Anusara yoga was created and developed, by the American yogi John Friend, in
1977. The practice was based on the belief that we are all filled with intrinsic
goodness. Anusara seeks to open the heart, experience grace, and let the inner
goodness shine through. Anusara means, “flowing with grace, flowing with nature,
flowing your heart.” John Friend created the three A’s: Attitude, Alignment, and
Action, which are based on Anusara yoga.
1. Attitude: “power of the heart as the force behind every action or expression in an
asana.” It is “The aspiration to reawaken to our divine nature, and the celebration of
life.”
2. Alignment: “Mindful awareness of how various parts of ourselves are integrated
and interconnected.” Anusara’s universal principles of alignment are refinements of
this principle.
3. Action: “Natural flow of energy in the body, which provides both stability and
joyful freedom.”
My Experience with Anusara:
Anusara is important to me because it was the first style of yoga I was introduced to.
My mother in law had been taking yoga from a close friend that taught out of her
basement. She invited me along one day; though I was nervous that I wouldn’t be
able to do many poses, I went and thoroughly enjoyed it. I felt alive while flowing
threw the poses and variations. I’ll never forget the feeling of rejuvenation I felt
after the session was over. It was a feeling I knew I wanted to experience every day
of my life. This style put the spark in my britches to explore the other styles of yoga.
Headstand- Shirshasana
Pictured in Headstand is Jennifer Jarrett
Headstand is one of the easiest inversions, once you’ve learned to find your balance.
The perfect balance is achieved when you feel weightless, or feeling of being light
like a feather. At fist experiencing this pleasure can be questionable, as though you
could fall back at any moment with the smallest gust of air. However, over time you
will become more secure in this pose.
It is important to learn the proper form and steps for shirshasana so you do no
injure yourself.
Step 1:
Arm placement is your first objective because it aligns your body for the correct
form of the pose. If the arms are symmetric, the headstand will be faulty, and pose
will be crooked. Kneel on the floor, rest your forearms on the ground and clasp your
elbows, (arms will be folded) so they are directly under your shoulders.
Step 2:
Keeping your elbows where they are, swivel your hands out and interlace your
fingers.
Step 3:
The second main objective is head placement. Without moving your arms, put the
crown of your head on the floor, ears directly above the floor, with the back of your
head cupped in your hands. If your head is too far forward, your neck will feel
compressed, if your head too far back, your neck will be fragile and susceptible to
injury.
Step 4:
The third main objective is shoulder placement. You must learn to lift the shoulders
away from the ears; practicing while grounded is essential, so when you are up you
will have no trouble. The strength of your shoulders, arms and back will protect
your neck from injury. Practice shrugging your shoulders up away from the ears,
and releasing them to ensure you know the difference in feeling.
Step 5:
Going up: Lift hips and walk feet toward arms as far as deemed comfortable. Lift
your hips toward the ceiling as high as possible, attempting to position your hips
directly over your head.
Step 6:
Lift one leg toward the ceiling, press your forearms into the floor, and press
shoulders away from ears. Gently hop the other foot into the pose; eventually this
will be effortless, as if you were floating up.
Coming Down:
To come down, slowly lower your feet to the ground while keeping your legs
together. Relax in child’s pose to counter act shirshasana.
Benefits of headstand or Shirshasana:
Irrigates the brain, stimulating pineal and pituitary glands. Strengthens the neck,
shoulders, and arms. Relieves tired legs, stimulates circulation, and digestion. Clears
the mind, heightens sensitivity, conductive to meditation.
My experience with Shirshasana:
This pose is important to me because it took me a very long time to master. I
thought I would be able to move into headstand quickly, and move to handstand in
no time; which was my ultimate goal. However I was not giving myself the proper
time and patience to master shirshasana. I worked hard to master the headstand
daily. I fell over many times, and even hurting my neck. I thought I would never
have the shoulder and upper back strength to safely enter this pose, and I was
devastated. Those thoughts were only hindering me. I finally learned patience
through meditation, and one day I just floated up into the pose. The feeling I had
while I was in shirshasana for the first time was illuminating, effortless,
extraordinary. It was like someone had lifted all of the weight out of my body and I
was just a spirit. It was a feeling I never wanted to let go of, and is the feeling I try to
achieve every time I go into shirshasana, and I have learned never to rush a pose,
because the feeling you get from it when you do master it, is priceless.
Shoulderstand- Sarvangasana
Sarvangasana is considered to be the “Queen” of all yoga poses because of its
benefits of keeping the skin soft, clear and youthful looking. It is important to
increase mobility in the spine, neck and shoulders by preforming some precursor
poses. You do not have to practice precursor poses prior to shoulderstand, but it
isn’t a bad idea. Start on your back with your legs bent. Release your arms so they
are over your head lying flat on the floor. Slowly rock he knees side to side in sync
with your breathing. Then move into bridge pose, which allows the spin to warm
up, and the abdominals, and buttocks to fire up; making it easier to achieve
shoulderstand. Bring your knees to your chest, straighten the legs toward the
ceiling; breathing deeply, bring your legs overhead into plow pose. This pose feels
exquisite; it stretches the muscles through the back, buttocks, shoulder and neck.
Take your time here to ensure a good stretch, and wait for the intensity to diminish
before moving into shoulderstand.
Step 1:
Raise your legs slowly overhead until they form a vertical line with your torso. The
pelvis will rotate into a cat tilt as your feet go up.
Step 2:
Stretch straight upward through the legs and the feet, keeping them together. This
will pull your spin and torso more erect, causing the energy to flow freely upward.
Eventually the spin, core, and leg muscles will be one continuous line; the sit bones
will be pointing up, and the feet will be pointing up.
Step 3:
Wiggle the elbows inward until the upper arms are parallel with one another.
Secure the posture by moving your hands higher on the back toward the floor.
Press the shoulders and arms into the ground; and stretch the torso up even higher.
Step 4:
Let the line down the middle of your face, line up with your sternum. Never move
the neck or head side to side. This could potentially cause serious neck injury.
Breathe deeply, smoothly, and adjusting the hands as needed. Stay in this pose one
to five minutes. Do not strain yourself.
Benefits of shoulderstand:
Strengthens upper body, opens the chest, stretches the neck, back, and shoulders.
Irrigates the brain, thyroid, and parathyroid. Stimulates energy flow through out
the brain and body; improves digestion. Helps you relax, aids to insomnia and
exhaustion.
My experience with Shoulderstand:
While doing shoulderstand I felt nurtured, as if a calm, healthy energy was taking
over my body. After spending several minutes in sarvangasana, I found I am able to
more easily relax, and my meditation is more fulfilling. I would suggest to anyone
who may be having a hard time meditating, to try shoulderstand before hand.
I chose the headstand and shoulderstand because of the health benefits that come
along with them. These inversions also happen to be some of my most practiced
poses. They calm, and rejuvenating me, making my day a little more relaxing and
less stressful.
Benefits of inversions:
Inversions revitalize the whole system, turning the body upside down, and flooding
the brain with nourishment. The mind clears pineal and pituitary glands, which are
the master glands of the endocrine system that control the chemical balance of the
body. Shoulder stands strengthen the nervous system and emotions by stimulating
the thyroid and parathyroid glands that regulate the metabolism. By elevating the
legs and feet, improve circulation, venous return, and lymph drainage, and which
nourish cells in the face, muscles and skin. Relieves strain and fatigue in legs and
feet, and help with digestion. They are a marvelous aid to sleep. Inversions turn
you upside down and root you in the now. These poses are especially beneficial
after a stressful day because they evoke calm, quit and over stimulated brain, and
soothe the nerves.