Tulasana,Tolasana,Dolasana

Tulasana is also known as "Tolasana', "Dolasana" and 'Utthita Padmasana". The name Tulasana is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Tula' which means balance. Hence Tulasana is a balance pose. The complete body weight hangs on shoulders or it looks as if the body is hanging on the hands and for this it is also named as "Dolasana" or "Utthita Padmasana". From Padmasana the practitioner with the hands placed either side of the hips raises the entire torso, legs and feet balancing on the arms and shoulders. 

How To Do Tulasana 

• Sit down on the ground in the Padmasana pose.
• Rest the palms on the ground keeping both hands at the sides.
• Breathe in deeply and hold the breath.
• Supporting the weight of the body on the hands, lift the whole body locked in Padmasana, above the floor.
• Lift it upwards as much as possible while holding the breath.
• Hold the position as long as you can hold your breath.
• Slowly return back to the former position. Relax for few minutes and repeat it again.

Benefits of Tulasana

• It strengthens your arms, wrists and upper body region.
• It makes your shoulders strong.
• It relaxes the muscles and calms the mind.
• It increases the sense of balance.
• It includes tightening of the abs and subsequently, brings about a rigid stomach.
• The muscles of your midriff (abdomen) are pulled up tight and thus, your lungs show signs of improvement supply of oxygen as you inhale profoundly.
• While fortifying your abs, it likewise gives an interior incitement to the internal organs.
• In totality, Tolasana enhances the feeling of equalization of your body and has a quieting impact on your entire personality and framework.
• In Tolasana, you have to utilize your eyes for centered consideration. This evacuates basic imperfections of your eyes.

Cautions for Tulasana 

• Those suffering from heart ailments, having weak wrists and shoulder should not practice this asana. The asana should not be practiced with current or recent shoulder or wrist injuries. 

Trikonasana(Triangle Pose)

How To Do Trikonasana

• Stand straight on a flat and firm ground.
• Stretch your legs outwards, maintaining a distance of 2½ feet.
• Now, move your left foot outwards, at an angel of about 90 degrees.
• Bring the right foot inwards, at an angel of about 45 degrees.
• Start inhaling and raise your arms till the time they are parallel to the ground.
• Now, as your start exhaling, turn your head towards the left.
• Focus your gaze down your left arm, towards the stretched out fingers and ensure that your left knee is in alignment with the left ankle.
• Take a deep breath and start stretching your body towards the left side, lowering the left hip and raising the right one, as far as you feel comfortable.
• Now, spin around your arms. You need to let your left hand go down, coming to rest on the floor, along with left foot. As for the right hand, it should be pointing straight up.
• Turn around in a way that your gaze focuses on the right hand.
• Stay in the position for 1-2 minutes, while taking deep breaths.
• Exhale once more and slowly start lowering your arms.
• Bring your hands to rest on your hips.
• Now, turning on your heels, bring your feet in front, once again.
• Repeat the asana with the right leg.

Benefits of Trikonasana

• This asana is good to burn fat. Therefore, it is recommended to person who is facing the conditions of weight and obesity.
• It is good for your backache
• This Yoga pose is recommended for growing children to increase their height.
• Triangle pose helps to strengthen your legs, knees and ankles.
• Good for your digestion
• It may be used for stress management.
• Triangle pose helps to expand your chest and shoulders.
• It ensures mobility of hip joints and neck and give proper stretch to your spine.
• It strengthens the muscles in the thighs, hips and back.
• It provides stamina, balance, energy and develops focus.

Precaution

• Low or High blood pressure patient should not practice trikonasana.
• Those suffering from back and spinal injuries should not perform trikonasana.
• Practice under expert guidance and consult a doctor before practice asana. Especially pregnant women if there are any complications.

Dandasana(Staff Pose)

How To Do Dandasana

• Sit on the ground with back straight and legs extended 
• come in front of you. Your legs and feet ought to be hip breadth apart and parallel.
• Press the sitting bones within the floor and purpose the crown of your head to the ceiling to lengthen and straighten the spine.
• Flexing your feet, press out through your heels.
• Keep your palms on the ground adjacent to your hips for supporting your spine and quiet your shoulders down. Keep your body part straight however relaxed.
• Ground your lower half firmly to the ground by relaxing the legs.
• Hold this pose for twenty to thirty seconds.

The Benefits of Staff Pose:

• Helps improve posture
• Strengthens back muscles
• Lengthens and stretches the spine
• May help to relieve complications related to the reproductive organs
• Stretches shoulders and chest
• Nourishes your body’s resistance to back and hip injuries
• Helps to calm brain cells
• May improve functionality of the digestive organs
• Creates body awareness
• Helps improve alignment of body
• Provides a mild stretch for hamstrings

Cautions

Do not practice this pose if you have a wrist or low back injury. Always work within your own range of limits and abilities. If you have any medical concerns, talk with your doctor before practicing yoga.

Modification to the exercise:

 Stretch the upper body in this pose, alter the pose as follows: interlacing the fingers, stretch out your arms forward, parallel to the floor. The palms should face away from you with thumbs in downward direction. Now inhale and raise the arms upward till they reach slightly behind the ears. Shoulders should be relaxed. This helps in opening up the chest and stretches the front of the abdomen.

Simhasana(Lion Pose)

How To Do Simhasana

The lion pose is pretty simple to execute. Although there may be a number of steps, this pose really requires very little effort.The lion pose steps are as follows:

• Sit with your legs folded under you so that your toes are pointing straight behind and you are sitting on your heels.
• Keep your spine straight but as relaxed as possible.
• Close your eyes and look to your third eye. (The third eye is a symbolic eye in the center of the forehead. In ancient India, it was assumed that the pituitary gland was located here, although now we know differently.)
• Closing your mouth, touch your palette with your tongue.
• Inhale a deep breath through your nose while your tongue is still touching your palette.
• Exhale in one violent move while sticking out your tongue and opening your jaws as much as possible. Also, your arms should be thrown out and stretched with your fingers splayed.
• Roar at the top of your voice while exhaling. The roar should be with a “Haa” sound and should not be a long drawn out one. Rather, it should be one violent explosion of breath that empties your lungs in the shortest time possible.
• Hold this pose for between 20 and 30 seconds.
• Do not inhale immediately after this pose; inhale after the specified 20 to 30 seconds.
• Repeat 5 or 6 times

Benefits of Simhasana (Lion Pose)

The Simhasana benefits the face and also the throat, that isn’t typically benefited in other yoga posture.

• Best exercise for face, eyes, tongue and throat.
• Clears the Vocal chords.
• Properly opens the Respiratory tract.
• Strengthens Fingers and hands.
• Prevents soreness of the throat.
• Useful for tonsils, thyroid and other problems related to throat.
• Beneficial in unclear pronunciation and in ear problem.
• Best pose for those children who lisp.
• It cures bad breathe.
• Helpful for improving the tone of the voice.
• Give relief in back pain.

precautions

The Lion Pose is basically a stress reliever and can be practiced at anytime and by anybody. There are usually no problems associated with practicing this pose because it does not require any complicated maneuvering of the body. However, if you suffer from any chronic illnesses or physical problems, it is best that you have a discussion with your doctor before you attempt any yoga posture.

variations

Since the Simhasana is such an easy pose, there are not too many variations. However, since the focus is on relaxation, different people make slight variations to the way they perform the pose. Listed below are some of the variations for lion pose.

Variation 1: Some people like to sit with their ankles crossed, so that you sit on one heel instead of two.
Variation 2: As you are supposed to sit completely relaxed and because the most relaxed position while holding this sitting position is to have your hands on your knees, many people do that and just splay their fingers while exhaling.
Variation 3: Some use the same pose, but laugh instead of roar in order to reduce stress.
Variation 4: Instead of closing the eyes and looking to the third eye, this pose is sometimes held with the eyes open and looking to the tip of the nose.

Balasana(Child's Pose)

How To Do Balasana (Child’s Pose)

• To start the asana first sit on knees with buttocks touching on your heels.
• Place your hand on thighs and palms down. Maintain the position of thighs as shown in the above image.
• While exhaling slowly bring your chest between your knees and swinging hands forward as shown in the above image.
• Breathe gently and hold the posture for 2 to 3 minutes.
• After this inhale slowly and  return to starting position.
• Repeat this asana for 5 to 10 times.

The Benefits of Balasana

• Releases tension in the back, shoulders and chest
• Recommended if you have dizziness or fatigue
• Helps alleviate stress and anxiety
• Flexes the body’s internal organs and keeps them supple
• It lengthens and stretches the spine
• Relieves neck and lower back pain when performed with the head and torso supported
• It gently stretches the hips, thighs and ankles
• Normalizes circulation throughout the body
• It stretches muscles, tendons and ligaments in the knee
• Calms the mind and body
• Encourages strong and steady breathing

Precautions for Balasana

• You can use pillows under your forehead if it is difficult to place on the floor.
• If suffering from knees injuries or diarrhea should not do this asana.
• Those suffering from high blood pressure should not practice

Modification and Variation

Modifications: A) Place a blanket under the hips, knees and/or head. B) If pregnant, spread the knees wide apart to remove any pressure on the abdomen.

Variations: Open the knees wider to slide the arms between the legs reaching under the body and turn the head to the side.

Garudasana (Egle Pose)

How To Do Garudasana

• Begin in mountain pose.
• Inhale when raising the arms up to shoulder level with palms facing up. Arms and shoulders should be relaxed.
• Cross left arm over the right so that the elbows rest on top of each other.
• Bend your elbows, wrapping our forearms around each other with palms facing each other. Your fingers should point to the ceiling. If the palms do not touch, keeps one palm resting against the other wrist or forearm.
• Slightly bend the knees and shift your body weight to the other leg.
• Cross right leg over the left just above the knee.
• Place the right foot behind your left lower leg and hook the foot over the left calf or ankle. If you are unable to reach the left calf, place the right foot next to left lower leg.
• The crown of your head should be pointed toward the ceiling and look straight ahead. Imagine the spine running straight through the body.
• Remain in this pose for 30 to 60 seconds and then come back to mountain pose.
• Repeat steps from 2 to 9 with the opposite arm and leg crossing over in steps 3 and 6.

The Benefits Of Garudasana

• This asana helps to stretch the thighs, hips, upper back, and shoulders.
• It helps you focus and also improves your ability to balance.
• The calf muscles get strengthened with this asana.
• It also helps to relieve pain associated with rheumatism and sciatica.
• It helps to make the back, legs, and hips more flexible.
• This asana also works as a stress buster.

Precautions And Contraindications

• It is best to avoid this asana if you have had a recent ankle, knee, or elbow injury.
• Pregnant women must seek medical consent before they practice this asana.

Matsyasana(fish Pose)

How To Do The Matsyasana

• Lie flat on your back, making sure your legs are together, and your hands are placed comfortably beside your body.
• Place your palms under your hips such that the palms are facing the ground. Now, bring the elbows closer to each other, placing them close to your waist.
• Cross your legs such that your feet cross each other at your middle, and your thighs and knees are placed flat on the floor.
• Breathe in and lift your chest up such that your head is also lifted, and your crown touches the floor.
• Make sure the weight of your body is on your elbows and not on your head. As your chest is lifted, lightly pressurize your shoulder blades.
• Hold the position only until you are comfortable. Breathe normally.
• Exhale and release the position, lifting your head first, and then dropping your chest to the ground. Untangle your legs and relax.

Benefits of Matsyasana

• Opens your pectoralis muscles of your chest, the intercostal muscles between your ribs, and upper portion of psoas muscles in your hips.
• Improves the quality of your breath by opening the accessory muscles of breathing.
• Opens muscles in your abdomen and in the front of your neck.
• Relieves thoracic and mid back spinal tension.
• Strengthens musculature in your back and neck.
• Traditionally thought to sitmulate organs in the abdomen and throat.

Precautions 

• It is best to avoid this pose if you suffer from high or low blood pressure.
• Also, patients with insomnia and migraine are asked to abstain from the Fish Pose.
• If you have had a back injury, it is strongly recommended that you avoid this asana