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Part 1: The Practice of Śalabhāsana and Complementary Āsanas Now we will practice śalabhāsana, the locust pose, in two variations. The first variation is quite demanding for the muscles, though less so for spinal flexibility. The legs are joined, the arms are stretched out, and we lift both arms and legs simultaneously. It should look like this: do not spread your arms or legs, do not bend your knees and hang to one side. Instead, raise your arms above your head, join your hands, look upward, and lift your legs. Then we descend. We hold the posture with full lungs and descend on the exhalation. However, if someone has issues with high blood pressure or ocular pressure, then breathe naturally while in the posture. Staying longer in the pose will yield a stronger effect on the muscles. We will perform it three times. Inhale, lift arms and legs, and follow along. Hands above the head, phenomenal. Keep legs straight, do not bend the knees. Breathe, then come down. When holding the position with full lungs, do not perform any internal compression. Practicing the āsana in this way will lead to a clearer mind. It beneficially affects all the capillaries. Remain soft in the posture, even while using strength. The second time, exhale. This works on strengthening the entire posterior musculature, the legs, and especially the thigh muscles on the back side. Strengthen your gluteal muscles, then lower down on the exhale. To correct the position of the pelvis, two things are needed: strengthen the gluteal muscles and also tighten the front ones. This āsana is a prerequisite for that. Secondly, it has an action on the prostate; this can also be achieved with this āsana. Try to feel that area of the prostate; you will feel a freshness there. Once again, inhale. For women, it is also very beneficial, especially against painful menstruation. Inhale. Assume the tiger pose, palm on palm, and bend the leg at the knee. As we know from practicing this āsana since the first level, it is a kneeling posture, not lying on the side. Always alternate the left and right side, as mentioned earlier, to work evenly on both sides. The next āsana is a variation of śalabhāsana. In this variation, we place the hands under the body so that the soft part of the elbow is on the floor, with the hands placed here. If your elbows hurt, you can adjust, but try this way for greater stability and a firmer foundation. This variant of śalabhāsana works well for stretching the entire digestive tract. It is perfect against increased acidity, loosens the spine, strengthens the entire body, and affects the flow through the suṣumṇā. Like paścimottānāsana, it is an ideal āsana before meditation. It works well against kyphosis and stooping. The āsana is not so difficult, but it is important to grasp the correct technique. Do not perform it like this, moving around, as that can overstrain and stiffen the muscles, causing pinching. Work strongly, but softly. Inhale, and when we come down, do so slowly, maintaining control the entire time. Let’s slowly move upward. Inhale. If you are perpendicular to the floor, you can breathe. If not yet, stay in the posture with full lungs as you like, and on the exhale, lower down. Perform the āsana three times. In śalabhāsana, when you lift the legs perpendicular to the floor, avoid excessive bending in the lumbar area; instead, focus the bend in the thoracic part. Two more times at your own pace, and afterward lie down in ānandāsana. The key is the bending in the chest area, which can be done without much effort if the technique is correct. After completing that, lie down in ānandāsana three times and relax. You may feel tension in the lower back, but it is not dangerous; it is simply because the muscles have been worked and contracted. Strengthening them is good, and it is also good to stretch them a little afterward. For that, pavanamuktāsana with the nose to the knees is best. One cycle, then relax, and you will see the tension in the lower back almost instantly disappear. Right leg: inhale, exhale, inhale, head on the floor, and exhale, stretch out. Second leg: inhale, exhale, inhale and exhale. Relax into ānandāsana. Feel the effect on your body, feel the circulation. Śalabhāsana works well on the kidneys and the back muscles. Most importantly, first feel how you are. Just as every state of consciousness is reflected in our body, when we practice āsanas we can use them to influence our consciousness, thereby correcting not only the body but also specific qualities, such as confidence. Śalabhāsana, being a backward bend that requires strong muscles, works very well on our self-confidence. It strengthens the sense of power and vitality. Feeling strong and powerful is important; if we are weak and tired, we can accomplish little. Physical strength is important; our nerves need to be strong to achieve anything. Sarvāṅgāsana, commonly translated as the candle pose, is actually an āsana beneficial for all limbs. In ancient India, oil lamps were used, not candles; the name "candle" is a Western invention. The posture should be as straight as a candle. Slowly go up: inhale, lift the legs, and support yourself on the shoulder blades, or more precisely, lean on the place where you are most hunched over. The legs are straight, and we are in a relaxed posture. Sarvāṅgāsana is very good for peripheral circulation. However, if you have hyperthyroidism, are under 14 years old, have very high blood pressure or eye pressure, or are menstruating, do not perform this āsana. Otherwise, it effectively helps balance thyroid function, affects venous circulation, stretches the cervical spine, and, just as Paścimottānāsana works on the lower part and sacrum, Sarvāṅgāsana works on issues in the cervical area. If you are very stiff, do not focus on the stiffness, but listen to your body. Stay in the posture as long as you can—shorter in the beginning, and gradually longer with daily practice. It improves circulation to the head, affecting the brain, memory, vision, and hearing. You will notice that your exhalation becomes easier. Do not be afraid; allow a beautiful exhalation to happen. Do not force it, but let the air flow out. We often force the inhalation but are afraid to exhale. In this posture, simply allow one subtle, extended exhalation. This posture works on unburdening the heart, so less pumping is needed to nourish the brain. If you have varicose veins or hemorrhoids, practice this daily. Slowly return, and you can take a slightly deeper inhalation and exhalation. With that exhalation, try to relax the entire body. You will immediately feel your legs; after a few seconds, you will feel circulation beginning to flow into them. We have drawn out old, stagnant blood from the tissues with the help of gravity, and now fresh blood is coming in. This affects all cells and veins, and you will notice the breathing is slightly different. You can also feel the throat area. This āsana works well against throat problems of any kind. Naturally, do not practice it during severe throat inflammation, but daily practice will help reduce and eventually eliminate neck issues. It is good against allergies because it affects the thymus gland. Practice sarvāṅgāsana before spring and throughout the year to combat allergies. It balances thyroid function, which is the first to be affected by stress. Now feel that freshness, that warmth at the base of the neck. As you know, we always have a counterpose. In this posture, there was constriction in the throat area and tightening of the thyroid. Now we move to the other side, turning onto the belly to perform bhuḍaṅgāsana. Bhuḍaṅgāsana involves stretching. As mentioned, do not perform sarvāṅgāsana if you have hyperthyroidism, but you can practice bhuḍaṅgāsana regardless of thyroid problems. Indeed, that is essential. Look once more at bhuḍaṅgāsana. There are a few common mistakes. Unfortunately, it is often performed incorrectly. For the correct bhuḍaṅgāsana, do not bend in the most flexible, pliable part—that is where injury occurs. Imagine you are rolling up a carpet, as if someone is pulling your head and tightening you from the front. You have a chance to create a square and slowly move back. The bending occurs in the chest area. The shoulders go down, the arms are by the body, and we breathe. It works very well on your arms, strengthening them, which is why they should not be straight and stiff. Keep shoulders down and relaxed. Focus on the clavicular area to counteract slouching and stretch the front part. If you breathe a little deeper into the abdomen in this position, you will act more powerfully on the svādhiṣṭhāna cakra. You affect the viśuddhi, the neck muscles, and the kidneys. Release from the lower part, slowly the head. If you have problems with your spine, discs, or if your lower back and spine simply hurt, perform the exercise so that your navel is on the floor. The pubic bone remains on the floor the entire time; imagine pressing the pubic bone down. We can slowly move upward. Now relax in the initial position, as mentioned at the very beginning. You know what you will perform, you know what the āsana looks like, and you know that you will execute it perfectly. Then we slowly begin. Rise up, straighten your chest, shoulders down, breathe a little deeper with the abdomen, and remain in the posture. This is very good for your arms; it will strengthen them, work against flaccid muscles, and give you a sense of strength. Slowly descend downward. Relax in the tiger pose, now facing the opposite direction from what we were doing a moment ago. Now, slowly take your seat. Look at the next āsana we will be practicing: Halāsana, the plow. I will demonstrate so you can see better. The starting position is ānandaśana. Slowly lift the legs up and bring them over the head. Try to keep the spine vertical; do not bend too much in this part. Imagine someone is pulling you upward. The arms are not spread too far apart; this hand position indicates your shoulders are not yet flexible. Your arms should be shoulder-width apart, palms on the floor. After some time, the hands can go above the head, but not in a strained manner. Hold this position and then stretch. When we return, slowly go back. It is a bit harder to come down when you have a microphone. Now we can proceed. Slowly move the legs upward. Bring your legs over your head. It is important to be as level as possible; imagine someone has grasped you by the pelvis. This posture, halāsana, works very well for stretching the back muscles and affects the neck. In this position, exhalation comes even more easily, and you influence the maṇipūra cakra more strongly. Now, imagine you are staying, that someone here is holding on, and we place our hands above the head. To do this, we bend the toes. Step a little more and tighten—excellent. In this way, there is no injury to the spine because it is straight. If we bend too much in one part, the vertebra in that area would suffer. Allow one beautiful exhalation to happen, then slowly return to the breath. The hands remain where they are. You can first lower the knees to the forehead and stay there for a while, but it is appropriate to keep your hands above your head. This shows you how strong your body is and gives you control over the lowering and raising, working with your muscles in time, not with force. Now we again experienced pressure in the throat area; we were hunched over. With this āsana as well, the emphasis was on the exhalation. That means we now need something that will work on the other side: a backward bend, opening the chest for better entry of air. For that, matsyāsana, the fish pose, is excellent. Let us sit down slowly. Sit with crossed legs, daṇḍāsana. First, loosen up the legs a little for a few moments. Bend the right leg, placing the sole on the inner side and the knee on the floor. This is also preparation for meditation. Then we can place the outer edge of the foot on the groin and the knee on the floor. Do not force it; without that strong pressure, because stiffness in the hip and ankle joints concentrates all force in the knee, and we can injure it. Therefore, we must be gentle. This area must never cause us pain. It is better to practice for a few more years and then perform the lotus, rather than doing the lotus once and then nothing more. Part 2: Refined Transcript: Guidance on Āsanas and Prāṇāyāma We stretch out one leg. The other foot is placed on the inner side, with the knee on the floor and the outer edge of the foot on the instep. Already in this position, we will also do the butterfly pose. We bend both legs. Again, the same principle applies: we do not sit on the tailbone but remain free, pressing the knees downward. Often, one sees a waving motion, but like this: you see, here is the lifting of the legs upward, and this is the pressing of the knees downward. So, do not do this lifting, as it won't achieve much. Instead, press your knees down. Squeeze, relax. Squeeze, relax. Squeeze, relax. The movement is downwards, not upwards. That is the essential point. It also happens that we practice for years and achieve nothing. That is why we always work with our own natural flow. We tighten, then relax. We contract, we relax. That is the way. Let's stretch again. Imagine someone is holding your chin. Let's go down. Exhale. Exhale. A second time. Exhale. Exhale. And a third time. Exhale. Keep the spine engaged. Look forward. Only at the very end do we lower the forehead. When we rise, again imagine someone pulling your chin upward. Now, let's stretch the legs. For the fish pose, Matsyāsana, a couple of things are also important. First, sit in a cross-legged position; it can be any cross-legged posture, half-lotus, or even lotus—though we will practice lotus at an advanced level. For now, I will demonstrate from lotus. Then, lower the forearms and elbows to the floor. It is important to bend backward in the chest area as if someone is lifting our ribcage. The hands go down, the head rests on the floor. In this position, we press the floor downward with the head and fold the palms in front of the chest. Inhale through the nose, and exhale through the mouth. When you are in lotus, you can hold your toe, but since we will not be in lotus, let us bring our palms together in front of the chest. Inhale through the nose, and exhale through the mouth. When we return, we will then lie down in Ānandāsana. Sit in a position that suits you, one that you desire. Just try not to have your knees too high; that is the only consideration. Then we lower the forearms, elbows on the floor. Again, whenever there is bending of the head backward, you have the Śāṅkha collar. You must not bend at a single vertebra, because that will lead to fainting and cause more harm than good. It is as if you already have a little plaque of a Śaṅkha collar. You bend at the base of the neck and then push the floor away from you. Inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth. This is one of the very rare āsanas where we have this kind of breathing. Breathing is always inhalation through the nose and exhalation through the nose. However, here, in Matsyāsana, the fish, there is that specific posture and that way of breathing. Matsyāsana is an āsana named after a great Ṛṣi, Matija Ṛṣi. It is said that in one life he was a fish and that he heard Śiva imparting the knowledge of yoga to Pārvatī. He was in the lake right next to Pārvatī, and he too received the teaching of yoga. In the next life, he was a great Ṛṣi, Matija Ṛṣi, who further transmitted the knowledge of yoga. So, this definitely has nothing to do with fish, just as it is connected to those Ṛṣis. What does that mean? When you are in such a posture, a posture named after a Ṛṣi, by practically thinking of him and knowing this entire story, you also receive that kind of knowledge. It is as if you have clicked a link and connected directly with the Matija Ṛṣi. Let's slowly move upward. Similarly, we also have Kaśyapāsana, according to Kaśyapa Ṛṣi, and we lie down in Ānandāsana. So this āsana, Matsyāsana, works very well on the thyroid. It works on your breathing, it works on bending in the thoracic part of the spine—which means against hunching—it opens the chest, and it is beneficial against asthma, bronchitis, pleurisy, and pneumonia. Slowly we stand up. One foot on the prāṇa muscle, eka pāda, one foot down, meaning standing on one leg. Let us shift the weight onto the left leg and bend the right leg. This time the foot is here on the inside, and the hands are on the sides. This āsana works well for concentration, balance, and nervous stability. It is good for strengthening the legs, especially if you have problems with the ankle joint, platypus, flat feet. We join the palms in front of the chest. This āsana simultaneously has a powerful effect on our consciousness, on our concentration. You will often see sannyāsīs in India who spend a long time precisely in this posture. Similarly, in the Mahābhārata, Arjuna stood in this position for some time to receive a weapon from Śiva. For this, you need to have strong willpower and strong concentration. When thoughts begin to wander, you automatically notice how you lose your balance. One could say it has an effect similar to the Trāṭaka technique, which is why you are now gazing at a single point. And now, when you close your eyes in your Cidākāśa, the space of your consciousness, try to see that same point in the negative, and this will enable you to remain in the posture. As long as you have concentration on one point, you can remain in that posture. When consciousness begins to wander, we start to lose ourselves. Let us close the eyes. When we close the eyes, it is natural that the muscles work more strongly and that your leg dances more. Therefore, you need to maintain your balance even more strongly then, thanks to the muscles, the feet, and the ankle joint. Relax the abdomen, relax the shoulders, relax the elbows. This is not a tense posture, but a relaxed one, yet we open the eyes with strength. When we remain with our eyes closed in this position for a couple of minutes, then we have done something with our concentration. Slowly lower the leg and then move to the other side. The legs may complain that in this position the foot slips. "My foot is slipping," yes. It's normal if we hold the foot loosely. However, if you hold the leg with your muscles, that is one thing. Therefore, you must have these muscles strong here. The second thing: if you press the heel, then your foot cannot slip. Then, no matter how much you press down, it remains firmly in this position. Let us bring our palms together in front of the chest and close your eyes. You may also feel your palms sweating in this āsana. At first, that is okay, but gradually over time it will disappear, leaving your palms dry and warm. Open your eyes and lower your leg. Slowly sit down. Day by day, in āsana, we breathe normally, relax. Now attend to the feet, the legs; this āsana also works very well on the circulation in the legs. The next āsana is Ardha Matsyendrāsana, which is a twist that also works well on our spine, regenerating the spine. It has a beneficial effect on the kidneys and the adrenal gland. It works, we could say, even against all inflammatory processes in our body, which is why we say it is good for rheumatism, and even for issues not exactly like appendicitis inflammation—so it can be an alternative to surgery for those mild inflammations; it can help you. So, Ardha Matsyendrāsana: look, we place the right leg over the left and bend the left leg. At the same time, we do not sit on the heel, but sit on the floor, with the heel touching the outer side. That is the initial part. Then, we turn and grasp the foot with the hand. The other hand is on the thigh, actually on the kidney area. And we contract and rotate. We go straight, now we return and to the other side. The same thing. So, if we only do this, it is not good. Then, the second thing that is not good is to push the knee backward with the elbow. Then it happens that the elbow pushes on the opposite side of its natural one, and that is the position of the elbow being strained. For that reason, you need to place the upper arm here by the knee. And you practically press above the elbow. And then you grasp the foot. And then your elbow will not hurt. The elbow is not at the knee, but above the little finger. Here you go. Place the right leg over the left. We bend the left leg and rotate. You focus on deepening the breath. Therefore, it is normal to breathe a little more heavily in this posture. But that will work in the normal posture to deepen your breath. You will be able to breathe more deeply. We spoke about the regeneration of your spine, the effect on the internal organs, and its anti-inflammatory properties. Let us relax. And to the other side. Everything that promotes the regeneration of your spine simultaneously works, we could say, on your entire being. It is said that the more flexible your spine is, the more agile your spine is, the more balanced you are. On the other hand, rigidity in the mind causes rigidity in the entire body. And when we loosen the spine, making it flexible, slowly we ourselves begin to become flexible in the mind. Slowly relax and lie down in Ānandāsana. Now, when you lie down in Ānandāsana, for the first 3-4 seconds you feel nothing but the heart and the breath. However, after that, try to feel the body. What do you feel? It would be good if you directed your attention to the spine, and then you could feel a circulation, a warmth along the spine. Something similar to tiger balm—when you don't know whether it heats or cools. Your spine will not be red on the outside, like when you apply some such cream. That is why all creams act only on the surface. And this āsana, like the āsanas in yoga that stimulate circulation and regeneration, works on circulation from within. So their action is much stronger and much better. Let us relax and try to feel the effect of the previous āsana, the circulation along the spine, the breathing. We will still do Vṛkṣāsana; slowly sit up into Baddhāsana. So, those who have high blood pressure, eye pressure, or are during menstruation should not perform this āsana. Likewise, naturally, during pregnancy. If you happen to have any difficulties with this āsana, you can always perform the first part. So, the palms are here by the knees. Imagine an equilateral triangle and place the head at the apex of that equilateral triangle, then one leg and the other leg, and remain in that position. If we can, then with our head and hands we push the floor downwards, and we slowly rise up. Let us remain in the posture and then slowly lower one leg, the other leg, and come out. Simply. One deeper inhalation and exhalation. With this āsana, it is important for you to establish the foundation and stability. If you are not in a good posture, then you will be expending a lot of energy. We place the palms on the knees. The same side triangle. We place our head on the floor. We stretch out our legs. Walk your feet forward a little. And then place one knee, then the other knee on the upper arm. And now, we remain in this position, and those who can, we slowly move upward. Vṛkṣāsana, an āsana that works perfectly on venous circulation, benefits the circulation to the head, and is also good for the spine—although it may seem strange. In this position, those small anti-gravity muscles relax. Then it affects the nourishment of the brain, memory, and strengthens the heart. It may seem to you that it is beating faster, but let us slowly return downwards. Hold your head down for a few moments and slowly sit down. The inverted posture, besides improving circulation to the head, memory, and the organs of the eyes, ears, and nose, also has a very beneficial effect on our spiritual development. We will perform one more āsana and then we will do Prāṇāyāma. Here we were a bit curled up, compressed, and so we will stretch, Tāḍāsana. Let us slowly rise. Now we will do Tāḍāsana: inhale, stretch, hold the position, and exhale, lower down. And when we are in the upper position, we can look towards the ceiling. It works very well to strengthen the entire body, because in order to maintain balance, you must engage the muscles. Let's inhale, and with the exhale, we descend. And once again, inhale and exhale. And since we have already loosened up our legs, sit down in a meditation posture. We will practice Bhastrikā, which is an exceptionally important Prāṇāyāma. It affects your entire body. Among other things, it affects the brain and provides a massage to your internal organs. It is exceptionally powerful because it is a breath like that of bellows. If you want to melt iron, you must have a bellows. If you have only fire and you put iron into the fire, you cannot melt it. But only if there is a blacksmith's bellows, then the iron will melt. In this case, the Prāṇāyāma is Bhastrikā; we are the bellows, and in this way, we further intensify our Agni, the digestive fire, so that you burn everything, all the waste, and even those things that are perhaps difficult to burn—those things that are not only toxins but also certain impressions on our... On the spiritual path, we can burn them away through this Prāṇāyāma. How is it performed? So, the most important thing is to relax the abdomen. This is better. It will be seen more clearly. Relax the abdomen. And then simply continue without the desire to inhale or exhale. We do nothing else but simply contract the abdomen and then relax the abdomen. Like a pump for an air mattress, like a bellows: we contract, the breath flows out; we relax, the breath spontaneously flows in. We do not voluntarily inhale the air. And if we do it that way, hyperventilation will occur. How will we know that it is hyperventilation? The tip of our nose and the cheeks tingle, the extremities. This means, always maintain the same rhythm. Let us not force it, but maintain the same rhythm always, and if needed, you can work like that for half a day. There is no twitching of the body, nor any grimacing of the face. This Prāṇāyāma should not be practiced if you have a brain tumor or if you have an elevated body temperature. Bhastrikā has several variations. Today we will practice Bhastrikā by bending the right arm. The second, third finger between the eyebrows, and then 20 breaths with the left, after 20 breaths a deeper inhalation and exhalation through the left nostril. Then with the right, a deeper inhalation, exhale through the right, lower the hand, and both nostrils together. A deeper inhalation and exhalation. That is one cycle. After a few moments, a minute, let us repeat the second cycle, but this time it goes right, left, both together. Pause. Third cycle: left, right, both. And fourth: right, left, both. We perform four cycles and then remain in silence for a few moments before beginning the meditation Antar Cintan, the fifth stage of meditation. For those of you watching, you can read in detail about this in the book Yoga in Daily Life, and afterwards we will do that meditation. Let us close our eyes, calm the entire body, and relax. We will chant Oṁ three times, and as we chant Oṁ, slowly withdraw from the outer space into our inner space. The mantra Oṁ creates a protective sheath around us so that nothing negative can reach us. And let us not sing too loudly. Let us be aware of our collective sound of Oṁ. Inhale.