Basic Yoga Postures and their Variations
THE COBRA Proceed in little steps. With your forehead on the ground and your knees firmly joined and back extended, assume a prone position. Place your hands just behind your shoulders, palms down. Take a breath, lift your head, and push your neck back. Then, bend your trunk upward with your hands, creating a lovely arc that extends from the back of your neck to your lower spine. There's nothing else for you to do. But today, if you're flexible enough, you can fully extend your arms, bend your legs at the knees, and lower your head to your feet. Lower your head as far back as you can while maintaining the posture and deep breathing, even if it never touches your feet. Come on
THE BOW Another extreme variation of the basic bow is this one. The number of kids who can do it right away is astonishing. Again, take it slowly at first. Lay down on your mat, face down. For this one, if you're really thin, get a beautiful, thick, cushioned mat. Take a breath and lift your knees. With your fingers and thumbs together on the outside, extend your arms backward and grab your ankles. Take a breath, elevate your head and chest at the same moment, tug at your ankles, and lift your thighs and knees off the ground. Inhale normally while raising your head and attempting to kick up your legs higher. Now that you are bowed like a bow, your body weight is balanced.
THE SHOOTING BOW This pose, called Akarna Dhanurasana in Sanskrit, is performed with one leg raised like a shooting bow. Sit with your back straight and both legs out in front of you. With both hands, extend your reach forward and grasp your feet, the left hand grasping the right foot and the right hand grasping the left. Breathe in, bend your left knee, bring your foot up to your chest, point your elbow upward, and gently rotate your torso to the right. Holding the right foot, the left hand remains firmly and tightly closed. Maintain your stance while breathing normally, then let go gently and unwind. Continue on the opposite side. Initially, holding the bent left leg with the right hand is sufficient.