Beginning Hatha Yoga Postures

English Name: Standing Deep Breathing
Sanskrit Name: Pranayama
Benefit: Yoga is the only exercise that expands the lungs and rib cage. By expanding the lungs by only 1/8" the lungs can hold 4x more air. Most people only are using 10% of their lungs - as a result they are susceptible to emphysema, asthma and other breathing problems. This deep breathing teaches you to use the other 90%. It increases circulation to the whole body, preparing the muscles for action. Also helpful for relieving mental stress and irritability.

English Name: Half Moon with Hands to Feet Pose
Sanskrit Name: Arda-Chandrasana with Pada-Hastasana
Benefit: Strengthens every muscle in the central part of the body, especially the abdomen. Gets rid of fat stomach and love handles. Corrects bad posture. Especially helpful for low back pain. Promotes proper kidney function. Helps relieve constipation. Good for frozen shoulders and scoliosis. Back bend - increases flexibility of the spine. Forward bend - increases flexibility of the sciatic nerves and strengthens the thighs and calves.

English Name: Akward Pose
Sanskrit Name: Utkatasana
Benefit: Helps to cure slipped disc in lower back. Strengthens and firms all the muscles of the thighs, calves and hips. Increases flexibility of the hips. Improves circulation to the knees/ankles, relieves gout, rheumatism and arthritis in the legs. Tones the upper arms. Improves concentration.

English Name: Eagle Pose
Sanskrit Name: Garurasana
Benefit: Improves the function of the sexual organs, kidneys and the lymphathic system. Firms calves, thighs, hips, and abdomen. Opens the 12 major joints of the body.

English Name: Standing Head To Knee Pose
Sanskrit Name: Dandayamana-Janushirasana
Benefit: This posture improves the flexibility of the sciatic nerves and strengthens the hamstrings and leg muscles. It also works the muscles of the back, the biceps and the triceps. It helps to squeeze and flush out the internal abdominal organs, such as the gall bladder, pancreas and spleen, as well as the uterus and overies.

English Name: Standing Bow Pulling Pose
Sanskrit Name: Dandayamana-Dhanurasana
Benefit: Standing Bow moves all the blood from one side of the body to the other, then back again. It develops balance, increases the size and elasticity of the rib cage, firms the abdominal wall and upper thighs. It improves the flexibility and strength of the lower spine. Standing Bow builds patience, determination and concentration.

English Name: Balancing Stick Pose
Sanskrit Name: Tuladandasana
Benefit: All the arteries of the heart receive maximum blood flow - clears blockages in the arteries (preventative for future heart problems). One of the best poses for bad posture. Improves the strength and flexibilility of all the back, shoulder, upper arm and hip muscles.

English Name: Standing Separate Leg Stretching
Sanskrit Name: Dandayamana-Bibhaktapada Paschimotthanasana
Benefit: Stretches and strengthens those poor crushed and shriveled sciatic nerves, as well as all the tendons in the legs. It also messages the internal abdominal organs and the small and large intestines, and gives you added flexibility in the pelvis, ankles, hip joints and especially in the last five vertebrae of the spine.

English Name: Triangle Pose
Sanskrit Name: Trikanasana
Benefit: The only posture in the world that improves every muscle, joint, tendon and internal organ. Improves crooked spines and helps to cure lumbago and rheumatism of the lower spine. Changes chemical imbalances in the body. Good for hip and back pain, menstrual disorders and constipation. The most important posture to improve the strength and flexibility of the hip joint and muscles of the side of the torso. Lymph nodes get a massage.

English Name: Standing Separate Leg Head to Knee
Sanskrit Name: Dandayamana-Bibhaktapada Janushirasana
Benefit: Helps depression and loss of memory, helps abdominal obesity, helps diabetes, balances blood sugar, compresses pancreas and kidneys, exercises endocrine, digestive and reproductive systems

English Name: Tree Pose
Sanskrit Name: Tadasana
Benefit: Corrects bad posture, creates hip and knee mobility, creates total body traction, balances coccyx, tightens gluteus maximus, releases abdominal tension , releases inflammation of lower back, good for circulatory disorders, arthritis and rheumatism

English Name: Toe Stand
Sanskrit Name: Padangustasana
Benefit: Creates balance in body and mind, strengthens stomach muscles, strengthens weak joints, good for arthritis in knees and legs.

English Name: Dead Body Pose
Sanskrit Name: Savasana
Benefit: Dead Body Pose facilitates powerful blood flow, then lets circulation return to normal, creating internal cleansing and greatly magnifying the benefits of the postures that precede it.

English Name: Wind Removing Pose
Sanskrit Name: Pavanamuktasana
Benefit: Good for constipation, flatulence and hyperacidity, relieves low back pain, good for abdominal muscles - helps tone abdominal wall, massages ascending, descending and transverse colon, prevents hard stool from paristaltic stomach activity, normalizes HCL acid.

English Name: Sit Up
Sanskrit Name:
Benefit: Sit-ups strengthen and tighten the abdomen and increases the flexibility of the spine.

English Name: Cobra Pose
Sanskrit Name: Bhujangasana
Benefit: It increases spinal strength and flexibility. Helps prevent lower backache and helps cure lumbago, rheumatism, and arthritis of the spine. It also relieves menstrual problems (irregularity, cramps, backache), cures loss of appetite, helps correct bad posture, and improves the functioning of the liver and spleen. The Cobra strengthens the deltoids, trapezius and triceps.

English Name: Locust Pose
Sanskrit Name: Salabhasana
Benefit: Even more potent than Cobra for curing any kind of spinal problems. Also excellent for carpel tunnel, tennis elbow. Compresses and opens spine, strengthens lower, mid and upper spine, creates more elasticity in whole spine, increases tone of muscle fibers, accelerates circulation of synovial fluid, holds vertebrae in position, relieves cervical spondylosis.

English Name: Full Locust Pose
Sanskrit Name: Poorna Salabhasana
Benefit: Compresses and opens spine, strengthens lower, mid and upper spine, creates more elasticity in whole spine, firms upper arms, hips and thighs, increases tone of muscle fibers, accelerates circulation of synovial fluid, holds vertebrae in position, relieves cervical spondylosis.

English Name: Bow Pose
Sanskrit Name: Dhanurasana
Benefit: Opens the rib cage/increases lung capacity, good for bronchitis. Improves pigeon chest. Strengthens/firms, buttocks, thighs,legs, hips, abdomen, and arms. Increases flexibility of shoulders, helps tennis elbow.

English Name: Fixed Firm Pose
Sanskrit Name: Supta-Vajrasana
Benefit: Greases joints (by putting pressure on joints against gravity), forms abdominal muscles, more stretching in hip joints and diaphragm, relieves lower back pain, good for knees, slims thighs helps sciatica, rheumatism, gout, diabetes and varicose veins.

English Name: Half Tortoise Pose
Sanskrit Name: Ardha-Kurmasana
Benefit: Relieves stress, migraines, stomach discomfort, digestion problems and constipation, improves shoulder girdle, sends blood from knees to toes and to the brain, stretches spine, increases circulation to heart, cures insomnia, stretches lower lungs - good for asthma, increases flexibility in hips, brain gets oxygen.

English Name: Camel Pose
Sanskrit Name: Ustrasana
Benefit: Compresses spine, curing back problems, opens rib cage, heart, lungs and digestive system, stimulates nervous system, great for lungs and any problem in bronchial plexus, strengthens back and shoulder muscles, improves flexion of neck, stretches throat, sends fresh blood to kidneys, eliminates toxins.

English Name: Rabbit Pose
Sanskrit Name: Sasangasana
Benefit: Cures insomnia, depression, colds, sinus, tonsillitis, laryngitis, allergies and glandular defects, compresses thyroid, balances hormones, improves flexibility of scapula, stimulates nerves behind eyes. Stimulates all glands and organs of the body.

English Name: Head To Knee Pose w/ Stretching Pose
Sanskrit Name: Janushirasana Paschimotthasana
Benefit: Stimulates thymus, digestion and immune system. Stimulates the lymphatic systems. Improves the kidney function. Improves digestion and circulation. Helps allergies and viral infections. Helps to balance blood sugar(diabetes). Stretching - helps stretch sciatic nerve and the last five vertebrae of the spine. Increases strength/tone in the upper arms. Increases circulation to the liver, spleen, pancreas, and intestines

English Name: Spine Twisting Pose
Sanskrit Name: Ardha-Matsyendrasana
Benefit: Compresses and stretches spine - improves elasticity and flexibility, detoxifying, opens bronchial muscles and rib cage, good for abs, prevents slip disc, increases circulation to spinal nerves, veins and tissues, relieves back pain and deformity in lumbar region of spine, helps arthritis of knee and sciatica, massages kidneys, liver, gall bladder, spleen and pancreas.

English Name: Blowing In Firm Pose
Sanskrit Name: Kapalbhati in Vajrasana
Benefit: Very detoxifying, removes the metabolic waste you've built up during the class. Good for toning the stomach muscles and strengthening the internal organs and increases the circulation. Good for strengthening the abdominal wall while trimming the waist line