Typically a Yoga lesson should contain techniques to improve
physical and mental health. Mostly asanas or positions, Pranayama
or breath control, relaxation techniques for body and mind,
meditation or other mind control techniques are the techniques
practiced in the session.
How to start a Yoga lesson?
At the start, a Prayer or chanting Omkar or
Mantra or brief relaxation can help students forget their anxieties,
worries or stress related thoughts. These techniques should
help the students to focus the mind on the yoga, relax the mind,
and get rid of the thoughts.
How to select & design the Asana sequence?
Hatha Yoga talks about asanas as discipline of Body & Mind.
The asanas are primarily focused on the physical body and through
body, one can control the mind. Asana involves stretching various
parts of the body, typically muscles, ligaments, tendons and
internal organs as well. This various movements are helpful
to different systems of the body.
There are numerous benefits one can get by regular
practice of asanas, like good physical health, maintaining proper
weight, controlling metabolic activities of the body, better
functioning of heart, lungs, brain, digestive system, excretory
system, reproductive system, respiratory system, muscular system,
endocrine system and much more.
To get most of these effects in a short asana
practice of 1 hour or less than that involves great skill in
designing and sequencing the asanas.
There are few basic principles if followed properly
can get most of the advantages mentioned above.
1. Preparatory movements – One should
always practice few warm up movements to loosen the joints,
align the ligaments, tendons and muscles at joints. It is essential
as asanas exert stress on different joints and if they are not
loose then one may overstretch them. These movements should
focus on various joints like waist, knee, shoulder, wrist, ankle,
neck etc. These movements should be done in a slow and controlled
way. This slow and controlled movement helps gain better muscular
control.
2. Asanas – There is a variety of Asanas available. Forward
bending asanas, backward bending asanas, twisting & turning
asanas, stretching asanas, inverted asanas, balancing asanas.
These asanas should be mixed considering your level of flexibility
and practice. You can refer to following URL to see variety
of asanas (www.yogapoint.com/info/yogasana.htm)
3. The time of practice for backward bending asanas should be
more than forward bending asanas as we rarely bend backward
during the day. Twisting and turning asanas should equal for
right side as well as left side. Stretching asanas stretch most
of the body and should be done towards the end of the session
as stretching all the muscles help them realign naturally.
4. Initially after the preparatory movements, supine position
asanas are preferred, followed by prone position, then sitting
position asanas and finally standing position asanas are performed.
This is based on the natural evolution of balance mechanism
of our brain. (The baby is born and is in supine position, then
3 months later it can get on its stomach that is prone position,
then it can sit and finally after 1 year it can stand on its
own.)
5. The asana session also should consist of inverted asanas
as it allows the stagnated blood in some part of the body to
drain resulting in efficient functioning of body.
6. Balancing asanas make the brain and nervous system efficient
and helpful in increasing the concentration.
The movements should be slow and controlled as it allows better
control over the muscles and mind is engaged in the movement
which helps in relaxing it.
The asana position should be maintained for
at least 15 to 20 seconds. If you maintain any position and
try to relax in it then Golgi tendon or clasp & knife reflex
is triggered, this nervous reflex further relaxes the muscles.
One can stretch the muscles if they are relaxed, so if you maintain
the position and try to relax in it, one can easily stretch
more effectively and take ideal position.
If you try to relax the muscles, the stretch
in the asana position is transferred to the internal organs
which stretch them and increases blood supply, nervous activities
in the region. This helps in improving the functioning of the
organs and entire system.
How to design Pranayama practice?
Yoga breathing involves 3 types of breathing,
1st is abdominal breathing or diaphragmatic breathing, 2nd is
chest breathing and 3rd is clavicle breathing. Diaphragmatic
breathing is the most efficient breathing, so in Yogic breathing
diaphragm is used to the maximum capacity followed by chest
breathing.
Deep breathing is very important practice, it
has calming effect on the entire nervous system, effective absorption
of O2, rhythmic breathing, reducing blood pressure, heart rateand
effectively helping reduce stress are some of the benefits of
Deep breathing. Also it increases lung capacity.
Physiologically breathing can be of 2 types.
1st is hyperventilation, the O2 (oxygen) levels increase and
CO2 decreases in the blood and 2nd type is hypoventilation where
O2 levels drop and CO2 increases.
The Pranayama practice should have balance of
Hyper and Hypo ventilation practices. Kapalbhati, fast breathing,
Bhasrika types of Pranayama are Hyperventilation. Nadi Shodhan,
Ujjayi, Shitali, sitkari with retention of air are Hypoventilation
type of Pranayama.
Another aspect of Pranayama is some types increase
the heat in the body and other types reduce excess heat in the
body. Fast breathing, kapalbhati, Bhasrika increase the heat.
Shitali and Sitkari reduce the heat in the body. So the practice
of Pranayama should consist of heating and cooling Pranayama.
- Gandhar Mandlik
Under the guidance of Yogacharya Vishwas Mandlik (Rushi Dharmajyoti)
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