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The Prasara Primer Course Manual version 2.0

The Authors

Ryan Hurst

The Prasara Primer version 2.0 ©2010 Real Creative Health Ryan C. Hurst, CST Faculty Coach Jarlo L. Ilano, MPT, CST Head Coach Andy Fossett, CST Instructor

Jarlo Ilano

http://prasaraprimer.com Expanded and and Improved from: The Prasara Primer (Version 1), First Edition ©2007 and Second Edition ©2008 by Ryan C. Hurst and Jarlo L. Ilano

Andy Fossett

The Obligatory Fine Print Disclaimer The information in this book is presented in good faith, but no warranty is given, nor results guaranteed. Since we have no control over physical conditions surrounding the application of information in this book the author and publisher disclaim any liability for untoward results including (but not limited) any injuries or damages arising out of any person's attempt to rely upon any information herein contained. The exercises described in this book are for information purposes, and may be too strenuous or even dangerous for some people. The reader should consult a physician before starting Prasara Yoga or any other exercise programs.

Legal Statement When purchasing products from Real Creative Health, the purchaser understands the risk associated with using this type of product, and the purchaser understands the risk associated with following instructions from related products, and agrees not to hold Real Creative Health, its agents and/or representatives responsible for injuries or damages resulting from use without proper supervision.

Attention Nothing within this information intends to constitute an explanation of the use of any product or the carrying out of any procedure or process introduced by or within any material. This course and its authors accept no responsibility for any liability, injuries or damages arising out of any person's attempt to rely upon any information contained herein. Consult your doctor before using this or any other exercise device. Do not use if you have an injury, or are experiencing pain or inflammation in your hands, wrists, forearms, elbows, or shoulders without first consulting your doctor. Use this product at your own risk. Failure to follow instructions and/or using this product in any way other than its intended use could result in injury.

Important Please be sure to thoroughly read the instructions for all exercises in this course, paying particular attention to all cautions and warnings shown for Prasara Yoga to ensure safety.

Table of Contents

Points to Remember

Cricket Postures 23 Introduction 5 How to Use the Prasara Primer 7 What’s New in 2.0 Deluxe Edition Components Getting Started

Prasara Yoga Basics 11

Beginner Level Intermediate and Advanced Levels

Vine 31 Related Sports and Activities Some helpful tips to help your balance

Vine Postures 32

The Eight Limbs of Yoga

Wind 39 Asana - Yoga Poses Prasara - Yoga in Flow

Related Sports and Activities Points to Remember

Breath Awareness and Control 13 Wind Postures 40 Prasara Yoga Breathing Becoming Aware of Your Breath

Ocean 46

Working With Your Breath

Related Sports and Activities

Perfecting Your Breath

Points to Remember

Keys to Prasara Practice 19 1st Key Secret to Successful Practice 2nd Key Secret to Successful Practice

The Five Flows 21 Benefits of Each Flow

Cricket 22 Related Sports and Activities

Ocean Postures 47 Seesaw 52 Related Sports and Activities Points to Remember

Seesaw Postures 53 How to Practice Prasara 62 Outroduction 63

Introduction So what is Prasara Yoga all about? And what makes it different from all the other yoga out there, and what exactly can it do for you? All yoga classes and programs out there say that they will improve your flexibility and strength, relieve stress, and improve your health in a hundred different ways. And if you practice regularly, they will probably do all those things. The benefits of yoga in general are numerous; they include improved posture, weight loss, increased energy, and muscles more resistant to injury. These are all results of engaging in solid, regular yoga practice. Now add on to that some specific and progressive yoga moves for particular activities, and you’ve got what our system is all about. Simply put, the yoga we teach is designed to improve your athletic ability and get your muscles strong, flexible, and resilient. We give you five programs, each with three levels of difficulty, to hit specific areas to improve performance in many different sports and activities. Whatever your favorite activity is, whether you play pick-up basketball as much as you can, or are in a softball league, or a daily runner, or a hardcore hiker, we have the program that will make you better.

We all know - or at least have been told! - that we should stretch our muscles out. But what does that even mean? Well, it doesn’t mean anything really, if you don’t have the right plan of attack. A bunch of random stretches here and there won’t do much for you, but what will get you there is a specific program tailored for your favorite activity or sport. The best part is that our programs fit into whatever exercise program you are doing right now. We aren’t looking to replace your routine - we’re here to enhance it, so that you can have the benefits of yoga, but not have to stop your normal routines just to try it out. In the manual and accompanying videos, we will show you step by step programs that you can easily incorporate into your current routine. They work well as a warmup or as a cool-down after an intense training session. Our clients have had great success with them as a cool-down after bootcamp and cross-training type workouts, and often tell us that it helps relieve muscle soreness and prevents those nagging injuries in their shoulders and knees. Do you want a lean, strong body that can handle any activity that you want to try? The following programs will get you there.

So what is it specifically about Prasara yoga that will improve your athletic ability and readiness for sport? One obvious difference that you’ll see when you watch the videos, is that our yoga is about smooth and controlled movement. Most yoga out there is about holding a pose for a long period of time, and this absolutely has its place in an exercise program. However, with this style of yoga, we want to pretty much keep moving and work on making ourselves go from point to point as smoothly as possible. This is what develops athleticism, that sense of effortlessness that is evident in the best athletes on the field. And because you are always moving, it’s why Prasara is often described as “cardio” yoga. Working these programs back to back or stacked together will really get you into that fat burning mode.

How to Use the Prasara Primer

manual, since there are a ton of photos (which means a ton of ink), but the Flow Charts and Training Guide are optimized for printing.

What’s New in 2.0 Demonstration Videos The original Prasara Primer was a single ebook including embedded videos of each flow performed at regular speed. We have expanded things considerably in Version 2.0 with separate instructional videos, printouts for each flow, and a training guide that will show you how to organize your training to match your goals and activities.

These videos show each level of each flow performed by Coach Hurst at regular speed so you can see how everything fits together and get a sense of the grace and smoothness you should aim for in your own practice.

Instructional Videos Lacking from the original Primer was any sort of video breakdown of the flows.

Prasara Primer Course Manual Even with all the new components, this course manual is still the heart of the Prasara Primer course. Included here is all the information you need to make your practice pleasurable and effective. We’ve included exercises in yogic breathing, detailed notes on each of the poses that comprise the flows, and lots of summary/overview material you can reference as necessary. We also reformatted everything to look nice on a computer screen. You probably won’t want to print out this whole

This time around, we’ve included instructional videos that slow things down and provide instruction via voiceover. As each flow has three levels, each level is further broken down into three sections, with a video for each short chunk.

Training Guide This is the previously missing component that we feel is really going to help you make Prasara Yoga you own and find the best way to integrate it effectively into your life. Many people told us that they enjoyed the flows and explanations in the original Prasara Primer, but weren’t sure how to use Prasara optimally. The most frequent questions were about where to start, how often to practice, and how to use Prasara to improve their current training for specific sports. To answer those questions, Coach Ilano spent many, many hours putting together these programs for various sports, schedules, and goals. The result is a set of step-by-step practice templates anyone can use to ensure they get the most out of Prasara Yoga.

Deluxe Edition Components

Flow Charts For those who want to have a reference they can carry to the gym or on the road, we’ve created printable charts for each level of each flow. These sheets offer only the necessary reminders to guide you through the flows after you’ve already learned them.

Follow-Along .mp3s These audio cues an be a big help for learning the flows - just drop them on your iPod. Now you don’t have to practice in front of your computer anymore.

Getting Started There’s a lot of material here, and the last thing we want you to do is get overwhelmed to the point that you can’t put this course into practice. Practice is the whole point. If you just want to dive in and find out how to begin using Prasara right now, you’ll find the information you need in the Training Guide. For most people, we recommend a more gradual start. To really get the most out of the Primer, you should really incorporate Prasara practice into your life at your own pace. This allows you to get a feel for Prasara as a whole while learning the various movements and flows. It also helps avoid burnout. The first thing you should do is read the first few chapters of this manual and the descriptions of each of the five yoga flows (don’t bother with the detailed instructions yet). You don’t have to fully understand everything right away, but a quick scan will help you get familiar with what’s included here and help you find the information you need later.

After you’ve given this course manual a good once-over, take a half hour or so to watch the demonstration videos. Notice how the Intermediate and Advanced versions of each flow build upon the preceding level and pay close attention to the apparent ease with which Coach Hurst moves from one position to the next (don’t worry if you get a sudden urge to slap him for making it look so easy - it’s perfectly natural). This ease is your goal. Watching these demonstrations now will help you form a mental image of what to strive for as you go about your own practice. After reading this manual and watching the videos, there are two ways you could progress: intuitively or methodically. If you feel a strong pull to any particular one of the five flows included here, it’s totally permissible to honor that intuition and begin watching the instructional video for the Beginner level of that flow. Take it step by step and refer to the detailed pose instructions in this manual to help you. The Training Guide will also have some tips on how to structure your practice, so make sure to check that out, even if you’re not planning to follow one of the specific programs.

It’s also just fine if you don’t feel drawn to a specific flow. For most people, it’s best to cycle through each flow, starting at the beginner level. This ensures equal attention to a variety of movement types and also keeps things from getting too boring. The Training Guide will give you a program for exploring Prasara Yoga at your own pace. There are programs designed to work with various schedules and integrate with other kinds of training, so you’ll be sure to find one that works for your situation and your goals.

Prasara Yoga Basics Yoga is an age-old discipline developed in India for the purpose of improving the health of your body, mind, and spirit. The path of Yoga is said to be eightfold, with specific instructions in key disciplines. Comparing the totality of Yoga to a tree, the disciplines which make up the tree are called the “limbs” of Yoga. We’re going to list them here in the interest of completeness, but we’re not going to test you on them later. Note: Throughout the course manual, we’ve included the Sanskrit names of many poses alongside the English names. Though people coming form a yoga background will find these useful, learning them is not required. If you’re not interested, feel free to ignore them.

The Eight Limbs of Yoga 1. Yamas - restraints 2. Niyamas - observances 3. Asana - postures 4. Pranayama - breathing 5. Pratyahara - withdrawal of senses 6. Dharana - concentration 7. Dhyana - meditation 8. Samadhi - absorption

Asana - Yoga Poses

play your sport, to dance, and to move with grace in all that you do! Sounds good, doesn’t it!

Asana is the limb of Yoga that the majority of people will find most familiar. Asana practice involves learning specific postures that directly improve physical health and vitality. The postures are said to “open your joints” and give your body freedom and energy. When people speak of exercises called Downward Facing Dog, Cobra, and Pigeon, they are talking about Asana.

Everyone appreciates the graceful movement of our favorite athletes and dancers. And don’t we all wonder if we could ever move the way they do? It seems that it is ingrained in our being to appreciate the beauty of their movement and seemingly effortless actions.

Prasara - Yoga in Flow Prasara is a method resurrected from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, considered the “bible of yoga,” compiled in 200 B.C. It was developed by Circular Strength Training founder Coach Scott Sonnon, and integrates all eight limbs of Yoga into a physical practice designed to improve your Flow. Flow is the ability to move your body into any posture and into any direction with grace and fluidity. Your Flow is your freedom of movement! The English translation of Prasara can be interpreted as “extension, advancing, a free course, a stream.” Prasara Yoga is then a means to improve your body’s freedom. Freedom to

Prasara Yoga was developed as a method to develop our bodies and our movement in search of that grace.

Breath Awareness and Control Prasara Yoga Breathing Breathing is simple right? 1. Inhale and exhale. 2. Rinse and repeat. 3. Done and done!

Well, not really...

Becoming Aware of Your Breath I’m sure we all have had an experience at work, when everything just seemed to go wrong. Paperwork was lost, coworkers suddenly decided to forget how to do their jobs, your boss was breathing down your neck, and every time you just about caught up, something else got dropped in your lap. Go back to that time at work for a minute, or another stressful situation in your life that really got you worked up, and close your eyes, imagine yourself there, feel the sensations of stress and anxiety, get back to how you were feeling, and the sensations you were experiencing in your body. Do this for just a couple of minutes. What did you notice? I bet one of the things that happened was your breathing became shallow and ragged. And even now, just thinking about that stressful time, you see that your breath is quickening and uneven. Now try this. Go back to the last great vacation (or even nice weekend you had off). There was a particular moment when you didn’t have a care in the world. No thoughts of work, or where you had to be at that second. See if you can recapture that sensation. You feel not just relaxed, but content. Everything is free and easy. Your stomach is pleasantly full and your muscles are relaxed. In short, you

feel great. How’s your breathing now? Odds are it is even and smooth, with long steady inhales and exhales.

exact position doesn’t matter. Just find a relaxed, easy place to start.

These are just two examples of how your breathing is connected to your feelings and state of your mind. Anxiety and stress go hand in hand with short, choppy breathing. And the reverse is also true. If right now, you consciously make your breathing ragged and quick, like you are trying to hyperventilate, you’ll notice that you are probably beginning to feel anxious and your heart rate increases like something was going on. But you are just sitting here reading an ebook!

Now, without worrying about how you are breathing, just take a little time to observe your breath. Notice the pace, length, and smoothness of your breath. Do the exhales and inhales seem to be the same? Is one faster than the other? Try this for a couple minutes, don’t attempt to do anything but just observe your breathing.

Now you begin to see the importance of regulating your breathing and how it can affect your stress levels and health for the better (or for the worse!). Proper breathing in yoga can be a very complex subject. People that practice yoga can spend a whole hour session just on the breath, and do this for years! But our goal right now can be very simple.

Exercise 2

Exercise 1 The first exercise is much like the visualizations I asked you to perform earlier. But, thankfully, we’ll skip thinking about the stressful day at work! Start by finding a comfortable position, it can be sitting or lying down, we are just starting to find our breath and the

Next, let’s try a simple breath control technique. Without worrying about making the breath longer or shorter, let’s try and make it even. And by that I mean, make our inhales and exhales the same. Don’t think about a particular number right now. Just think about breathing in and out at the same pace. Equal in exhalation and inhalation. Do this for a few minutes and observe what’s going on. What are you feeling? I bet that you’ll start to notice that your breath is lengthening naturally. Neat trick huh! Try these exercises at least once a day for a few days.

Your Personal Breath Now that you have a beginning understanding about the quality and pacing of your breath, this is a good start in finding your “personal breath”. Without worrying about the specifics of proper breathing you are just taking the time to observe your breathing pattern. This tends to result in a more steady, even pacing and you’ll notice immediate changes in your mood and stress levels. Spending even just a few minutes a day with this will enhance the quality of your life. Breath awareness is the basis of all meditative traditions and is not only used by monks in temples, but also pro athletes in their quest for high level performance. Take a look at the best golfers playing their “A” games, notice how they remain so calm and steady even when their next putt determines the difference between first and second place, and hundreds of thousands of dollars. Then look at other golfers in that same tournament that aren’t doing so well, you can see the anxiety in their faces, and you can almost feel their shoulders rising high with each breath and the tightness in their chest. You can bet that the difference in breathing between the winner and the guy in 20th place is like night and day.

Working With Your Breath After you have a fair amount of time finding your steady rhythm in breathing, it’s time to go on to the next step. Now you want to be specific in “working” your breath and getting the most out of each inhalation and exhalation. The goal is to fully expand your lungs and achieve big, cleansing breaths. But rather than forcing yourself to take that “big breath”, you are going to allow air to fill your lungs to the highest capacity. And what does that mean exactly? First, we are going to start in the opposite way of what you may be thinking. Most of the time when we think about breathing, we focus on the inhale. It’s only natural to start there. However, if we start by focusing on the exhale, you’ll quickly understand what it means to fully expand your lungs. Let’s think about it this way. Say you have a big bucket and your goal is to move water from one basin to another. Would you fill the bucket and bring it over only to pour out 1/2 or even 3/4 of the water? No, you’d pour all of it out to empty and then fill it up again. Well, its the same thing with your lungs, you need to expel all of your air out first, before you can take a nice big inhale on your next round. Makes perfect sense doesn’t it?

Exercise 3 Begin by either lying down or taking a comfortable sitting posture (cross legged, in a chair, or on a couch, whatever is most comfortable for you). Relax into that steady breathing pace we talked about in section one. When you are ready, exhale as much air out as you possibly can. Notice what is going on in your body to make that happen. You should feel your ribs drop and move down towards your hips, your low back flattens out, your hips roll underneath you, and your stomach become smaller and tight. Now, pause for just a second after the exhale and feel that still emptiness with all of your breath out of your body. After a second of holding this position, fully relax and feel the air rushing back in as you inhale without effort. Do you see how the inhale becomes stronger and more full after you worked on a deep exhale? Work on this for a few minutes and see if you can get a steady rhythm in this deep breathing method. Remember, the goal is a relaxed steady breath. You’ll get no benefit from forcing any of this. A few minutes of this and you will feel both energized and relaxed. Calm and steady, but also feeling like you are ready to run 10 miles if you had to! This is the effect of proper breathing. Feels nice doesn’t it!

So to recap a few key points of “working your breath”. 1. Concentrate on a full exhalation. 2. Feel your spine lengthen as your ribs draw down and in, your belly button pulls in towards your back, and your tailbone tucks in underneath you. 3. Hold for just a second on “empty”. 4. Be relaxed as the air rushes in and you feel your ribs lift up and out while your body starts to feel even more tall. Keep your belly button pulled in a bit as you let the air go fully up to the top of your lungs. 5. Work on a steady pattern with no forceful intent. Forcing it will only work against you. You will probably not be accustomed to this deep full breath work, and all this oxygen may be a new experience for most of you! If you start to feel lightheaded or dizzy, go back to breathing normally and allow yourself to settle down. There’s no rush, your deep breath will still be there when you are ready to go back to it. This deep breathing exercise is a great way to help you understand how much breath capacity you really have. Practice this daily, and those days of ragged breathing and “losing your breath” will be long gone!

Perfecting Your Breath Spend some time working on finding your deepest, relaxed breath and after a few days, you will notice either exhalation or inhalation being longer than the other and you may have felt like you wanted to rush one either one. This is natural and actually gives you a good insight into the areas of your breathing that need to be smoothed out. Let’s use this feeling to start a new exercise to make the inhale and exhale the same amount of time starting with a count of four.

Exercise 4 Get into your comfortable position, and as always, relax into a comfortable even breath. Now do a few repetitions of the deep breathing technique we discussed earlier. The next step is to inhale while counting a steady 1.....2.....3.....4. Don’t worry if it feels like you can manage a deeper inhalation, as you get more familiar with this exercise you can work on changing the pacing. Pause before exhaling and count 1.....2.....3.....4. You should be pausing your breath, but you shouldn’t feel as if you are bearing down and holding it in. You are simply waiting before going on to the next part of your breath. Now, exhale fully for 1.....2.....3.....4, and pause on empty for 1....2.....3.....4. This technique is often called “square” breathing.

You may feel that this type of breathing is unnatural, even if you’ve been working the earlier exercises for a while. This feels unnatural, because you are really exploring all aspects of your breath and finding the spots which are harder to control. And, as you may have guessed, those more difficult spots are the areas that you need to improve! Just like most things in life, you get better not by doing the easier things over and over again, but instead working on the parts that challenge you. Here we see the paradox of breath work. We want to practice on improving our difficult areas, but at the same time not forcing ourselves in the practice. That’s the hardest part! It’s not easy, and that’s why even the best athletes and yoga practitioners spend every day working on these breathing techniques. The goal is not to constrain yourself into a particular breathing pattern because its the “best”. Instead, we are working on relaxing into steady and even breathing. We are practicing for the fullest, most steady pattern of our inhales and exhales, while removing all the anxieties of “catching our breath”, or “needing more breath”. If this sounds difficult to achieve... well it is! But it doesn’t have to be “hard”, does that make sense?

It’s tough to explain in words and you can’t get it just by reading, but with regular practice you will begin to understand. With breath work, it is the learning on the job that gives you the primary benefit. We started with the count of four for square breathing, and as you continue on in your practice, you’ll naturally start to lengthen the counts. Again, DON’T FORCE IT! When in doubt, just drop it down a count, or take a break and try again. And maybe you’ll need to stop the square breathing for a while and work on the earlier two exercises for a bit. That’s perfectly fine, and actually the best thing to do. It’s better to do this, than to just give up. Find a way to practice every day, and you’ll find your improvement. It is better to do these exercises for shorter periods and more often, than to force yourself to do it for a long time once a day. You may work up to that point, but too many people start this way and then quit. Starting for just a few minutes, and for whenever you feel like it during the day is an ideal way to begin without feeling forced or dreading it. “Oh, I have to do my breathing exercise!”. Can you see how that’s probably not the best way to go? Start on making this a nice daily habit, and as you get more comfortable you will lengthen the time you spend on these exercises.

Breath awareness and control does wonders for your health and wellness, and it also helps your performance in sports and other recreational activities by helping to manage your energy and control anxiety levels. Take some time to work on your breathing, you’ll be glad you did!

Keys to Prasara Practice Before you begin the Prasara Primer program, there are a couple basic concepts that you should keep in mind. Sticking to these key points will both make sure you are doing the Yoga properly and not harming yourself, and also will ensure the best progress possible.

1st Key Secret to Successful Practice Breathe out when you are exerting effort and never hold your breath. Holding your breath and bracing in a posture or a difficult activity is, for many, a natural response. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the worst things you can do! When you inhale strongly and hold your breath, don’t you feel that build-up of tension? That sensation is the exact opposite of what you want to achieve. Practice the breathing methods in the breath control and awareness chapter of this manual and you will greatly improve your progress in this program and any physical training you do.

2nd Key Secret to Successful Practice You must be sure to do this practice with minimal pain. Our saying is not “No pain, no gain”, it is “No pain, all gain!” The developer of this method is fond of saying “You should be uncomfortable, but not very uncomfortable”. How do you decide this? We use a discomfort scale of 0 to 10. Zero means no discomfort at all and ten represents the worst pain you’ve ever felt. We want to hover around a 3, which we call your “edge”. It should be uncomfortable enough that you know you are doing something by going to your edge” but not so bad that you feel a pain that makes you want to jump off that cliff! No pain sounds good right? It is! And what’s best about this is, it is not only a comfortable way to progress, but also the fastest way to progress. You see, if you feel pain, your body will react by tensing up and bracing. It’s only natural, the body wants to protect itself from further pain and injury. So rather than improving your movement, you are hindering it if you are pushing into pain.

Another good milestone is you should feel better as you perform your practice. At the end of your session you should feel better than you did at the beginning. If you are doing repetitions of a particular movement, the tenth one should feel better than the first one. If it feels worse, you are either performing the movement incorrectly or pushing yourself too hard. Remember the goal is not to “stretch”, but to regain freedom of movement. These two ideas, breathing out when there is effort, and having no pain (no more than a 3 out of 10 on the scale), are fundamental to your success in learning the Prasara Primer program.

The Five Flows These five yoga flows, sometimes called the ‘Series B’ flows, are specifically designed to strengthen your body from every angle while simultaneously increasing mobility in areas that are frequent trouble spots - hips, back, knees, ankles, and wrists.

Benefits of Each Flow Here are just a few examples of the benefits of each flow covered in this course. Flow

Muscle Group

Attributes

Sports

Hips, Knees, Ankles

Hips mobility for activities involving squatting or moving on the ground

Running/Jogging, Baseball, Basketball, Football, Soccer, Rollerblading

Legs

Balance and leg strength for kicking and single-leg activities

Dancing, Martial Arts (kicking), Rock Climbing, Skiing, Volleyball

Wind

Hips, Back

Breath control, Endurance, Breathing under stress

Surfing, Snowboarding, Tennis, Golf, Wrestling/Grappling

Ocean

Shoulders, Arms, Core, Hips

Full-body Integration, Balance, Controlled movement

Football, Rugby, Wrestling/Grappling, Rowing/Paddling

Seesaw

Core, Torso

Lifting movements, General strength and power

Swimming, Diving, Golf, Racquetball, Tennis

Cricket

Though each flow actually addresses the entire body, certain movements will impact some muscle groups more than others. Likewise, the movements practiced in certain flows may have greater or lesser carryover into a particular sport or other activity. Still, it’s important to remember that we use our entire bodies for literally every physical task we perform. That’s why we encourage you to practice each flow in turn. This will allow you to develop a well-rounded set of movement skills and a body that can do whatever you ask of it.

Vine

Cricket Cricket is a flow designed to improve your ability to work your hips in all angles of movement. From full flexion to extension and rotation, your hips will start to move more freely than you ever thought possible! This program works on both strength and flexibility as you transition smoothly from one position to another. You will notice improvements in all of your activities that require squatting and knee bending.

Points to Remember Rotation (in and out) and full extension of your hips are movements that sometimes get neglected in our daily lives, the Cricket flow restores and expands these motions. As always, resist the urge to progress too quickly in the movements. You may feel that natural eagerness to “get there faster”. But you will soon realize that the fastest way to get where you are going is through disciplined, mindful practice. Going too fast, too soon will only bring you tweaked muscles and joints, and set you back.

Related Sports and Activities
Running/jogging
Baseball
Basketball
Football
Soccer
Rollerblading

Keep in mind all the beginning tips we gave you in the introduction. Most importantly play and have fun! With continued practice of the Cricket flow, your hips will become both stronger and more mobile. You will notice less of a strain and you will experience a greater enjoyment in many of your recreational activities.

Cricket Postures Beginner Level Trinity Squat The squat begins and ends with a feeling of being upright and strong. You will raise your hands up in front of you, and be sure to keep your shoulders packed down. Keep a good alignment in your spine; think tall and long, and position your head as if held up from a string. Feel the pressure on the bottom of your feet being distributed in the middle of the foot. Your weight should be even rather than too much on the toes or heels. Begin by exhaling and sitting your hips backward as if you were sitting down in a chair. Drop down as far as you are comfortable, eventually ending up with your butt all the way down to your ankles. The goal of this movement is to maintain proper head, shoulder, and hip alignment while not leaning forward nor slouching when performing the squat.

Shin Squat This position is with one knee up and the other folded beneath you as you sit back on your calf. Your weight should be evenly distributed between both legs. Rest your hands on your legs and remember to think tall through your spine, and sink your tailbone into the floor. Keep your back straight and your shoulders down and relaxed.

Triangle Squat This is similar to the Shin Squat, but now your front foot is turned inward placed just to the outside of the leg that you are sitting on.

Modified One Leg Crane Pose Primer Eka Pada Bakasana

Place your hands shoulder width apart in front of you, and bring one knee forward to rest above your elbow. Extend the opposite leg straight back while on your toes. Keep your weight distributed equally on each foot, but as your strength improves you should gradually distribute the majority of your weight to the front leg.

Modified Crane Pose Place your hands shoulder width apart in front of you and bring both knees forward to rest above your elbows. Place your toes on the ground. Keep your weight distributed equally on each foot. As your strength improves you should gradually distribute the majority of the weight to the knees and bring your feet up off of the ground.

Frog Pose or Quad Squat Manduka Asana

While on all fours, flatten your back and equally distribute the weight of your torso between all four limbs. For this first form, bring your knees close to your elbows. Turn your hands inward while flaring your elbows and knees slightly outwards. This pose must be performed correctly to insure a proper understanding of the position, so that you can transition into the Quad Squat Variation.

Modified Frog Pose or Quad Squat Manduka Asana Modified

From the quad squat position in which your knees are close to your elbows, begin by leaning your weight forward to place yourself over your hands. Bend your elbows and knees at the same time. Go down towards the floor and then press back up to the Quad squat position keeping equal pressure

on your hands and feet. Remember to breathe out while performing the movement, never hold your breath!

Pigeon Pose Rajakapotasana

This pose is great for opening up your hips. Start by having one knee bent and lying flat in front of you. Work on getting your shin perpendicular to your torso. The opposite leg is straight back behind you. Think of making it as long as possible with the top of your foot flat against the ground. Now roll the front of your hip inwards into the floor while keeping your shoulders squarely pointed towards the front. Squeeze the buttock of the straight leg. Your torso should be upright and tall as in the squat positions you’ve practiced. You can place your hands where you need for balance, or to take the pressure off of any painful areas. However, pay careful attention to not shrug your shoulders while placing your hands on the ground for support. Keep your upper body relaxed but shoulders pulled down and back as you look straight ahead.

Sleeping Pigeon Supta Rajakapotasana

The Sleeping Pigeon is the same position as the Pigeon, but now lean forward and place your arms on the ground in front of you.

Shin Box In this position you will sit with one foot folded in front of you, bringing the foot into the inner thigh of your other leg. The other leg is then folded in back of you, with the heel placed next to your buttock. Sit with your weight evenly distributed on the right and left side of your body. Be tall!

Downward Facing Dog Adho Mukha Svanasana

Begin on all fours with your hands placed about 5 feet away from your feet. Keep your hands planted and push down through your hands. Your elbows will now straighten to support your upper body as you push your heels down towards the ground. Again, work towards a long spine and bring your chest facing down towards the floor. Push your buttocks up towards the sky and keep your head neutral while looking towards your stomach.

Sleeping Warrior Supta Virabhadrasana

Sit back onto your heels with the top of your feet flat on the ground, rest your upper body forward on your thighs and reach with your palms flat on the ground in front of you. While keeping your arms straight, push down through your hands while sinking your buttocks down deeper into the heels of your feet. Think of sinking your torso into the floor while trying to keep your back straight in alignment to the floor. Keep your shoulders down and breathe!

Upward Facing Dog Urdhva Mukha Svanasana

Lie flat on your stomach and bring your hands up by your shoulders. Push up and straighten your arms while keeping your hips down on the ground. Turn your elbow pits forward and push against the

floor making sure not to shrug your shoulders up. Project your chest forward and up in front of you. Look straight ahead, or if is comfortable lift your head and arch back to look at the sky. Squeeze your thighs tightly and push your ankles into the floor. If this feels easy to you place your legs closer together and push your knees off of the ground.

Cat Pose Bidalasana

On all fours much like the quad squat position, lift your upper and mid back upwards toward the sky.

Intermediate and Advanced Levels

One Leg Crane Pose Eka Pada Bakasana

Awkward Chair Pose Utkatasana

Just like the Trinity squat, raise your hands, however, this time bring them up to about the level of your ears. Keep your arms straight with elbow pits turned up towards the sky and palms facing towards each other. Your head should remain neutral and not looking up or down. When sitting back do not drop all the way down, stop your hips at 90 degrees parallel to the floor.

Place your hands in front of you and bring your knees just above your elbows. In the advanced version, lean forward far enough to allow the leg that is straight behind you to lift up in the air. The intermediate version is the same; however you may bend the knee to make it easier. Squeeze your hips and point your toes in this hand balancing pose. As you improve, gradually straighten your arms and bring your bent leg closer to your chest for a deeper and stronger pose. Remember to breathe out when extending the leg behind and inhale when returning the leg.

Crane Pose Bakasana

The Crane Pose is actually easier than it looks. From the bottom squat position, place your hands directly out in front of you on the floor. Widen your knees outwards slightly past your elbows. In the basic version of this pose, bend your elbows and flare them outward to the side. Now shift your weight slightly forward and while on the balls of your feet, lay your knees on top of your bent arms just above the elbows. Bring your head forward and up to counterbalance your weight. Exhale to activate your core and continue the forward lean. You will soon find a good balance point that will enable you to lift your feet off the floor. Keep your balance by using your fingers and the heel of your palm. In the intermediate version of this pose, bring your elbows in closer to your body. So, rather than flaring your elbows like in the beginner version, keep your elbows in and rest your knees on your arms just above the elbow as you rise up into the Crane.

The advanced version of this pose keeps the arms straight while placing your knees even further up your arms. Start with your arms straight and stand up a bit from your squat. Push yourself forward slightly and rise up onto the balls of your feet. Your shoulders will be past the plane of your hands. This is very important. If your shoulders are not out in front of your hands you will not be able to hold this balance. Your knees will slide off of your arms! Finally, place your knees as close to your armpits as possible and push up in to the pose. You can place your knees to the outside of your arms however we prefer placing the knees in the inside of the arms, almost up into the armpits. This keeps the body more compact and easier to control.

One Leg Downward Facing Dog Eka Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana

This pose is similar to Downward Facing dog, except now you will have one leg extended off the ground and raised behind you. Be sure to keep your back flat and do not allow it to twist as you raise the leg up. Keep your hips facing straight toward the ground. Your leg and your back should be in a nice straight line.

Vine

Some helpful tips to help your balance 1. Look out about 5 feet in front of you when holding the one-legged poses.

This flow works the hips in a different way than the Cricket flow. This program opens the hips in standing postures, so you develop strength and flexibility with balance all together.

Related Sports and Activities

2. Bend the supporting leg just a bit and allow your weight to sink into the floor. Your balance will be better by allowing yourself to be more compact and closer to the ground. 3. As always, don't hold your breath! This is a common


Dancing

reaction as you try to remain steady. Don’t allow


Martial arts (kicking)

yourself to do this, be mindful of your breath until the movements become second nature, then your breath will be natural and even.


Rock Climbing
Skiing
Volleyball

4. Keep your hips in line with each other and facing square. Do not let them open up to the side, especially while in Upward Bow Pose.

Although holding these poses is important, the movement between the poses is where we will strengthen our joints and improve balance. When moving between each pose, strive for smooth, slow and decisive movements. Slow, purposeful movement shows superior control and balance.

Vine Postures Mountain Pose

arms forward at the same speed at which you bring your back leg up. Imagine the weight of your body is evenly distributed between your arms stretching in front and the leg extending backwards.

Tadasana with Arms Raised

Begin with feet firmly planted on the ground, bring them together and spread your toes wide. Check your balance by slightly shifting weight between your toes and your heels. With an inhale, raise your arms up from the side until they are straight above your head. Exhale and flex the muscles in your lower body and trunk. Drive your shoulders down while keeping your arms stretched upwards. Keep your head neutral and gaze straight ahead.

Warrior III Pose Virabhadrasana III

Stand tall, inhale, and step back slightly with one foot keeping your heel pointing upwards. Exhale and check your balance. As you bend at the hips, bring your

The goal here is to keep your arms and leg in the same plane by making a straight line down the back of your body. If you can only lift your back leg up slightly then you will go the same amount forward with your outstretched arms. Remember to keep your hips facing towards the ground and do not let the hip of the back leg to open out to the side. Finally, bring your head up slightly and gaze forward.

Standing Bow Pulling Pose Dandayamana Dhanurasana

Stand tall exhale, bend your left leg at the knee and grasp the outside of your foot with your left hand. At the same time, bring your right hand up to chest level straight out in front you. It is very important to keep your hips facing forward in this pose. If you cannot keep your hips square you should decrease the intensity of the posture and let your knee drop closer to the floor. Exhale and lift your back leg up and push your foot against the grasping hand. Push out against the hand rather than pulling the leg up behind you. As you start the “pull and push” motion, extend your front arm forward and work towards leveling out your back leg with your forward arm. Follow the line of your front arm and back leg. Keep your hips square and parallel to the front or towards the floor.

Extended Hand to Big Toe Pose I Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana I

Stand tall and exhale as you bring your knee up towards your chest. Your hips face forward and stand as tall as possible. Straighten the raised knee to bring your foot out in front of you and grasp your big toe with your middle finger keeping your thumb on top. The point of meeting your foot instead of grasping it from the beginning teaches control and selective tension throughout the movement. Ultimately, you will be able to hold your foot out straight in front of you without the use of your hand. However, in the beginning, we use our hand as a tool for helping us go deeper into the pose.

Once your leg is extended fully, check again to make sure that your hips are in line with each other facing forward and that the hip of the outstretched leg is not further in front than the hip of your supporting leg. Stand straight and pull your toes back. Do this with your toes rather than just pulling them back with your fingers. Place your free hand out to the side or on your hip for balance. The advanced student can get into this pose by lifting their leg straight from the floor. Take care not to lean back when doing this movement; instead you should raise the leg by contracting your hip flexors while keeping your back straight and tall.

Extended Hand to Big Toe Pose I Squat Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana I Squat

This is one of the more difficult poses to perform. We start this pose from Extended Hand to Big Toe Pose I. Exhale strongly to engage your core, reach your free hand out in front of you and slowly lower yourself to the floor. Stop just short of sitting all the way down. The foot of your supporting leg should be flat on the floor. Refrain from doing this squat on the ball of your foot, there may be too much strain on your knee if you do that.

Your outstretched leg and arms will act as a counterweight as you lower yourself. Try to keep your back as upright as possible by straightening your arms and pushing your chest outwards. For the beginner, start this movement by letting go of your outstretched leg and bring it close to the ground but not touching. Lower yourself to the ground and use your hands to assist and take pressure off of your leg. As you get stronger, use your hands less.

Shoulder Bridge Pose Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

This pose is similar to the Wheel Pose and is a good preparatory pose before moving on to harder backbends like the Wheel. Lie flat on your back, bend your knees and set your feet flat on the floor shoulder width apart. Start with your heel a foot away from your buttocks. As you progress, gradually bring your feet closer to your sit bones. Eventually, they should be as close to your buttocks as possible. Pushing strongly with your legs is very important in this pose and the closer your feet are to your buttocks the easier it is to attain the correct position. Start the upward push of this pose by pushing off through the middle of your feet, squeezing your thighs and drive the hips upwards. Now bring your hands behind your hips to lift up further so that your weight will be distributed between your upper back and shoulders.

You can go deeper into this pose by grasping your ankles with your outstretched arms. As you pull against your ankles, bring your hips up and chest back while pushing down through your legs.

Wheel Pose Urdhva Dhanurasana

The wheel pose is excellent for opening the front of the body and also serves as a good reminder of the importance of selective tension. If you don’t have the proper amount of tension you will either be unable to get into the pose, or have a very hard time maintaining it. Lie down with your back on the floor, bend your knees and set your feet flat on the floor shoulder width apart. Next, bring your arms up and back close to your ears with your elbows pointing towards the sky and your palms flat on the ground and fingers pointing back towards your feet. Start the upward push of this pose by pushing off through the middle of your feet, squeezing your buttocks and driving your hips upwards.

Push into the ground with your hands to propel your upper body up towards sky. Next, tilt your head so that the top of your head touching the ground. Now push firmly through both hands and feet to drive your hips and chest further upwards, picking your head up off the ground. Lift your chest up and back and push your hips up and forward. Maintain equal pressure between your hands and feet. The feet should be flat on the ground throughout this pose.

Frog Pose or Quad Squat

Modified Frog Pose or Quad Squat

Manduka Asana

Manduka Asana Modified

While on all fours, flatten your back and equally distribute the weight of your torso between all four limbs. For this first form, bring your knees close to your elbows. Turn your hands inward while flaring your elbows and knees slightly outwards.

From the quad squat position in which your knees are close to your elbows, begin by leaning your weight forward to place yourself over your hands. Bend your elbows and knees at the same time. Go down towards the floor and then press back up to the Quad squat position keeping equal pressure on your hands and feet.

This pose must be performed correctly to insure a proper understanding of the position, so that you can transition into the Quad Squat Variation.

Remember to breathe out while performing the movement, never hold your breath!

Wind Wind is a flow that has you twisting and turning while under stress. This program really teaches you how to breathe steadily and under control while your body is being pushed to its limit!

Related Sports and Activities
Surfing
Snowboarding
Skateboarding
Tennis
Golf
Wrestling/Grappling

Points to Remember Consistent practice of the Wind flow will result in easier breathing, and improved endurance in the above activities and many others. You will find that this program will fully open your hips, back, and lungs. Make sure you refer back to the chapter on Breath Awareness and Control as you practice the Wind flow. It might even help to practice the breathing exercises in that chapter as a reminder. At the very least, be certain to be aware of your breath throughout each movement and take note of any positions or movements in which you find yourself holding your breath. Have fun with this flow, and as Coach Hurst often tells students, “Smile and remember to breathe.”

Wind Postures Shin Box In this position you will sit with one foot folded in front of you, bringing the foot into the inner thigh of your other leg. The other leg is then folded in back of you, with the heel placed next to your buttock. Sit with your weight evenly distributed on the right and left side of your body. Be tall!

your right knee and push your arm straight. This will allow you to sit up straighter and maintain good posture in the twist. Keep your back straight and tall and be careful not to lean back. Slowly twist to the right. Next, slowly turn your head to the right and look behind you. Remember to be upright and tall through your chest rather than leaning back. Drive the front of your left hip forward and there will be more of a twisting action. You should feel a nice pull throughout the lower part of your upper body and also in your left hip flexors. However, the 'stretch' coming from your hip flexor musculature is actually due to the activation of the hip being pushed forward rather than the passive stretch applied to your torso. For the beginner

Twisting Shin Box In the shin box position, slowly start to twist to the right and place your right hand behind your hips. It should be close to your tailbone with fingers facing your left foot. Place the back of your left hand against

level start by wrapping your arms around your body as you twist. For example, take your left arm and place the back of your palm behind you and against your right hip. Take the palm of your right hand and place it on your left hip. Keep your torso straight and slowly

turn your shoulders to the left. Lastly, turn your head to the left and up towards the sky to complete the pose.

Cobra Pose Bhujangasana

Lie flat on your stomach and place your hands in line with the middle of your chest. Your palms should be flat on the floor with your elbows close to your torso. Extend your legs straight out behind you by pushing your tailbone towards your feet. Finally, push strongly with your hands and keep your lower torso close to the ground. This drives your upper torso forward and up. Draw your shoulders down and back, pulling them away from your ears. Do not squeeze your buttocks, instead sink the front of your lower body into the ground.

Pigeon Pose Rajakapotasana

This pose is great for opening up your hips. Start by having one knee bent and lying flat in front of you. Work on getting your shin perpendicular to your torso. The opposite leg is straight back behind you. Think of making it as long as possible with the top of your foot flat against the ground. Now roll the front of your hip inwards into the floor while keeping your shoulders squarely pointed towards the front. Squeeze the buttock of the straight leg. Your torso should be upright and tall as in the squat positions you’ve practiced. You can place your hands where you need for balance, or to take the pressure off of any painful areas. However, pay careful attention to not shrug your shoulders while placing your hands on the ground for support. Keep your upper body relaxed but shoulders pulled down and back as you look straight ahead.

Extended Side Angle Pose Utthita Parasvakonasana

Starting in the Cobra Pose, bring your right foot between your hands and turn your back foot so that it is perpendicular to your right foot. Push back with your left leg and push straight down through your front leg with the right knee bent at 90 degrees. Next, open your hips up to the side. Do this by tucking your bottom in and roll your hips underneath you (a posterior pelvic tilt), by squeezing your butt. Now, twist and bend your upper torso to the right and place your right hand on the outside of your right foot. Your chest will be touching the upper part of your right leg. Maintain your pelvic tilt as you twist and bend. Your hip

position will change slightly as you adjust but at the end of the movement, your hips will once again face to the side. Raise your left arm towards the sky and focus on the feeling of an open chest and hips. Turn your head to look up at the fingers of your raised arm and push your arm closer to the sky. In this position your legs should be pushing, your chest and hips should be opened with your butt tucked in. Focus your eyes on the fingers of your extended left arm. Don’t place a lot of weight on the right arm. Keep your weight distributed evenly between your legs, use the right arm just for balance and proper positioning. For beginners, as you start to work towards the full pose, you may rest your right arm on your knee. Slowly turn your head so that you are looking up and lift your left arm up to reach for the sky. For intermediate practitioners, place your right hand to the outside of your right foot. But this time, place your left hand on your left hip keeping your arm in alignment with your body. In all the variations, be mindful of opening your body towards the side.

Modified Side Angle Pose Advanced Version

This can be a very difficult position to

Modified Parsvakonasana

enter into, don’t

This pose has the same components as the Extended Side Angle Pose, however we will now join our hands together in back by threading our right arm under our right leg and grasping it behind with our left hand. Start in the Extended Side angle posture (with right leg bent and the left knee straight), take your right arm and bring it to the inside of your right leg. Place your elbow in line with your right knee and push against your knee to create space and open up your hips and chest even further. Next, bend and lower your torso so that your right shoulder is also to the inside of your right leg and next to your thigh. It will be easier to do by bending your right leg further to the front and deepen your stance. Bring your left hand behind your body in back, and bend your arm at the elbow to draw your hand in close towards your right leg. Finally, bring your right hand up between your legs to clasp the wrist of your left hand.

force it or you may strain your back. Beginners should first attempt to bring the hands as close as possible, while maintaining a low level of discomfort. As you improve, you will progress to clasping your fingers, and then finally to grabbing the wrist. As always, small steps are best, while forcing the position will only bring frustration! Push your chest out and bring your right leg back into a 90 degree angle, and twist your upper torso looking towards the sky.

Warrior II Pose Virabhadrasana II

This pose is very similar to the extended side angle pose. But both arms are up and parallel to the ground. With your right hip and knee at a 90 degree angle, bring your right arm up in front and your left arm up in back, stretching them away from each other. Stand tall and upright, don’t lean forward or back and keep your shoulders directly over your pelvis. Do not stick your buttocks out. Turn your head and gaze beyond the fingers of your right arm. This pose is also good for stamina and teaching relaxation in the upper body while maintaining good strength and solidity in your lower body.

Standing Side Prayer Twist Stand tall with your hands at your chest and palms together with fingers pointed upward in a prayer position. Bend your knees slightly and lower your left elbow down towards the ground while driving your right elbow upwards and rotating to your right. Place your left elbow to the outside of your right bent right knee. Keep your hands close to your chest and drive your left elbow into your knee to lift and twist your torso. Press your palms strongly together. Keep your right elbow up and back in line with your left elbow. Next, turn your head so that you are looking up at the sky. When doing this pose there is often a tendency to rotate your knees and buttocks. Be aware of this and keep your

lower body facing forward with your knees and buttocks directly in line with your feet and toes. To increase the difficulty of this pose, raise your right arm and straighten it towards the sky. Think of shooting a bow and how you need to pull back on the bowstring while alternately pushing forward and extending your arm with the opposite hand. You want to feel like you are shooting a bow upwards into the air when performing the advanced version.

Half Moon Pose Ardha Chandrasana

Start this pose from a full squat position and slide your hands out in front of you on the floor. Leave your right hand facing forward and planted on the ground, twist your body to the left so that your hips and feet are at a 90 degree angle facing away from your right hand. Pick your left leg up and push with your right

leg and right arm into full extension. Spread the fingers of your right hand and keep your weight even throughout your palm. Turn your head and look to the left and drive your left leg slowly upwards and back. Open up your hips to your left side and straighten your back. You should work towards turning your knee towards the sky. However, do not do force this and cause a breach in your structure, remember the goal is not the achievement of a posture no matter what, the goal is to attain the posture through proper breathing, movement, and structure. Finally, raise your left arm and point towards the sky, keep it straight and in line with your supporting right arm. For beginners, start by simply lifting your left leg up backwards and holding it out straight. As you start to feel more comfortable with your balance, slowly start to turn your hips, head, and torso out to the side. With continued practice you will be able to take your hand off the ground and raise it over your head.

Ocean The Ocean flow has a wide variety of movements and positions that will challenge the strength and stability of your entire body. The beginning has you extending and flexing your spine while maintaining strength throughout, and it progresses to strong hip positions and hand balancing. This is an ideal flow for sports and activities that tax your whole body.

Related Sports and Activities
Football
Rugby
Wrestling/grappling
Rowing/paddling

Points to Remember Steady practice of the Ocean flow will develop graceful movement as well as high levels of strength and body control. This flow is a great example of how the practice of Yoga differs from the simple stretches which attempt to isolate one muscle group at a time. The practice of Yoga is always a whole body experience, which improves both your mobility and strength all at once.

Ocean Postures Shin Box In this position you will sit with one foot folded in front of you, bringing the foot into the inner thigh of your other leg. The other leg is then folded in back of you, with the heel placed next to your buttock. Sit with your weight evenly distributed on the right and left side of your body. Be tall!

Upward Facing Dog Urdhva Mukha Svanasana

Lie flat on your stomach and bring your hands up by your shoulders. Push up and straighten your arms while keeping your hips down on the ground. Turn your elbow pits forward and push against the floor making sure not to shrug your shoulders up. Project your chest forward and up in front of you. Look straight ahead, or if is comfortable lift your head and arch back to look at the sky. Squeeze your thighs tightly and push your ankles into the floor. If this feels easy to you place your legs closer together and push your knees off of the ground.

Plow Pose Halasana

Lie flat on your back and tuck your chin. Bring your knees up and in front of your chest. Place your hands on the back of your hips and push your hips up and back towards your face as you straighten your legs. Next, lower your head to the floor and focus on exhaling through the movement. Rather than trying to touch your toes to the floor focus on keeping your legs straight and lift your hips up towards the sky. Think of pushing your chest out and forward. By slowly working on this pose and focusing on your breathing, your feet will eventually make it to the floor in the correct posture. As with all asana, taking it slow and easy is the best way to improve your performance.

Shoulder Bridge Pose Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

This pose is similar to the Wheel Pose and is a good preparatory pose before moving on to harder backbends.on to the Wheel. Lie flat on your back, bend your knees and set your feet flat on the floor shoulder width apart. Start with your heel a foot away from your buttocks. As you progress, gradually bring your feet closer to your sit bones. Eventually, they should be as close to your buttocks as possible. Pushing strongly with your legs is very important in this pose and the closer your feet are to your buttocks the easier it is to attain the correct position. Start the upward push of this pose by pushing off through the middle of your feet, squeezing your thighs and drive the hips upwards. Now bring your hands behind your hips to lift up further so that your weight will be distributed between your upper back and shoulders. You can go deeper into this pose by grasping your ankles with your outstretched arms. As you pull against your ankles, bring your hips up and chest back while pushing down through your legs.

Monkey Pose Hanumanasana

Yes, this is a difficult pose! Start this pose in a kneeling position with one leg out in front. Straighten the front leg and slide forward on your heel. Once you have gone as far as you can, slowly move your rear leg backwards, working it towards the ground. The most important point is to keep your hips facing forward. Do not let the back hip rotate and open out to the side, and at the same time don’t allow your front leg to roll inward.

Once you get fully, or close, into this split position make sure that the front of your rear hip, knee and ankle are flat on the ground. Pull the toes of your front leg back keeping the knee and the top of your foot pointing straight up towards the sky. Sit tall and breathe. As you progress and go deeper into this pose, you can point the toes of the front leg and raise your arms to Prayer Pose or clasped above your head.

Wide Spread Feet Pose Prasarita Padottanasana

Stand tall and step your feet widely out to the side keeping your legs straight. Your toes should be facing forward with your feet pressing firmly against the floor. Next, lean forward and keep your head, shoulders, and hips perfectly in line with each other. Push your buttocks out backwards to lower your chest towards the ground. Do not bend forward and try to bring your head to the floor. Once you are level, exhale and stretch your arms to the side while maintaining your solid structure. When you are rise out of this position, do not stand by lifting with your head and shoulders. Instead, keep your proper structure and push your hips forward while keeping your legs straight. This will lead your upper torso to an upright position and bring you back to the standing. By using your hips correctly in moving in and out of this asana, you will learn to engage your hips properly and take strain off of your low back. We can all agree this is a wonderful skill to have in our daily life!

Crane Pose Bakasana

The Crane Pose is actually easier than it looks. From the bottom squat position, place your hands directly out in front of you on the floor. Widen your knees outwards slightly past your elbows. In the basic version of this pose, bend your elbows and flare them outward to the side. Shift your weight slightly forward and while on the balls of your feet, lay your knees on top of your bent arms just above the elbows. Bring your head forward and up to counterbalance your weight. Exhale to activate your core and continue the forward lean. You will soon find a good balance point that will enable you to lift your feet off the floor. Keep your balance by using your fingers and the heel of your palm.

In the intermediate version of this pose, bring your elbows in closer to your body. So, rather than flaring your elbows like in the beginner version, keep your elbows in and rest your knees on your arms just above the elbow as you rise up into the Crane. The advanced version of this pose keeps the arms straight while placing your knees even further up your arms. Start with your arms straight and stand up a bit from your squat. Push yourself forward slightly and rise up onto the balls of your feet. Your shoulders will be past the plane of your hands. This is very important. If your shoulders are not out in front of your hands you will not be able to hold this balance. Your knees will slide off of your arms! Finally, place your knees as close to your armpits as possible and push up in to the pose. You can place your knees to the outside of your arms however we prefer placing the knees in the inside of the arms, almost up into the armpits. This keeps the body more compact and easier to control.

Seesaw The Seesaw flow focuses on the development of the core muscles of your body. The front, sides, and back of your torso will be worked to the extreme with this program. Unlike normal crunches and leg lifts, your abdominals and back muscles are worked together in harmony. You will feel the difference immediately when you start this exercise. A strong yet also flexible core is so valuable, while a weak and stiff core is the cause of much pain and injury in today’s society.

Related Sports and Activities
General lifting ability in daily life
Swimming/diving
Golf
Racquetball/Tennis

Points to Remember The Seesaw flow is a great example of the strength and body development that can be obtained with the practice of Yoga. Too often the image of Yoga is of very thin men and women contorted in postures that seem suited only for the doublejointed. Practice this program consistently and you’ll develop strength and power that will lead you to higher levels of athletic performance.

Seesaw Postures Fixed Firm Pose Seiza This pose is traditionally done with your ankles on the outside of your legs. However, for the purposes of this flow, you will sit on top of your calves and ankles. This seated position is called seiza in Japanese. Fold your legs under you so that you are sitting with your toes pointing to the rear. You want to work towards sitting with the inside of your knees and ankles together. It is important to get your sit bones on top of your heels with the tops of your feet flat on the ground. Do not let your heels splay outwards or have one foot on the top of the other. Sit up straight and let your tailbone sink into the ground while you are consciously lifting

the top of your head to the sky. This will feel like a nice pull in opposite directions that lengthens your spine. Place the palms of your hands lightly on your upper thigh with your elbows close to your torso.

Child’s Pose Balasana

In Fixed Firm Pose, be firmly seated on your heels and slightly separate your knees. With a straight back, bring your chest and stomach forward and down to nestle comfortably on your thighs. Continue to keep your buttocks in contact with your heels and focus on lengthening your upper body. Reach forward with your palms flat on the ground and continue to lengthen spine. Now, bring your hands down towards your feet, and place your arms with palms up on the floor alongside your torso. Relax your head and body completely into the floor.

Rabbit Pose From Child's Pose bring your forehead closer to your knees, this will help the back of your neck to open up and lengthen. Lightly grab your heels with your hands and pull on your heels. Raise your hips up high and your entire back will be round and open. You should imagine projecting your middle back forward and up. The founder of this method, Scott Sonnon, often says “you should allow yourself to melt into the position.” Pulling on your feet is very important as a neurological effect comes into play, which helps you to relax deeply into the pose. The muscles used to pull up on your heels contract strongly and the muscles opposite to those contracting will now relax. This is called reciprocal inhibition. Focus on driving your shins into the floor to keep your feet from lifting. Also, there should be very little weight on your head in this pose. Instead, you should just feel lightly anchored to the ground at your head, so that it is a platform to fully open your back. Remember to keep your heels together and pull them with

your hands. This, along with projecting the middle of your back up and forward you will reduce the amount of weight placed on your head.

Wind Removing Pose Wind Removing Pose looks very similar to an inverted Rabbit Pose, however, the mechanics are quite different. While on your back, bring your legs up towards your torso. Place your palms on the front of your knees and pull your thighs into your chest. You should feel as if you are hugging your knees into yourself. Keep your lower legs parallel to the ground with your heels close to your buttocks. Your head, shoulders, and buttocks will be off of the floor. Next, open up your chest towards the sky, your back should flatten and lengthen along the floor. Keep your knees together and think of relaxing your body straight down into the floor.

Full Boat Pose Paripurna Navasana

In the Beginner version, start this pose by sitting on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Place your hands beside and slightly behind you with your fingers forward. Bend your elbows so that you can sit back a little bit. Keep your back straight and expand your chest up and out. Now, raise your feet a couple of inches off of the ground. This will create a 'M' with your body, supported on the ground through your hands and buttocks. Keep this alignment, exhale and straighten your legs. You will now be in a ‘V’ position. Keep your chest up and torso strong, rather than letting it collapse. As you improve in this pose and your core strengthens, work your way up to raising your legs from the floor straight out in front of you, rather than bent as in the ‘M’ position.

In the intermediate level, the focus will be on removing your hands from the floor. Just as in the beginner level, start with your hands on the floor and raise your legs up towards the sky. Once you have found your balance, practice taking your hands off of the floor and place them on the underside of your outstretched legs. Remember always to keep strong with your chest extended outwards. Your core strength will continue to improve with practice. Progress by extending your arms straight out in front of you. In the advanced level, focus on bringing your legs and chest close together as you sit up taller on your sitbones. Bend your knees in towards you while still having your feet up off the ground. Grasp your ankles, straighten one leg and then the other, and continue to extend your chest outwards. This will lead you to a more compacted ‘V’ position where the angle between your chest and extended legs is as close as you can manage. This is a hardcore pose to work your core as well as lengthening the back of your hips and legs.

Plow Pose Halasana

Lie flat on your back and tuck your chin. Bring your knees up and in front of your chest. Place your hands on the back of your hips and push your hips up and back towards your face as you straighten your legs. Next, lower your head to the floor and focus on exhaling through the movement. Rather than trying to touch your toes to the floor focus on keeping your legs straight and lift your hips up towards the sky. Think of pushing your chest out and forward. By slowly working on this pose and focusing on your breathing, your feet will eventually make it to the floor in the correct posture. As with all asana, taking it slow and easy is the best way to improve your performance.

Supported Shoulder Stand Salamba Sarvangasana

Lie flat on your back and tuck your chin to your chest, bend your knees and bring them to your chest. Place your hands on the back of your hips and push your hips up and towards your face. Place your elbows close together on the floor to support your torso. Your head will naturally lower to the floor as you push your hips towards your head. Place your chin firmly into the base of your throat. Be mindful to keep your throat relaxed and open, resist the urge to brace and hold your breath. Once in this position with your head on the floor and hands on your hips, slowly squeeze your buttocks and hamstrings to make a straight line with your legs up towards the sky. Your goal is to create a clean, straight line from your shoulders all the way to your toes. This pose may feel very awkward and you may experience some discomfort in your neck. Focus on letting yourself breathe through the movement and push your hips up to shift the weight in line with your shoulder girdle and head.

As with the plow pose, expanding your chest outward will help your performance of this posture. Beginners should focus on relaxing into the pose and resist the temptation to push themselves too soon. As your practice continues, you will feel more comfortable in the pose. “Baby steps” win the race with this pose! The more gradually you work towards the final position, the better the results.

Locust Pose Salabhasana

The Locust Pose can be quite an uncomfortable pose, especially for those who carry a lot of tension in their arms. This posture is great for releasing that tension, particularly in the area of the biceps. Start by laying face down with your arms to your side. Roll slightly onto your right side and place your left arm with palm face down underneath the front of your hips. Reach back between your legs as far as possible with your hand by dropping your shoulder down towards your hips. Do the same for your right hand. Place your hands as close together as you can underneath your body with palms down. You should not be feeling a sharp pain, but an uncomfortable deep ache is not an uncommon feeling in this difficult posture! In the beginning version, lift one leg at a time in this position. As you improve you will move on and raise both of your legs up at the same time. As we stated in the beginning of this manual, remember to exhale with effort. Do not hold your breath!

You may turn your face to one side in the beginning, but work towards keeping your head in a neutral position looking straight down into the floor. No doubt about it, this can be quite an uncomfortable position. Just remember to gradually work into the pose, and think about the great benefits of practicing this asana. Now you will push against the floor with the palms of your hands strongly and drive the front of your elbows into the floor. Keep your legs squeezing together and continue to push strongly with your hands to press and straighten the front of your arms into the floor. This is a tough posture but with consistent practice, you will find that this will become one of your most productive poses.

Seal Pose

The Seal Pose has the same components as the Cobra pose with only one change. In order to emphasize an opening of your forearms, you will swing your hands around so that your fingers will be pointing back towards you. Keep your palms flat and the front of your elbows facing forward. This may be very uncomfortable to perform at first. In the beginning you should start this pose from your knees. As your mobility improves, slowly slide your legs behind you. Straighten them and have the front of your hips lying flat on the ground just like in the Cobra position.

Peacock Pose In the beginning version, start this pose on your knees with your fingers facing forward. Place your hands and elbows closer together to make an easier transition into the Peacock Pose. Since this pose can be very stressful on your wrists, place your head on the floor in front of your hands and gradually bring your weight onto your arms. You do not want to injure your wrists by attempting this pose improperly. Remember our goal is a healthy performance of these postures! Next, turn your fingers back towards your knees as done in the Seal Pose. Continue to keep your hands and elbows close together. Exhale, and with good control, slide your knees away from your hands, now your elbows will come into contact with your abdomen. Your head will still be on the ground.

From this strong and stable position, slowly raise your head up off of the floor while expelling all the breath from your lungs. This will fully activate your core and connect your body as one unit from your head to your toes. To finish this beginner version of Peacock, raise one leg off of the floor and focus on bearing most of your weight forward over your hands and elbows. The Peacock Pose is an impressive looking asana, which actually looks more difficult than it really is. That doesn’t mean it is easy! But, with practice we feel confident that you will attain this posture much sooner than you would think at first glance.

In the intermediate version of this pose, raise both legs up off of the floor. Start as you did in the beginner version, but make a special emphasis on full core activation. Exhale strongly and connect your trunk, hips and low back in a firm and strong position.Shift the majority of your weight to your upper torso on the strong base of your arms. Your legs are longer than your upper torso, so the balance distribution will not be equal unless you focus on lengthening your neck and bringing your head forward. This will also help to create a solid, straight line from your head to your feet.

The advanced version will be easier to learn after spending a good amount of time on the beginner and intermediate versions. The primary skills for this pose will be honed in these versions, and the final components are just a matter of changing the balance point. At the end of the intermediate version you have both of your legs up and resting easily on your hands. Now you will simply raise your legs further up behind you and tilt your chin onto the floor. In this pose your hands act as a fulcrum for your body’s lever. You now resemble a seesaw, thus giving inspiration to the name of this flow. Push against the floor through the tips of your fingers and allow your head to come up and return to the original position.

How to Practice Prasara

There will always be aspects of the asana that you could work on, but you don’t want to get stuck there! Once you

You’ll find complete programs and advice on how to structure your practice in the Training Guide, but here are a few general tips to keep in mind as you work your way through each flow. You may find yourself progressing through each level quickly, or you may find yourself stuck at one particular level for awhile. However it goes, remember that the goal is not to blast through each level so that you become a “master” at this style of Yoga! The goal is to achieve graceful motion and to achieve a greater understanding of how your body moves. Each practice is a new beginning and every movement can feel fresh and exciting. Enjoy the journey, don’t be so focused on the end, or you’ll miss all the benefits of traveling the path.

understand the basic mechanics of the asana, allow yourself to move on to achieving flow between them, you will find that working on flow will improve your performance of the static asana. Our goal is graceful movement, so don’t be content to sit in one position for too long.

Outroduction This manual is our introduction to five creative and fun Prasara Yoga Flows that will uncover your natural agility and athleticism. Use it in conjunction with the other components of the course to find a place for Prasara in your life. Remember that this practice is meant to be ongoing and engaging, as you improve in the movements you will discover the areas that need more practice in order to make your movements more smooth and agile. When you continue to improve and move freely, the practice becomes a moving meditation. You are no longer just doing the movements, you are experiencing the freedom of the movement that leads to “being in the zone”. You will not just do the movement, you will own that movement. You are probably thinking that there is more to this, and there is! The flows that we have taught here were created as a comprehensive practice of Prasara Yoga. In practicing each of these flows, you work your body from head to toe in a challenging, invigorating, and fun way. We have created quite a few other flows in order to help particular clients and patients, all for their specific needs and conditions.

We hope you enjoyed these lessons, and that you will practice the flows we have shared with you. We also hope that this gets you interested in learning more about Prasara Yoga. Seminars are being held throughout the United States, Europe, and internationally. Prasara Yoga has been a wonderful method in our personal exercise practice, and we enjoy sharing our experiences with others. We hope to see you soon!