Asana · आसन
Sthira sukham asanam — steady, and comfortable
Patanjali gives posture three words and no list. Everything that followed — the standing poses, the inversions, the twists — is commentary on those three words. If a posture is not steady, it is not yet an asana. If it is not comfortable, it is not one either.
Before you begin
Empty stomach — four hours after a full meal, two after a light one. Bladder and bowels empty. A firm, non-slip surface. Nothing tight at the waist.
The order
Warm up, then standing poses, then seated, then prone and supine, inversions late, and always Shavasana at the end. Never end a practice without lying down.
The rule
Never compete, never bounce, never hold the breath unless told to. Pain is information, not achievement — come out of any posture that hurts and ask a teacher why.
3 postures
Standing
Mountain Pose
Tāḍāsana
The pose every other standing posture is measured against. It looks like standing still, and learning to actually do it takes years.
1–3 minutes
सूर्यSun Salutation
Sūrya Namaskāra
Twelve linked positions flowing with the breath. The most complete single sequence in yoga: it warms, stretches, strengthens and settles, and a round takes under a minute.
4 to 12 rounds
त्रिकोणासनTriangle Pose
Trikoṇāsana
A wide-legged lateral stretch. It opens the whole side body — a region almost nothing in daily life reaches — and teaches the difference between bending sideways and collapsing sideways.
30–60 seconds each side
4 postures
Seated
Lotus Pose
Padmāsana
The classical meditation seat: each foot placed on the opposite thigh. Immensely stable once available, and genuinely damaging if forced. Most practitioners are better served by Siddhasana or Sukhasana for years first.
As long as it is completely comfortable
वज्रासनThunderbolt Pose
Vajrāsana
Kneeling with the buttocks resting on the heels. The one asana that can be practised immediately after eating — in fact the only one that should be.
5 minutes after meals; up to 30 for meditation
पश्चिमोत्तानासनSeated Forward Bend
Paścimottānāsana
Folding forward over straight legs. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika singles it out as the foremost of asanas — it lengthens the entire back line of the body from heel to skull in one movement.
1–3 minutes
अर्धHalf Spinal Twist
Ardha Matsyendrāsana
A seated rotation of the spine. Twists are the one direction the spine gets almost no movement in during ordinary life, and this is the classical way to give it back.
30–60 seconds each side
3 postures
Lying face down
Cobra Pose
Bhujaṅgāsana
A gentle back-bend from lying face down. The most accessible spinal extension there is, and the counter-pose to almost everything a modern day does to the back.
15–30 seconds, up to 3 rounds
धनुरासनBow Pose
Dhanurāsana
Lying face down, holding the ankles and lifting chest and thighs together. A strong back-bend that opens the front of the body completely and works the digestion hard.
15–20 seconds, 2–3 rounds
बालासनChild's Pose
Bālāsana
Kneeling and folding forward with the forehead down. The resting pose — available at any point in any practice, and the correct answer whenever a session has become too much.
1–5 minutes, or longer
3 postures
Lying on the back
Bridge Pose
Setu Bandhāsana
Lying on the back, lifting the hips. The safest and most useful back-bend for beginners, and a genuine remedy for the specific stiffness of sitting all day.
30–60 seconds, 2–3 rounds
मत्स्यासनFish Pose
Matsyāsana
A supine chest-opener with the crown of the head on the floor. The designated counter-pose to shoulder stand — it reverses the neck flexion exactly.
30 seconds to 1 minute
शवासनCorpse Pose
Śavāsana
Lying completely still on the back. The hardest asana in the book, and the one that makes every other one worth doing. Never skip it.
5–20 minutes
2 postures
Inverted
Shoulder Stand
Sarvāṅgāsana
An inversion resting on the shoulders with the body vertical. Powerful, and one of the poses most often taught carelessly — the neck carries load it is not designed for, so the setup matters more than the pose.
30 seconds, building to 3 minutes
हलासनPlough Pose
Halāsana
From shoulder stand, the legs continue over the head to the floor behind. A deep stretch of the entire spine, and the most demanding pose in this collection for the neck.
30 seconds to 1 minute