The practice of yoga goes back centuries and is credited with offering physical benefits and reduced anxiety, along with other mental benefit for those who practice it regularly. We asked Christopher Chapple, professor in the Department of Theological Studies with decades of experience in the study and practice of yoga, to describe some basic poses that people are likely to start with as they begin to do yoga. Many yoga poses lack the demands of some intense exercise regimens, but it’s always wise to check with your doctor before committing to ongoing serious physical activities.—The Editor.
The yoga tradition arose in India more than 2500 years ago. Yoga arrived in Southern California in the 1890s when Swami Vivekananda, who wrote the enduring classic “Raja Yoga,” took up residence in Pasadena after delivering a stirring speech at the 1893 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago. Today, people of all faiths practice yoga worldwide, and its techniques have become part of all Indic faiths, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.
Leaders of the civil rights movement learned nonviolence techniques grounded in the practice of yoga.
The yoga commitment to nonviolence (ahiṃsā) inspired Mahatma Gandhi in his quest to set India free from colonial rule. He trained the people of India to resist the salt tax, spin and weave their own clothes, and outsmart oppressive economic policies. Eventually, Britain, Portugal and France all surrendered control of their territories on the subcontinent.
Leaders of the Civil Rights movement learned nonviolence techniques grounded in the practice of yoga. Theologian Howard Thurman conferred with Gandhi in India in the 1930s. James Lawson learned about nonviolent resistance while living and teaching in India in the 1950s. He used his knowledge to train the Freedom Riders and the many students who conducted sit-ins in the South. In 1959, Martin Luther King Jr., and Coretta Scott King lived in India for five weeks, arriving, in King’s words, as pilgrims.
The Bhagavad Gītā, a yoga text beloved by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, teaches four paths. Knowledge or Jñāna Yoga helps one to discern reality. Karma Yoga urges one to relinquish attachment to the fruits of action. Raja Yoga provides guidance in breathing and meditation. Bhakti Yoga cultivates devotion.
Meditation takes many shapes and forms in yoga. One practice invites viewing and reflecting upon the elements and their connection with the senses. Fragrances arise from the earth. Flavors float within the waters that start digestion. Forms take shape with the light of the risen sun. Feeling and touch register on the skin through the power of wind. Sound enters the ears and voice resounds in space.
Yoga poses (āsanas) often take the shape of animals. Some favorites include the crow, the peacock, the lion and cobra. In turn, these evoke moods of being clever, beautiful, strong and supple. Inverted poses help restore the endocrine system. Meditation and relaxation reduce stress. Complex sequences such as the Sun Salutation energize and stabilize both body and mind.
Yoga has been taught at LMU since the 1970s. The LMU Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts inaugurated a 120-hour certificate in Yoga Philosophy in 2002, and a Master of Arts in Yoga Studies degree program in 2013 that includes learning Sanskrit language, along with physiology, and yoga’s key texts, history, sociology and applications.
Mountain Pose Tadāsana
This upright standing position is the foundational anatomical posture of both daily life and yogāsana practice, subtly engaging the muscles to hold the body against gravity. Every moment you stand upright is an opportunity to fully inhabit the body, becoming mindful of the movement of the breath while consciously sending awareness to how you plant your feet and connect to the Earth itself, the human and the planet in a constant relationship.
Cat Marjaryāsana
and Cow Bitilāsana
Marjaryāsana stretches the back muscles of the body while opening the front chest and abdominal muscles. Bitilāsana is a backbend that reverses the muscles actions of cat pose, creating an even curve from head to tailbone. Mindfully flowing between these two postures every day keeps the spine mobile and is a simple opportunity to link breath with movement, allowing the mind to begin slowing down from daily life, easing into the present moment.
Downward-Facing Dog Pose Adho Mukha Śvāsana
Adho Mukha Śvāsana activates the whole body and targets a stretch to the back of the legs while strengthening the shoulders. In downward facing dog, you have a chance to listen and honor the needs of the body: If you feel an abundance of energy within, this pose can be done actively. But if you feel the need for surrender, practice this posture at the wall or with knees down for less pressure on the upper body and to satisfy the desire for rest. The āsanas are meant to be altered to satisfy your body’s unique composition, rather than your body contorting to meet the posture.
Cobra Pose Bhujangāsana
This backbend mimics the shape of a serpent. When lifting the chest with the hands grounded, the chest opens as the shoulders draw back, engaging the muscles groups of the shoulders and upper back. A traditional pose, it was believed to enliven any stagnant life-force energy, praṇa, contained in the subtle channels, nādis, of the body stimulating processes such as digestion and elimination.
Warrior Pose Virabhadrāsana I
Virabhadrāsana I is a deep standing lunge that challenges the body to find balance between the feet while building muscle strength. The warrior pose also evokes the deity Śiva, known as the the Adiyogi (first yoga practitioner), who fashioned the warrior named Virabhadra from a lock of his hair to slay Dakṣa, an embodied representation of the human ego.
Chair Pose Utkatāsana
Utkatāsana affects the whole body, increasing blood pressure and lumbar load, which test both cardiovascular resilience and core muscle integrity. It is also a key indicator of longevity. The quadriceps muscles trained here are essential for coming up from sitting, whether it’s on a chair or the ground, to standing. Practice this posture to maintain the integrity of these thigh muscles.
Tree Pose Vrkśāsana
In this classic balance, you are invited to connect your mind and body to that of a tree-being, feet mimicking roots that sink deep into the pores of the earth, while the arms extend, swaying just as branches in the wind. Feel as the body wobbles to maintain balance and constantly self corrects to stay upright, stabilizing the joints while engaging the muscles of the torso and raised leg.
Happy Baby Pose Ananda Balāsana
Ananda balāsana can support physical, mental and emotional release. Practiced on the back with either one leg at a time or both legs held into the chest, it targets a stretch to the inner thighs and broadens the sacrum while soothing the nervous system, making it an ideal cooling posture to practice before going to sleep.
Child’s Pose Balāsana
A resting forward bending pose, balāsana relaxes the front body while passively stretching the back with minimal muscle recruitment. In this fetal shape, take the knees wide or keep them close together and feel as the belly presses against the thighs with each breath; riding the wave of breath as it moves throughout the body additionally calms the mind.
Dead Body Pose Śvāsana
The physical work done in the āsanas serves the final moment of rest found in Śvāsana. Postures are used to heat the body, lengthen the muscles, stimulate nerve activity, and stimulate a parasympathetic nervous response, all of which allow the mind to find its seat within the body during meditation. In Śvāsana, scan the body starting at the feet and ending at top of the crown, allowing every part of you to relax deeply into the earth. Remain lying here for five minutes.
Bonus: Crow Pose Bakāsana
A challenging arm balance, bakāsana places all your weight on your hands and strengthens the wrists. This pose is a valuable opportunity for play in practice: Be prepared to fall and embrace the gift of being able to laugh both at and with yourself!
References:
Ann Swanson, “Science of Yoga: Understand the Anatomy and Physiology to Perfect Your Practice,” New York: DK Publishing, 2019.
Ray Long, “The Key Poses of Yoga,” Bandha Yoga Publications LLC, 2008.
