Asanas
They are the postures formed through your body, the branches of the tree, the 3rd petal of ashtanga yoga. They belong to the outward quests.
Asanas irrigate each and every cell of the human body and nourish through copious blood supply. They keep the body healthy and strong and in harmony with nature.
Asanas are not merely gymnastic exercises, they are postures. A steady and pleasant posture produces mental equilibrium and prevents fickleness of mind.
Below are some poems and notes inspired by each asana.
Standing poses
Uttistha Sthiti (standing poses)
Stand on your two feet,
Connected with the mother,
The power of Faith.
Tadasana (mountain pose)
Samasthiti (comes from the Sanskrit root words sama, meaning “same,” “equal” or “upright,” and sthiti, meaning “to establish” or “to stand.”)
As firm and tall as the Himalayas,
As strong and powerful as pure beauty,
Your peak nourishes all the areas,
All the cells and life of your whole body.
You stand and you rise, whatever happens,
Grounding with the earth, caressing the sky.
Stillness is gold and silence enlightens.
When your back is straight, your prayers rise high.
Your feet join, they root for serenity.
They start the true path to your very top,
Reaching for the light, blessed by your shadows.
Your eyes can see far, to infinity.
They are the jewels, always bringing hope,
Surely protecting the holy meadows.
Urdhva Hastasana (raised hands pose)
One says raising your arms up creates bliss.
Stretch it all up, up to our fingertips.
Feel all your cells now flowing like a kiss.
Feel yourself anew like bright pink tulips.
Thy are blessed by the angels of yoga.
Press your feet into the ground and raise up.
Now you can rewrite the divine mantra.
Extend your two arms and your spirit up.
Receive from your fingertips, frequencies,
Vibrations the world can no longer miss.
Let your legs be the anchors of power,
Let your trunk be the conduct of deities,
Let your gaze look way beyond the abyss.
Embrace your body like a blessed river.
Vrikshasana (tree pose)
Standing on one leg, standing on one life,
You as the tree, you as humanity.
Rooting for just peace, praying for no strife,
You, as the great network of unity.
Balancing on one foot, so you can rise
Balancing on the earth, up to fly
With the birds, the wind, the stars, so damn wise,
With your cells, your arms, now reaching the sky.
When your body becomes the tree, it sees,
When your legs become the trunk, they feel strong.
All now respond out of concentration.
The sap travels through all your inner seas,
Your flows and rhythms, all that do belong.
You’re the tree, you’re love, you are compassion.
High on the mountain
Along with your family
You stand still and strong
Utkatasana (chair pose)
How you sit is how you can see it all.
How you sit is the key to contemplate.
How you sit is how you can sing to all.
How you sit is the path to meditate.
Choose your seat and choose your reality.
Choose your seat and raise to new dimensions.
Choose your seat and choose your own verity.
Choose your seat and embrace bold expansions.
Find your seat and find your inner beauty.
Find your seat and find the eternal seed.
Make your chair steady, make your life alive.
Bring it all up, up to your verity.
Open it all out, out to the blessed feed.
Sit and elevate, praise the sun and thrive.
Uttita Trikonasana (triangle pose)
One, two, three that bring it all together,
Strong anchors that reset to recreate,
Pure diamants and sharp summits all over,
That’s what mind, body and breath initiate.
That’s what three angles form within yourself:
Alertness and calmness, power and grace,
Truth and novelties, one authentic self,
Sets of purposes worked at your own pace.
Extended sides of yourself you now see,
Currents of dimensions you now permit,
Outward gaze you reconnect deep within,
All at once, all in you, one, two and three.
In reality, no way to break it,
That light of harmony you’ve always been.
Triangle on top
Triangle from your two feet
Triangle for life
Parivritta Trikonasana (revolved triangle pose)
When the snake and the wind play together,
Your body enters new lives and new joy,
Turning and realigning, much further,
Breathing, noticing, all you can enjoy.
Embracing new directions, new outlooks
Watch the play of the universe right there.
Twisting your chest like one grand open book
Snake King Vasuki makes your path clearer.
Discovering new spaces and flexions
Wind God Vayu cleanses and nourishes.
All around your core, life is happening.
Humbled by the depth of your foundation
You now give birth to all the world’s wishes.
You become yoga, you practice Loving.
Ardha Chandrasana (half moon pose)
Rising to the light, standing in the dark
You’re holding the torch of humanity.
Half full, half empty, beauty is your mark,
Catching the eyes of serendipity.
Your balance embodied creates meanings.
Your structure alive tells the true story.
The very purpose of human beings
Is to embrace your grand profundity.
Moon here, bird there, you’re flying, you’re staying.
Flowered, empowered, just opening up,
Your limbs makes your freedom no matter what.
From your heart to the sky, one leg rising,
From your hand to the soil, one arm all up
Your soul then becomes the moon, and so what?
You fade and you love.
You enlighten the whole sky.
Moon, you soothe the Earth.
Garudasana (Eagle pose)
Spreading your wings to the whole universe,
Gazing at the path of new beginnings,
You see the obverse, you feel the reverse,
Marrying the gifts of advanced beings:
Reverence for the ankles, your anchors;
Embrace of the opposites, your compass.
Watch for your body, your benefactors:
The core, the eyes, all there to encompass;
The legs, the arms, balancing for freedom;
The essence of your being, now flying;
The softness of your power, enchanting;
The miraculous vibration of Om
Singing all around for nature’s rising.
Eagles are dancing, life’s liberating.
Standing still, you fly.
Sound and strong and safe, you pray.
Your wings are sublime.
Virabadhrasana 1 (Warrior 1 Pose)
So firm and so strong, you connect the dots.
Powerful and still, you rise to the top,
Working through the cracks, as the antidotes,
Fighting all along, without any stop.
Ground your two feet and elevate your soul.
Open your chest and just embrace your breath.
Your shoulders get strong, they become your school.
Your back arches well, drawing for good health.
You fight for justice, freedom and true love.
You fight for body, mind and soul as one.
You fight for nature and all the living,
So each cell can chant the song of the dove,
So your eyes can see all the lies be gone,
So balance remains your very being.
Grounded to the light,
Anchored in the possible,
Chanting for the good.
Virabadrasana 2 (Warrior 2 Pose)
Pulled apart in opposite directions,
The arms are stretching to the east and west,
Spring and summer, healing and precisions,
Guidance and rainbows, brightness at its best.
Lifted, the stomach shines through true visions
Bringing out the sun, dancing with the one.
Expended, the chest chants new dimensions,
Fantastic and loved, with the power on.
Mars is in the air, fighting for what’s right.
Mercy is real, it is essential.
The knee is bending, marching for balance.
That perfect angle, container of light,
Grounds to what’s real, all that is vital.
Victory is here, in great elegance.
You’re the planet Mars.
Stretch your directions, expand.
Just fight for the love.
Virabadrasana 3 (Warrior 3 Pose)
Standing firmly on the soles of your feet,
Your body and mind become so agile.
Resting your chest on your thigh, your planet,
Your limbs bring the force to what is fragile.
Fighting for balance, poise and harmony,
Your T shape becomes like a life’s fulcrum.
You now generate enormous power,
You now manifest equilibrium.
Your legs are blessings, born in strong vigor
Your fingers, arrows, that now shoot forward.
Imagine yourself as the home of peace,
The look of the sun in all its splendor.
Embracing the dust of your own backyard,
You marry the earth and create the bliss.
Arrows shoot forward.
The legs and arms build a T.
The world now has a shelter.
Utthita Parsvakonasana (extended lateral angle pose)
From the right angle, form the right outlook.
Broader perspectives bring the sun to lights.
Imagine the sea writing holy books
Soothing all the wars and your inner fights.
Look this side and witness nature rising.
Turn this side and embrace the sky blessing.
Fate is love activated, God willing.
Justice is kindness permitted, a fling.
Press your feet firmly so they are even.
Ground your self surely so you emanate.
Let your armpits breathe like they are doorways.
Feel your heart open and just receive in.
Your legs brought you home, the one free from hate.
Your mind just quiet enters new pathways.
Form the right angle.
From your legs to your hands, feel,
See the soul inside.
Parivritta Parsvakonasana (revolving lateral angle posture)
Look at the seashells, they grow in spirals.
Universe evolves in a spiral form.
Look at the creepers, they climb in spirals.
Life surely revolves in a spiral norm.
When your spine turns and turns and therefore sees,
Legs anchoring you, throughout contortions;
When the path takes you here and overseas,
The core just lets go any distortions.
Furthering the twist even more and more,
Mind, body and soul become realigned.
The hands are joining like timeless lovers.
The breath is gently opening the door.
Your gaze can now see true love has emerged,
Your heartbeat’s lulling beautiful answers.
The world’s a spiral.
Life grows when you twist and turn.
Clarity happens.
Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana (Extended Hand to Big Toe Pose)
Anchoring beauty in your own body,
You stand up to be who you really are,
Treasuring that feet, grounded and steady,
Inviting that leg to go up so far.
Bowing to your beautiful half, you rise.
Connecting to your very best, you shine.
Looking from your heart, listening to the praise,
All elevated, for life to be fine.
Balance is the true essential asset,
Always bringing you to your only om,
The shelter of love, unconditional.
Trust and confidence help you to reset,
Letting go the fear of being at home,
That place of beauty, safe and mystical.
Parsvottanasana (Intense Side Stretch Pose)
Massaging the hips while toning the core,
Soothing memories, lighting the fire,
The hands in prayer, blessing even more,
The legs in balance, I just admire.
Your body, your home, absolute beauty,
Bowing to your self, your knee, you and I,
The lover of dawns and plants’ purity,
The keeper of notes tuning low and high.
Supple and divine like the dancing reed,
Your feet can adapt to any strong wind.
When you surrender, shoulders now all back,
Your heart can open and spirit can heed.
Your smile can embrace the sunrise you find,
Revering below, the light and the dark.
Bow to your own self.
Bow to your own knee, it knows.
Bow to your beauty.
Prasarita Pada Uttanasana (wide legged standing forward bend)
Both feet, palms and head are forming one line.
The legs are drawing a new triangle.
Connecting the dots, hoping to refine,
The torso regards another angle.
Can you imagine your life all aligned?
Can you understand the fulcrum of love?
From your very own body magnified,
From the core and heart rising all above,
Re-own your own self and identity.
Let go all that stuff, let go that prison.
Let your soul embrace your Mycorrhiza.
Truly bow to it, feel its verity.
Powerful and soft, it is your mansion,
Hosting your power and divine auras.
Parighasana (gate’s pose)
Positioned to reach above and beyond,
The torso extends, bends over that way,
Opening that side, that rib and that bond,
That perfect life line, carrying today.
Belly, heart and voice recreate the mind.
They are that one thread one truly roots for,
Forming the treasure one can hope to find.
Nothing is shallow facing your mirror.
Toning the pelvic and the abdomen,
Your strength is balance, joy and pure softness.
Your love is courage and delicateness.
Gard them preciously, as lucky omen.
They will guide your pose with true openness.
They will bless your heart with lifelong kindness.
Padangusthasana (hand to big toe pose)
Stand to catch your big toes and see forward.
Concave thy self to rise up and connect:
The Source of life from your feet to your Word,
The Sun and the Moon to your manifest.
Bring out the truth and elevate your heart.
Breathe in and breathe out, let your voice speak out.
Descending, while ascending is the art.
Unfolding while emerging, the rejoice.
The seal of union is the sacredness.
The chant of the birds is the sun rising.
Sharing the secret deep inside yourself,
Hand and feet connected are pure kindness.
Head and legs marrying, a new blessing,
The path of loving all beyond oneself.
Padahastasana (Hand to Foot Pose)
Bending forward and standing on your hands,
Is that the great bliss that one can achieve?
Planting all your roots through all seven lands,
Is that your true Name reborn and active?
Bowing to your earth as the only home,
Is that the practice, one’s precious anchor?
Chanting the mantra of beautiful Om,
Is that the prayer, your blissful parlor?
The daily routine that makes you alive
Is that the blessing, your most divine path?
Your hands receiving to your feet in awe,
Are they the flowers, what’s meant to revive?
When you add it on and do all the math,
Is the finite truth one harmonious flow?
Inverted poses
Sirsasana (head balance pose)
Just like that, the whole world turns upside down.
Just for you, life chants all seven colors.
Your forearms form the frames of your crown,
The home of your soul from the earth it adores.
You now feel like a king, switching powers,
Gathering all around, breath, body, mind,
Creating new villages and doers
Gifting entire new eyes to the blind.
So we can all see, those new dimensions,
So we can all feel, those new perspectives
So we can all love what truly matters.
Standing on your head, with dedications,
Making sense of all the new directives,
Your feet are the ones offering prayers.
Forward bending poses
Kurmasana (tortoise pose)
You are the tortoise, blessed by Lord Vishnu.
Seemingly sleeping, you’re lifting mountains.
Quietly bending, you come to rescue,
Turning on your self, your inner fountains.
Your mind surrenders to truth and to peace,
Accepting your depths and all your layers.
Enveloping your limbs with your cosmic fleece
You embrace each step with holy prayers.
Letting your hands clasp, letting your feet cross,
Your body resets the true flow of life.
Your steady advance brings luck to the world.
It’s just you and earth, no fear comes across
It’s just you for all and one endless life,
As long as you tune into your own Word.
Janu sirsasana (Head-to-Knee Pose)
Sitting on the soil, sitting on the dirt
Grounded to your roots, joyful, you arrive.
Opening one leg, opening your heart
Like the petal of the flower, divine;
Extending one leg, expanding beauty
Like the path of communion, alive;
Your heart is resting, breathing unity,
Your head bows to compassion and your shin.
Grinding the seeds into power living,
Calming out the cells of your whole body,
Your river is still, your wisdom reborn,
The daily practice, your way of being,
The surrendering, your necessity,
This very moment, the one you adorn.
Uttanasana (standing forward bend pose)
Stretch intensely your body and mind,
Profoundly open yourself to your breath,
Welcome joyfully whatever you find,
The wind and fire, whispers from the earth.
Bending over your life, just recreate,
Folding your limbs together, just rebuild,
Step by step, all that you can manifest,
From your cells and that inner genius guild.
Legs as the true one, the love meant to be,
Palms grounded to the roots of your prayer,
Life is good when all of you is dancing.
Life is meaningful when you are set free.
Your body and breath become the river,
Your soul and your self become one being.
Whatever feels lost,
Whatever brings joy, sorrow,
Offer it all up
Oak trees are so tall,
Bamboos are so strong, supple,
They weather the storms.
Ardha Baddha Padma Uttanasana (half restrained lotus intense stretch pose)
Like a rose petal
You open and offer up
One side at a time
Marichyasana I (Pose Dedicated to the Sage Marichi)
New outlooks bring new beginnings and light!
Side by side, right then left, here are the stars!
Hug to open up, the future looks bright.
Claps and free yourself, let go of the bars.
Chant to the sage Marichi, he is your guide!
Practice like you’re wandering, feel the world!
Breathe through the opposites, embrace the wild.
Listen and connect to the unobserved.
Slowly feel the rays of sunshine connect.
Magically sense the power of being
In your own body, this profond journey!
Your own compassion is here to protect,
Your dedication, a way of loving.
Understand balance as the only key.
Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward -facing Dog Pose)
Dogs are boundlessly blessed beings on earth.
They love the world unconditionally.
They teach to all the power of the breath:
The very act of giving, constantly,
The pure art of receiving, instantly.
Dogs have your back and entire spirit.
They stretch your life for magnanimity.
They walk towards lands who yourself have lit.
Their tail is your guide on your next journey.
In their eyes shines through the soul of the world,
In their ears connect ultra sounds of peace.
When you form a V, you form victory,
Allowing new space and your self returned,
Grounded into love, the genius matrix.
Sitting poses
Dandasana (staff pose)
Your back is as straight as a standing bar.
That is the axis of the universe,
Connecting the soul to the very far,
Grounding your seat to the earth in reverse.
Keeping your back straight and looking forward
The world is opening before your eyes.
There is now no option to go backward,
Just one single path of becoming wise.
Like the shining golden mountain Meru,
The home of Gods, healing stones and wild herbs,
Grounded and elevated, still and blessed,
You look at the world completely anew.
Birds become heavenly songs and pure words.
Life is unfolding from your open chest.
Baddha konasana (cobbler pose)
Working cobbler, so simply powerful,
Your two feet are now getting together.
Loving cobbler, essential and joyful,
Your knees are playing against each other:
Which one will kiss the sweetness of earth first?
Which one will now ground into the living?
Just like a flower, wide open at first,
Seat of the lotus, seed of true loving.
As you bend forward, bowing to yours roots,
Your forehead can feel your organs resting.
The river inside is nursing your soul,
Opening the doors, offering the fruits.
Singing melodies to your vast being,
Om becomes your home, beauty as a whole.
Virasana (hero pose)
Just the process of finding your own seat
Feels like one heroic act of life.
Grounding with purpose the front of your feet,
Kneeling with joy, moments of truth are rife.
Tell me, where are your roots, where is your home?
Are your chins your connection to the earth?
Is your trunk bowing forward, your om?
Or your chest receiving the sky, your birth?
Your seat is the seed, your seed is union
Between the worlds from below and above,
Between surrendering and receiving,
Becoming your own act of communion
The pure testimony of simple love,
The essence of heroic existing.
Backward bending poses
Viparita Dandasana (Inverted Staff Pose)
The form of stability in reverse,
The shape of solidity now bended.
Your legs as the path of real progress,
Your arms as your core power, redefined.
The uncomfortable made visible,
The unbearable fully uncovered.
Your breath as the miracle, audible.
Your mind as the magical observer.
Now your heart opens, you can see again.
Now your chest gets space to speak out and love.
Streams of blood irrigate your self anew.
Broad and bended, you stay and you maintain.
Sap of life flourishes your soul above.
Inverted, all the world you see is new.
Shalabhasana (grasshopper pose)
Sometimes you’re a mountain, sometimes a star.
Sometimes you’re a camel, sometimes a word.
Today you’re a grasshopper, here you are.
Your eyes are your chest and they see forward.
Your legs together, your toes pointed, raise.
Your arms all straight, just right by your side, fly.
All your limbs, they dance, they balance, they praise,
Your life, your body, nature standing by.
Caressed by the grass and the wild flowers,
The journey looks bright, as long as you’re up,
From the strength of your thighs, the grace of love,
From your arms turned to wings, your true powers,
From your head and your heart opening up.
Your back is bended, like the sun above.
Kapotasana (Pigeon Pose)
It takes courage to open yourself grand.
Shaping roundness is the journey of life.
Sensing vastness is your key to the land,
Your chosen one, as clever as a leaf,
Your gift of life, as wise as the river,
Your very own body, soft and supple,
Strong and scared, miraculous and tender.
When the heart and mind choose to accouple,
You can bend to infinite dimension,
You can reach what’s below for what’s above.
You can feel how they protect each other.
One works for one another, for union.
Bending and rounding, circling up to love,
Your heart is open, your views now matter.
Urdhva Dhanurasana (upward bow pose) series, including:
Urdhva Dhanurasana II (raised inverted bow pose)
Eka Pada Urdhva Dhanurasana (one leg inverted bow pose)
Bending through your past like a gift to self,
Your purpose takes rounds and softer edges.
The cycle of life is the master chief,
The circles of truth, the only pledges.
Well grounded into the earth, still, you raise.
Your hands and your feet press your self taller.
Your belly button shoots arrows and praise
For all the angels, and your one teacher,
Deep within yourself, divine and serene.
One by one, your legs become the arrows,
Reaching for the sky, aiming for the stars.
That where they like to play and convene,
From the bottom up, to the higher shows.
Bows are spreading peace, they’re blessings of ours.
Dhanurasana (Bow Pose) series, including:
Parshva Dhanurasana (Sideways Bow Pose)
Just say it with a bow, it is time now.
Lift up, free yourself up, bring it all up.
If you can see the divine in the cow,
You can revere to your legs rising up.
If you can embrace the power of love,
You can open your whole heart with courage.
Round yourself further and feel what’s above
See the homecoming of the cosmic age.
From your belly center, mark the world well.
Aiming at the top, on the right, then left,
Rock your bow like you’re rolling liberty,
Serendipity, one precious jewel!
Elevate your bow and in there just rest.
You’re accomplishing works of unity.
Arm balancing poses