Sequencing Yoga Asanas

Correct sequencing of postures is crucial to a beneficial yoga session.



Since you’re working on serving your physical – and to some extent mental – needs of, you modify the postures (asanas) in different ways. This depends upon individual constitutional requirements, structural issues, time of day, season, so on and so forth.



Modifications and variations are the key t a successful and profitable Yoga session. There isn’t just one way to do this, though.



On the whole, however, middle-of-the-road, balanced stretching of most important muscle groups are preparation for bigger, more difficult, muscle stretches and contraction.

Moreover, an ordinary forward bend must, necessarily, come before another type of movement. For instance, lateral or backward bends or twists should follow. Likewise, when going from a deep twist to a backbend, ideally, you should do a forward bend at the start. You could then proceed in one direction. However, when making a changeover to a different direction, you first have to first neutralize that muscle.

In the Viniyoga style, repetitions of poses are said to be more user-friendly. They are also found to be more effective in neuro-muscular re-education as well as re-patterning. This is essential for altering and modifying the structure. Once you are accustomed to a particular asana, your classic session would consist of entering into a posture, retaining it for a couple breaths, exiting, repeating the pose, hold it for 2 – 3 more breaths, exit again, repeat once more, remain there for 4 – 5 breaths, and exit. A lot of folks have to do lots of work in many repetitions prior to coming to realize the depth of what a motionless pose can offer.

The Yoga instructor’s role is to help participant internally get the grasp of what is out of balance, and set a methodology. Through this they should be able to realize their goal. This could either be to take the bones back into symmetry or restore aligned balance to the muscles.