Asanas
One page per pose. What it is, how to get into it, how long to stay, and who should leave it alone.
39 pages here so far, with more added as they are taught and photographed.
Tadasana (Mountain Pose)
How to stand in it, the mistakes a teacher sees most, who should take care, and how long to hold it. Steps, benefits and answers.
Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose)
How high to lift, why the hands go beside the ribs, who should avoid it, common mistakes with fixes, and a gentle sphinx version.
Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog)
Why bent knees beat straight legs, how to stop the wrists aching, contraindications, mistakes and a wall version.
Trikonasana (Triangle Pose)
Why it is a side bend and not a forward bend, where the hand should land, the wall test, contraindications and a chair version.
Vrikshasana (Tree Pose)
Where the foot should and must not go, the three things balance is made of, contraindications, mistakes and a seated chair version.
Padmasana (Lotus Pose)
Why it is a hip pose and the knee pays for the difference, how to sit higher, contraindications, numb feet, half lotus and chair seats.
Sirsasana (Headstand)
The headstand: who must never do it, why the arms carry you not the head, the glaucoma and neck evidence, a year long route in, and what to do instead.
Sarvangasana (Shoulder Stand)
The shoulder stand: the blanket setup that protects the neck, what the thyroid evidence really says, contraindications and legs up the wall instead.
Vajrasana (Thunderbolt Pose)
The kneeling thunderbolt seat: how to make it comfortable, what the after meals claim really rests on, numbness warnings and a chair alternative.
Halasana (Plough Pose)
The plough pose: why the feet belong on a chair, the neck and eye pressure evidence, the thyroid claim examined, and gentler alternatives that work.
Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend)
The seated forward bend: sit higher, bend the knees, hinge from the hip. Steps, a four week trial, contraindications and supported versions.
Savasana (Corpse Pose)
The corpse pose: the five props that make it work, what to do with a busy mind, how long to stay, side lying in pregnancy and coming out slowly.
Urdhva Hastasana (Upward Salute)
How to lift the arms without arching the lower back, tight shoulder options, contraindications and a chair version.
Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend)
The Standing Forward Bend: how to fold from the hips with bent knees, tight hamstring advice, contraindications, mistakes and a chair version.
Ashwa Sanchalanasana (Equestrian Pose)
The equestrian low lunge: steps, the tailbone tuck that makes it work, knee care, contraindications and a chair version that kneels less.
Dandasana (Staff Pose, the plank of Surya Namaskar)
The plank of Surya Namaskar: how to hold a straight line, wrist and knee options, contraindications, common mistakes and an eight week progression.
Ashtanga Namaskara (Eight Limbed Salutation)
The eight limbed salutation of Surya Namaskar: which eight points touch, why the elbows tuck in, neck safety and how to build it slowly.
Balasana (Child's Pose)
How to set the knees, heels and forehead so it actually rests you, how long to hold it, who should modify it, and where it belongs.
Matsyasana (Fish Pose)
Why the elbows lift you and not the head, how long to hold it after a shoulderstand, who should use the supported version, and steps.
Marjariasana (Cat Cow Pose)
How to start the movement at the tailbone, how many rounds to do, what to do about sore wrists, and the version for a chair.
Setu Bandhasana (Bridge Pose)
How to lift from the hips instead of the lower back, the one rule about the neck, hold times, and the supported version.
Virabhadrasana 1 (Warrior I)
How long the stance should be, why the back foot decides the pose, how deep the front knee goes, and who should modify it.
Virabhadrasana 2 (Warrior II)
How wide the stance goes, where the front knee must track, why the back leg decides the hold, and who should narrow it down.
Utkatasana (Chair Pose)
Why the heels stay down, how deep to bend, what it does for the quadriceps and the knees, and who should shorten the hold instead.
Naukasana (Boat Pose)
How to lift the legs without rounding the lower back, why bent knees beat straight ones, how long to hold it, and who must skip it.
Dhanurasana (Bow Pose)
Why the legs lift you and the arms only hold, how to keep the lower back long, how long to hold it, and who should take the half bow.
Ustrasana (Camel Pose)
Why the hips must stay over the knees, why the head need not go back, how long to hold it, and the versions for knees and necks.
Salabhasana (Locust Pose)
Why a five centimetre lift is the right lift, how the half locust rebuilds a sore back, how long to hold it and who should not.
Gomukhasana (Cow Face Pose)
How to use a belt when the hands will not meet, why the arms can be done on a chair, how long to hold it and who should modify.
Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose)
Bound Angle or butterfly pose: why to sit on a blanket, why never to press the knees, how long to hold it, and the version for pregnancy.
Janu Sirsasana (Head to Knee Pose)
Why to sit on blankets, why the head need not reach the knee, how long to hold it, and when a sore back should skip it.
Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half Lord of the Fishes Pose)
The half spinal twist: lift before you turn, why the arms only hold, why the head goes last, how long to hold it and who should not.
Supta Matsyendrasana (Reclining Twist)
The reclining twist: why a cushion under the knees changes it, why the far shoulder stays down, how long to hold it and who should not.
Malasana (Garland Pose)
The garland squat: why the heels lift and what the blanket is for, when to sit on a block, how long to hold it, and who should use a stool instead.
Garudasana (Eagle Pose)
How to stop wobbling, why the toes can stay down, why eagle arms are the best desk pose, how long to hold it and who should modify.
Natarajasana (Dancer Pose)
Why to kick rather than pull, why the belt and the wall are permanent, what to practise first, and the long list of who should not.
Viparita Karani (Legs Up the Wall Pose)
Legs up the wall: how far from the wall to lie, why one blanket and not a stack, how long to stay, and who should use a chair instead.
Makarasana (Crocodile Pose)
The prone rest that teaches breathing into the back of the ribs, where the blanket goes, how long to stay, and who should not.
Sukhasana (Easy Seated Pose)
The easy cross legged seat: how high to sit and why, why the chair is a proper seat too, how long to stay, and who should support the knees.
How these pages are written
An asana page on this site is written the way the pose is taught in the hall, in that order: what you are actually trying to do, how to get there without forcing anything, what a steady version feels like from the inside, and then, before any of the benefits, who should not be doing it at all.
That last part is the reason these pages exist. There is no shortage of pose libraries. There is a real shortage of ones willing to say that a pose which is excellent for one back is the wrong idea for another, or that a common cue you have read a hundred times is the thing quietly hurting your knee. Each page carries the mistakes the teacher corrects most often and the fix he gives, which is the part of about forty years of teaching that does not appear in books.
The library so far, in the order it is usually taught. Standing: Tadasana, Urdhva Hastasana, Uttanasana, Trikonasana and Vrikshasana. The sun salutation positions: Ashwa Sanchalanasana, Dandasana, Ashtanga Namaskara, Bhujangasana and Adho Mukha Svanasana. On the floor: Marjariasana, Balasana, Setu Bandhasana, Matsyasana and Paschimottanasana. Seated: Vajrasana and Padmasana. The inversions, each of which comes with a long list of people who should leave it alone: Sarvangasana, Halasana and Sirsasana. And Savasana, which is the one nobody is ever told to skip.
Poses are added slowly and on purpose. A page ships when the teacher has taught the pose on camera and can put his own cue and his own warnings on it, not when the keyword looks promising. Where a pose belongs to a sequence, its page links to the sequence and the sequence links back, so you can move between the single pose and the whole routine without going through a search box.
Start here
If you are not sure where to begin, these three are the ones the teacher sends new students to first, in this order.
The pose every standing posture is built on, and the one most people skip.
Surya Namaskar, all twelve steps
The sequence that ties the poses together, with the breath marked at each position.
What to do in your first week, and the five things that go wrong when nobody is watching.
Questions people ask
How many asanas should a beginner learn?
Six or seven, practised properly, will carry you for a year. A beginner who knows Tadasana, a forward bend, a gentle backbend, one twist, one balance and Savasana has a complete practice. Collecting thirty poses badly is slower progress than holding six well, and it is how most people injure themselves.
Why does every pose page list who should not do it?
Because the same pose that helps one back makes another one worse, and a page that only lists benefits is not telling you the half you need. Every asana page here carries a contraindications section, and it is written from what the teacher has actually had to stop people doing in class.
Are the Sanskrit names necessary?
No, but they are useful. The Sanskrit name is the one that stays the same in every book and every class in the world, while the English name changes. Each page gives the Sanskrit, the English, a rough pronunciation, and the Kannada where it exists, so you can use whichever you think in.
How long should I hold each pose?
Every page states its own hold time, because it genuinely differs. Standing poses are usually held for three to five slow breaths when you are learning them, restorative poses for minutes. The rule that matters more than the number: come out of the pose while it is still steady, not when it collapses.
Can I learn an asana from a page rather than a class?
You can learn what it is, what it is for and what to avoid. You cannot see your own alignment, and that is the thing a page cannot give you. Use these pages to prepare and to revise, and get corrected by a person at least a few times, in the hall or over video.
Which pose should I start with?
Tadasana. It looks like standing still and it is not, and almost every standing pose is built on it. If it feels too plain to be worth a week of your practice, that is usually a sign it is worth two.
Come to one class before you decide anything
Your first class is free, in any batch, on any day. No card, nothing to cancel. Come once and see whether the teaching suits you before you pay for anything. You will be asked your age and whether anything hurts, and the sequence will be adapted for you on the spot.
You message on WhatsApp, we send the link. No card, and nothing to cancel afterwards.