Leading teacher Sue Fuller explains poses which will encourage physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing
The bow
Dhanurasana
This posture will help keep the spine agile, but care must be taken to keep the spine long and not to compress any vertebrae. It will help to align and balance all of the chakras, and allows time to focus on sahasrara (the seventh chakra) spinning above the crown of the head; this one is the gateway to higher states of consciousness.
Lay on your front, bend your knees and hold onto the insides of your feet. Push your feet into your hands and begin to lift your chest and legs from the floor. Breathe slowly and work to maintain a long spine. Visualise each chakra positioned along the spine; spend a little longer visualising sahasrara, the crown chakra, spinning just above the top of your head.
The inclined plane
Purvottanasana
This posture opens the heart and stretches the front of the body. It will stimulate the abdominal chakra (svadisthana), the solar plexus chakra (manipura) and the heart chakra (anahata). Among many other things, these chakras deal with emotional issues, self-confidence and unconditional love.
Sit on your bottom with your legs extended. Place your hands beside your hips with your fingertips facing forwards. Push down into your hands, point your feet, lift your chest and then lift your hips from the ground keeping your neck in line with your spine.
As you hold this posture visualise svadisthana, the sexual chakra, as an orange disc spinning just below your navel, manipura as a yellow disc spinning just above your navel, and anahata, the heart chakra, as a green disc in the centre of your chest. Picture each one as the size of a grapefruit.
Pose of the child
Balasana
This posture is extremely nurturing. By resting your forehead on the floor you will stimulate ajna (the brow chakra), also regarded as the area of intuition.
From kneeling, relax forward so that your forehead rests on the floor, direct your fingers towards your feet and breathe slowly. If this is uncomfortable you can make fists with your hands and place them under your forehead.
On completion of the above postures, roll onto your back and draw your knees in towards your chest.
The bound angle pose
Baddha konasana
This posture helps to open the hips and release tension through the pelvic girdle. It also stimulates the root chakra (muladhara), which sits at the base of the spine and helps connect us to the earth. It deals with our basic instincts such as survival.
Sit with a straight spine and the soles of the feet together. Allow the knees to fall towards the floor. Hold on to the insides of the feet and gently open them so that the knees move closer towards the floor and the soles turn up.
Draw up your lower abdominal muscles as you hold this posture and focus on the connection between your sitting bones and the earth. Picture muladhara, the root chakra, at the base of the spine, as being bright red in colour, the size of a grapefruit and spinning slowly in a clockwise direction.
The plough
Halasana
As well as stimulating and balancing the functions of the thyroid gland and releasing tension in the back, neck and shoulders, this posture stimulates vishuddhi (the throat chakra) which deals with creativity and expression.
Begin lying on your back. Place your hands beside your hips and roll your knees in towards your forehead and then place your hands onto your lower back for support. Direct your toes towards the floor, when you are ready interlink your fingers. Lift your chin a little so as not to compress the back of the neck. Picture a light blue disc spinning in front of your throat.
Article by
Sue Fuller
Yoga Teacher
Sue Fuller is a leading yoga teacher, writer and co-founder of wellbeingworldonline.com A leading yoga teacher for over 15 years, Sue trained with the Sivananda organisation in Neyyar Dam, India...
Discover more
Article by
Sue Fuller
Yoga Teacher
Sue Fuller is a leading yoga teacher, writer and co-founder of wellbeingworldonline.com A leading yoga teacher for over 15 years, Sue trained with the Sivananda organisation in Neyyar Dam, India...
Discover more
By Sue Fuller
