There are specific benefits of both breathing exercises and each posture.
Pranayama: Deep Breathing
- Good for mental relaxation
- Helps high blood pressure
- Relieves irritability
- Helps with insomnia
- Good for detoxification
- Helps with anxiety and panic disorder
- Exercises nervous, circulatory, and respiratory systems
Ardha-Chandrasana: Half Moon Pose
- Works with whole skeletal and circulatory system
- Opens shoulder joints
- Good for frozen shoulders
- Relieves lower back pain
- Good for abdominal obesity
- Relieves bronchi distress
- Good for sciatic deformities
- Improves cell division
- Stimulates the pituitary
- Exercises colon, pancreas, kidneys, muscular, skeletal and glandular systems
Utkatasana: Awkward Pose
- Improves overall body strength
- Opens pelvis
- Relieves menstrual cramping
- Shapes lower muscles
- Cuts fat pocket under the butt
- Aligns skeletal system
- Good for digestion
- Good for joint pain
- Good for immune disorders
- Good for arthritis of the knees
- Improves flexibility in the toes and ankles
- Relieves sciatica
- Works liver, intestines, and pancreas
Garurasana: Eagle Pose
- Works through 14 major joints of the body (shoulders, scapula, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles)
- Stretches central nervous system
- Creates pressure on lymphatic glands
- Strengthens lower extremities
- Helps joint mobility at hip girdle
- Improves balance
- Good for varicose veins
Dandayamana-Janushirasana: Standing Head to knee Pose
- Good for mental strength
- Improves concentration
- Strengthens mind/body connection
- Uses all major muscle groups and internal organs (primary—digestive; secondary—reproductive)
- Improves circulation and flexibility
- Good for diabetes
- Improves pancreatic functions
- Strengthens back muscles
Dandayamana-Dhanurasana: Standing Bow Pulling Pose
- Excellent for cardiovascular system
- Increases circulation to heart and lungs
- Opens diaphragm
- Good for frozen shoulders
- Improves elasticity of the spine (through compression)
- Creates a marriage between strength and balance
- Activates digestive system
- Balances ovaries—good for infertility
- Eliminates abdominal fat
- Helps prostate problems
Tuladandasana: Balancing Stick Pose
- Excellent for cardiovascular system
- Increases blood flow all over the body, especially to the arteries of the heart
- Clears blocked arteries
- Prevents future cardiac problems
- Relieves stress from the spine
- Great for emotional problems
- Good for varicose veins
- Builds strength in lower extremities
- Exercises pancreas, liver, spleen, nervous system, and circulatory system
Dandayamana Bibhaktapada Paschimotthanasana: Standing Separate Leg Stretching Pose
- Good for brain problems (aneurysms and tumors)—increases circulation to the brain
- Good for psychotic depressions—centers and stretches the spine where the nervous system is housed
- Helps concentration
- Good for abdominal obesity
- Good for diabetes and hyperacidity
- Increases circulation to the adrenal glands
- Releases lower back
- Exercises muscular, adrenal, and reproductive systems
Trikanasana: Triangle Pose
- Works all muscles systems at the same time
- Improves cardiovascular system
- Good for kidneys, thyroid, and adrenal glands
- Good for frozen shoulders
- Centers the self
- Rids saddlebags
- Helps chemical imbalances
- Helps anorexia, constipation, colitis, low blood pressure, appendicitis, spondylitis, and menstrual disorders
Dandayamana-Bibhaktapada-Janushirasana: Standing Separate Let Head to Knee Pose
- Helps depression and loss of memory
- Helps abdominal obesity
- Helps diabetes
- Balances blood sugar
- Compresses pancreas and kidneys
- Exercises endocrine, digestive and reproductive systems
Tadasana: Tree Pose
- Corrects bad posture
- Creates hip and knee mobility
- Creates total body traction
- Balances coccyx
- Tightens gluteus maximus
- Releases abdominal tension
- Releases inflammation of lower back
- Good for circulatory disorders, arthritis, and rheumatism
Padangustasana: Toe Stand Pose
- Creates balance in the body and mind
- Strengthens stomach muscles
- Strengthens weak joints
- Good for arthritis in knees and legs
Savasana: Dead Body Pose
- Relaxes body and mind
- Relieves stress and tension
- Energizes the body
Pavanamuktasana: Wind Removing Pose
- Good for constipation, flatulence, and hyperacidity
- Relieves low back pain
- Good for abdominal muscles, helps tone abdominal wall
- Massages ascending, descending, and transverse colon
- Normalizes HCL acid
Sit– up
- Strengthens abdominal muscles
- Stretches leg muscles
- Energizes body
Bhujangasana: Cobra Pose
- Compresses and opens the spine
- Strengthens lower, middle, and upper spine
- Creates more elasticity in the whole spine
- Increases tone of muscle fibers
- Accelerates circulation of spinovial fluid
- Relieves cervical spondylosis
Salabhasana: Locust Pose
- Compresses and opens the spine
- Strengthens lower, middle, and upper spine
- Creates more elasticity in the whole spine
- Increases tone of muscle fibers
- Accelerates circulation of spinovial fluid
- Relieves cervical spondylosis
Poorna-Salabhasana: Full Locust Pose
- Compresses and opens the spine
- Strengthens lower, middle, and upper spine
- Creates more elasticity in the whole spine
- Increases tone of muscle fibers
- Accelerates circulation of spinovial fluid
- Relieves cervical spondylosis
Dhanurasana: Bow Pose
- Compresses and opens the spine
- Strengthens lower, middle, and upper spine
- Creates more elasticity in the whole spine
- Increases tone of muscle fibers
- Accelerates circulation of spinovial fluid
- Relieves cervical spondylosis
Supta-Vajrasana: Fixed Firm Pose
- Lubricates the joints (by putting pressure on the joints against the body)
- Forms the abdominal muscles
- Stretches hips and diaphragm
- Relieves lower back pain
- Slims thighs
- Helps sciatica, rheumatism, gout, diabetes, and varicose veins
Ardha-Kurmasana: Half Tortoise Pose
- Relieves stress, migraines, stomach discomfort, digestion problems and constipation
- Sends blood from knees to toes, and to the brain
- Stretches the spine
- Increases circulation to the heart
- Cures insomnia
- Stretches lower lungs—good for asthma
- Increases flexibility in the hips
Ustrasana: Camel Pose
- Compresses spine—cures back problems
- Opens rib cage, heart, lungs, and digestive system
- Stimulates the nervous system
- Great for lungs and any problem in the bronchial plexus
- Strengthens back and shoulder muscles
- Improves flexion of the neck
- Stretches the throat
- Sends fresh blood to the kidneys
- Eliminates toxins
Sasangasana: Rabbit Pose
- Cures insomnia, depression, colds, sinus, tonsillitis, laryngitis, allergies, and glandular defects
- Compresses the thyroid
- Balances hormones
- Improves flexibility of the scapula
- Stimulates the nerves behind the eyes
Janushirasana with Paschimotthanasana: Head to Knee with Stretching Pose
- Stimulates thymus, digestion, and immune system
- Improves flexibility of sciatica and ankle joint
- Stretches and strengthens pelvic girdle, hip joints, shoulder muscles and spine
- Increases circulation to the liver, spleen and pancreas
Ardha-Matsyendrasana: Spine Twisting Pose
- Compresses and stretches spine, improving elasticity and flexibility
- Detoxifying
- Opens bronchial muscles and rib cage
- Good for abdominal muscles
- Prevents slipped discs
- Increases circulation to spinal nerves, veins, and tissues
- Relieves back pain and deformity in lumbar region of the spine
- Helps arthritis of the knee and sciatica
- Massages kidneys, liver, gall bladder, spleen, and pancreas
Kapalbhati in Vajrasana: Blowing in Firm Pose
- Detoxifying—cleansing life force
- Brings mental clarity
- Forms abdominal muscles
- Normalizes bowels
- Energizes the body
- Improves oxygenation to the body
- Increases circulation
- Good for the heart, high blood pressure, and respiration
