The word Kundalini is a familiar one to all students of Yoga, as it is well known as the power, in the form of a coiled serpent, residing in Muladhara Chakra, the first of the seven Chakras, the other six being Svadhishthana, Manipuraka, A  nahata, Visuddha, Ajna and Sahasrara, in order.

Less is historically known of the Agamas than the Vedas, because the latter provide descriptive poem-pictures of Vedic life. The original Agamas are twenty-eight in number. They are called Saiva Agamas as they focus on establishing a relationship with and ultimately realizing the Supreme Being Siva. They carry names like Vira, Hero. Siddha, Perfected and Swayambhuva, naturally revealed.

The Agamas are divided into four parts called padas, lessons. The first two padas – Chariya good conduct, and Kriya, external worship,- include all the details of personal home life, house planning, town planning, personal worship in temples, the architectural plans for temples and sculpture as well as the intricacies of temple puja. The final two padas – Yoga, internalized worship and union, and Jnana, enlightened wisdom, – vividly describe the processes and stages of kundalini yoga, and the Cod-like plateaus of consciousness reached when Sivahood is attained. In the actual texts, the padas are ordered with jnana first, yoga second, then kriya and chariya – unfurling from a God-state to a human state.

The Agamas contain tens of thousands of verses, much more prolific than the Vedas. Though the Vedas stayed strictly in Sanskrit, the Agamas proliferated across India and oilier countries through many languages. But they fared poorly over the millennia, particularly the Yoga and Jnana Padas – so high and powerful. The custodian Saiva priests neglected them. Many padas of entire Agamas were lost or destroyed.

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If you trace back the roots of Ashtanga Yoga, you will fall under the wings of the world renowned master, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Recently deceased, Jois taught hundreds of students daily from all over the world well into his 90’s. This modern master has had perhaps the most profound influence on modern practices.

The key features of Ashtanga include the flow between postures, a connection of movement and breath. Each practice session promotes blood circulation and sweating for purification purposes. The inverted poses, or headstands in particular, are practiced based on the level of command the yoga student possesses.

There are seven headstands, or Ssirshasana variations, that are performed at the end of an Ashtanga session. Beginner students might practice just the simplest variations. Advanced students will move through an entire series of poses.

Let’s take a look at the various headstands. They can be broken down into two basic types: one with the hands bound and supporting the head, and the second with the hands free and not supporting the head.

These headstands are most commonly done after the downward facing dog pose, and in some cases, the students “jump” of “float” into the pose. The Salamba or Supported Shirshasanas include:

BADDHA HASTA SHIRSHASANA A

The words “Baddha Hasta” literally translate into “Bound Hands”. In this headstand, the hands are clasped behind the head in order to create a hand base where the head can be supported.

BADDHA HASTA SHIRSHASANA B

This version has the yogi with the arms out front with both hands clasping the opposite elbow.

BADDHA HASTA SHIRSHASANA C

The posture is further altered to attain the pose that is very close to the Peacock pose. The difference between them is that the head remains on the floor instead of raising it above your shoulders as is done in the Peacock pose. The forearms are placed parallel to each other with the hands palms down flat on the floor.

BADDHA HASTA SHIRSHASANA D

This variation of the baddha hasta only has the head and elbows on the floor, whereas the hands are placed on the shoulders. The supported headstands provide the yogi support to achieve balance while focusing the weight on the head.

The Niralamba, or unsupported headstands are even more advanced than the Baddha Hasta Shirshasanas as they do not allow the hands to support the head at all. These headstands include:

MUKTA HASTA SHIRSHASANA A

This headstand is the most basic of the Mukta Hasta series and creates the image of a tripod, as the arms are stretched out straight at shoulder width with the palms facing up. Being a highly advanced pose, most yogis utilize props such as pillows under the head before they gain complete command over the posture.

MUKTA HASTA SHIRSHASANA B

More complex than Mukta hasta A, this variation resembles a forklift. The arms are held out straight with palms facing upwards. They are held apart from each other at about a 60 degree angle. This headstand requires a lot of practice as it is a hard to achieve posture.

MUKTA HASTA SHIRSHASANA C

This is the most challenging and hard to accomplish headstand and often requires years of practice before one can gain mastery over it. For this asana, the arms are held out straight at 180 degrees from each other and the palms are placed on the floor face down. The elbows have to remain straight as well and can prove to be quite an ordeal to accomplish.

Gaining mastery of these seven headstands is often considered to be a major landmark that differentiates beginner and intermediate yogis from the masters. If you’re new to yoga, always practice inverted poses under the guidance of a teacher until you gain basic competence.

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The word “yoga” is a Sanskrit term which can be translated as “union” or “to yoke” or harness. It refers to the process of unification and change self realization. Initially, yoga was a thing of the East, mostly from India where it was a part of their religious rituals and activities.

Today, yoga is practiced all over the world to attain peace of mind and a healthy body. One of the key reasons of yoga popularity is the ease of practicing without equipment requirements. It is a practice mastered through the yogis own mental and physical strength.

Most popular styles of yoga include:

*Bikram Yoga (hot yoga)

*Iyengar Yoga (focused on alignment in poses)

*Asthanga Yoga (power yoga, flow yoga)

Modern, fast paced lifestyles do not allow people to take time out of their work schedules and relax their bodies and minds. This race to get ahead leaves people physically restless and mentally exhausted. Constant stress leads to many medical and psychological problems in society.

While it’s true that technology has given us many time-saving solutions for daily activities and chores, at the same time, these gizmos have also impacted the quality of our lives in a negative way.

We miss nature, personal connection, friendship and community.

Yoga is the answer to their problems which gives serenity of mind along with a healthy body. It can take as little as 15 minutes, or as much as 1-2 hours. Yoga offers something for everyone and can fit with almost any lifestyle.

SO WHY IS YOGA SO POPULAR IN AMERICA?

If you look closely, it’s clear that American society as a whole is facing various crises. These crisis includes financial, marital, health, and environmental. To complicate things more, these problems go beyond any particular class or group; it exists on all levels of society, so Americans turn to various alternatives to rid themselves of these trying times.

The following scenarios in particular lead people to seek yoga for gaining peace and tranquility of mind and body:

* People are dissatisfied with their work life

* People are dissatisfied with their failing health

* Local churches and temples are seeing less and less members

* Downturn in economy has forced many people to look inside

The most popular type of yoga among Americans is called, Hatha Yoga, which is really a catch-all term for the physical practice of yoga: posture and breath. There is an estimated 200 Hatha yoga postures that are taught in varied sequences depending on the teacher—and more importantly, the student.

Yoga classes today usually focus first on physical health and mental wellbeing, and include a combination of various poses, breathing techniques and meditation. Yoga improves blood circulation and increases flexibility in turn achieving a healthy brain and a well toned and trimmed body for the American yogi.

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