TV Channel

With your back straight and shoulders relaxed, we begin by waking the back muscles. The best way is through Marjari, the Cat Pose. Take a deeper inhalation and exhalation, then slowly start. First variation: on all fours. One, inhale and come up. Two, exhale, rounding your back as much as possible. Continue, coordinating breath with movement for ten deep breaths. Then we add a second variation: place your elbows on the floor alongside your palms. Inhale and come up; exhale, round your back while pressing your elbows actively away from the floor as if someone is pulling your chin upward. Repeat several times. For the third variation, from all fours, inhale up, then exhale and round the back while turning to one side, looking at your feet over your shoulder—not under. Inhale to center, exhale to the other side. Repeat, moving with the breath, finally returning to center. Come back to Vajrāsana and take a moment to feel your back, shoulders, and the muscles along your spine. We continue with Sumeru Āsana, the Mountain Pose—translated as Mount Everest. Mountains have peaks, and here you create that peak with your body. I will show you, and then we practice together. With inhalation, rise; exhale, place your palms on the floor, bend your toes, and lift your hips high. Press away from the floor through your palms and come onto your fingers and toes so that the soles of your feet are vertical. Push your stomach toward your thighs to form a true peak. Sumeru Āsana is excellent against sciatica. Breathe normally, hold the peak, and even though you can’t see your face, maintain Madhurī Mudrā—relax your face and relax your stomach. With a deeper inhalation, and then an exhalation, lower your knees to the floor, inhale, exhale, and pause in Vajrāsana. Feel how this pose revitalizes the energy of the whole body, waking you up. Let your breathing settle into its normal rhythm. This vitalizing preparation is ideal for Kāṭha Praṇām. In Vajrāsana, close your eyes and feel the breath: with inhalation, a slow stretching from the stomach to the throat; with exhalation, relaxation from the throat down to the stomach. Let the natural release of the breath spread through you. Inhale and expand your body from the chest to the throat; exhale and soften from the throat to the heart. We will practice three rounds of Kāṭha Praṇām together, then one round individually at your own rhythm. Position yourself at the end of your mat. Begin. One, inhale and stretch your arms straight up, palms fully together—not just the fingers—and gaze toward your palms. Two, slowly open the arms wide and, hinging from the hips with a straight back, lower down to Śaśāṅkāsana, the forehead on the floor. Four, rise into Bhujaṅgāsana: draw your shoulders slightly down, elbows beside the body, and don’t let them flare out. Five, bend your toes, push back to bring the heels toward the floor—Pokusite petama dođi do poda. Six, step the right leg forward into a sprinter’s pose: don’t over-round the back; instead, open the chest so that the back and thigh form one line. Seven, complete the round. Take a slightly deeper breath in and out, then begin the second round: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. In the sprinter pose, keep your arms straight and elbows stretched. After the round, come to a comfortable place, exhale, and with an inhalation step the left leg back—sudhiṣam leva noga nazad—and lower. Exhale, bring the right leg back to meet it, push up into Bhujaṅgāsana, inhale, exhale down to Śaśāṅkāsana. Inhale to rise, exhale. Now the third round. Do it alone, in your own rhythm and breathing speed, staying aware of every posture and part of Kāṭha Praṇām. When you finish, remain in Vajrāsana until the breath calms, then slowly lie down in Ānandāsana. Feel the difference in your body after this practice. Pavanmukta Āsana. Lie on your back, hands beside the body, feet together. Inhale and raise the right leg. Exhale, press the thigh to the chest and lift the head—podignemo glavu. Check that both shoulder blades remain on the floor. Hold, then lower the head, exhale slowly, and release the leg. Now turn onto your right side for Meru Akhāṛā. Place your right palm under your shoulder, right arm straight at the elbow, and push away from the floor to feel the stretch along your side. Your whole body is one line. If you feel stable, close your eyes for a moment. With an exhalation, lower the upper arm to the floor, placing the left hand on the left thigh—still one straight line. Inhale, then exhale to stretch the left leg upward; inhale, bend the knee (udise pono sevinemo nogu u koljenu), exhale and place it on the right leg. Repeat two more times, focusing on pushing the left hip slightly forward and up. Then stay in the position, breathe normally, and feel the weight on your side muscles. Next, with inhalation and a half-sitting motion, straighten the left leg; exhale and bring it back onto the right. Finally, place the left leg down, slowly turn onto your left side, gently lowering yourself. Inhale to rise, exhale. For the second side, repeat the same actions: bend the leg, hold the toes, push the hip up and forward to keep the pelvis straight. Perform the sequence once more, breathing naturally. Then with an inhalation, bend the knee, exhale and stretch the leg, and gently return to Ānandāsana. Briefly stay in Ānandāsana. Feel the sides of the body, the hips, the inner hips. Do not let your mind wander; stay with the effects of Meruakaraṇāsana. Observe its action without distraction. Slowly sit up—if you have low blood pressure, take care not to rush. Polako ustanemo. Ako imate niski tlak, nemojte žuriti. Polako. Raised Hands Pose. Stand with feet slightly apart, hip-width, back straight, pelvis slightly forward. Inhale and raise the arms to shoulder height, turn the palms up, and deepen the inhalation. This āsana is excellent for awakening, deepening the breath, and preparing for the colder weather, allergies, and similar conditions. It also calms the mind and connects you to the breath. Follow the flow: with each inhalation, feel the movement from the stomach to the throat; with each exhalation, the release back down. Slowly, bring the feet together—polako spojimo stopala—and we will do Dvikonāsana. Inhale, interlock the fingers, turn the palms toward the floor, and stretch upward as if someone is pulling your chin toward the ceiling. Exhale, hinge from the hips and lower the torso—legs straight—until your stomach comes onto your thighs, chest on your knees, forehead on your shins. In this forward fold, the arms stretch back and up. Relax there, feeling the stretch of the stomach, and with each exhalation as the stomach empties, allow the position to deepen. To come out, with a straight back, inhale and rise; exhale, release the arms. Before the final Ānandāsana, we will include one more āsana that is especially good for the hips, knees, and the muscles above the knees, particularly valuable when sitting for long periods: Utānāsana, the squat, or čučanj. Stand with the feet slightly turned outward so that when you squat, the knees follow the line of the feet. Relax the shoulders, straighten the back, push the pelvis slightly forward. We’ll do three variations. Inhale, interlock your fingers; exhale, lower to the height of your hips. Enjoy the feeling of your weight distributed on the soles, toes, outer edges, and heels. Keep the back straight—don’t bend forward or backward. Inhale to rise. Second variation: exhale down to knee height, as if a wall were behind you. Notice parts of your body you may not have known existed. Inhale up. Third variation: exhale all the way down into the full squat. Sama namete da to izgleda like this, so don’t just hang; actively press the soles into the floor to keep the spine upright. Afterward, lie down in Ānandāsana. Feel your legs. Enjoy the bliss of this posture—after all, it is the posture of bliss. You can even enjoy Ānanda Saṅgh. Siddha Pīṭha Paramparā, Siddha Pīṭha Paramparā… Take one more deep breath. Feel the contact of your body with the floor. Slowly sit up into Daṇḍāsana. Since we haven’t done any twists, we’ll practice Bhuṇamānāsana. Ensure both sitting bones stay on the floor. Legs straight, back straight. Inhale, raise the arms; exhale, slowly bend and rotate to the left, placing your palms on the floor where your shoulders would be if you were lying in Ānandāsana. Your spine is at about a forty-five-degree angle to the floor. You don’t need to touch the floor with your forehead or nose; the focus is keeping both sitting bones grounded. Inhale to center, exhale to the other side. Inhale, rotate, place the palms, and breathe normally. If your elbows aren’t happy here, that’s normal in the beginning—just stop if your fingers (especially the little and ring fingers) become numb. If that happens, return to Ānandāsana before trying again. Nāhaṁ Kartā Prabhudīp Kartā Mahāpārtha. Bring your knees together, rub your palms to generate warmth, and press them gently over your eyes, forehead, and face. Slowly open your eyes behind the warm palms, then bend forward, feeling the circulation moving toward the head and the stretch along the back of the head. Then, with an inhalation, come up. Hari Om.