Yoga series

Yoga series consist of asanas done in sequence. The most common yoga series is Surya Namaskara or the Sun Salutation, originating in the Hatha Yoga system.

Contents   [hide]  1 Surya Namaskara 2 Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga 3 Bikram Yoga 4 Five Tibetan Rites 5 References

[edit]Surya Namaskara

Shavasana is practiced to take rest after Surya namaskara

Main article: Surya Namaskara

Surya Namaskara Sanskrit for Sun Salutation owes its name for expressing devotion (bhakti) to Surya, the solar deity in the Hindu pantheon, by concentrating on the Sun. The Sun Salutation is, for many yogis, an exercise to be performed at sun rise, or at least in the morning. Surya Namaskara is a sequence of twelve asanas, where the five beginning asanas are the same as the last five asanas of the sequence. The Sun Salutation can be practiced at varying levels of awareness, ranging from that of physical exercise, to a complete sadhana which incorporates asana, pranayama, mantraand chakra meditation.^[1]

	Asana	Breath	Images
1	Pranamasana	exhale
2	Hasta Uttanasana	inhale
3	Hastapaadasana	exhale
4	Aekpaadprasarnaasana. Then stretch one foot far back, lift the head (hands normally at the earth )	inhale
5	Adho Mukha Svanasana	exhale
6	Ashtanga Namaskara	suspend
7	Bhujangasana	inhale
8	Adho Mukha Svanasana	exhale
9	Ashwa Sanchalanasana (other leg forward than in 4) (hands normally at the earth )	inhale
10	Uttanasana	exhale
11	Hasta Uttanasana	inhale
12	Pranamasana	exhale

[edit]Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga

Main article: Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga

This style of yoga involves practising asanas which are easily and quickly done sequentially or consecutively where ujjayi breathing can be incorporated.

[edit]Bikram Yoga

Main article: Bikram Yoga

Bikram Yoga is a style of yoga developed by Bikram Choudhury and a Los Angeles, California based company. Bikram Yoga is ideally practiced in a room heated to 105°F (40.5°C) with a humidity of 40%, and classes, which are 90 minutes long, are a guided series of 26 postures and two non-pranamic breathing exercises.

[edit]Five Tibetan Rites

Main article: Five Tibetan Rites

The Five Tibetan Rites, more commonly referred to as "The Five Tibetans", is a derivative of Taoist Yoga and closer in nature to the practices of Chinese alchemical and martial practices of qigongand nei gung than traditional Hindu Yoga. ^[2] The technique does focus on the higher level practices of chakra balancing, and the cultivation of both pranic energy and kundalini, which is what warrants its mention in this article.^[3]

The "Tibetans" found its way from Taoist Yoga into Tibetan Buddhist practice, hence the name, and was first publicized in the West by Peter Kelder in 1939, and republished in 1975.^[4] The practice was re-introduced by Christopher S. Kilham in 1994, with his publication "The Five Tibetans".^[3]

The first Rite involves spinning 21 times with the arms stretched, like the Sufi dervish practice, and the last four by executing a simple sequence of moving back and forth between two different asanas. According to Kelder, the rites are healthy because of the fitness element it contains, and that people above the age of 40 would rejuvenate by doing them each day.^[4] Kilham focuses more on the metaphysical aspects of the practice, noting the benefits of chakra balancing, energizing the pranamayakosha sheath, and awakening kundalini.