or Intense Dorsal Stretch is a seated forward-bending asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise. Janusirsasana is a variant with one knee bent out to the side; Upavishthakonasana has the legs straight and wide apart. Etymology and origins The name Paschimottanasana comes from three Sanskrit words. ''Paschima'' (, ) has the surface meaning of "West" or "the back of the body". In terms of the subtle body (as in the ''Yogabīja''), it means the central energy channel, the sushumna nadi, which runs the length of the backbone. ''Uttana'' (, ) means "intense stretch" or "straight" or "extended". ''Asana'' (, ) meaning "posture" or "seat". The pose is described in the 15th-century ''Hatha Yoga Pradipika'', chapter 1, verses 28-29. The name Dandasana (; ) is from Sanskrit meaning "stick" or "staff". The pose is not found in the medieval hatha yoga texts. The 19th century ''Sritattvanidhi'' uses the name Dandasana for a different ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Garudasana
Garudasana (; ) or Eagle Pose is a standing balancing asana in modern yoga as exercise. The name was used in medieval hatha yoga for a different pose. Etymology and origins The name comes from the Sanskrit words () meaning "eagle", and () meaning "posture" or "seat". In Hindu mythology, Garuda is known as the king of birds. He is the ''vahana'' (mount) of the God Vishnu and is eager to help humanity fight against demons. The word is usually rendered into English as "eagle", though the name literally means "devourer", because Garuda was originally identified with the "all-consuming fire of the sun's rays". The name is used for a different pose in the late 17th-century Gheranda Samhita, verse 2.37, which has the legs and thighs on the ground, and the hands on the knees. A one-legged balancing pose named Garudasana but closer to Vrikshasana is described and illustrated in the 19th century '' Sritattvanidhi''. The modern pose is described in '' Light on Yoga''. Descr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baddha Konasana
Baddha Konasana (; IAST: ), Bound Angle Pose, Butterfly Pose, or Cobbler's Pose (after the typical sitting position of Indian cobblers when they work), and historically called Bhadrasana, Throne Pose, is a seated asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise. If the knees rest on the floor, it is suitable as a meditation seat. Etymology and origins The name comes from the Sanskrit words , meaning "bound", , meaning "angle", and , meaning "posture" or "seat". The name Baddha Konasana is relatively recent, but the pose is medieval, as the meditation seat Bhadrasana (from , "throne") is described in the 15th century '' Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā'' 1.53-54. Description From sitting position with both the legs outstretched forward, hands by the sides, palms resting on the ground, fingers together pointing forward, the legs are hinged at the knees so the soles of the feet meet. The legs are grasped at the ankles and folded more until the heels reach the perineum. The knees ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
