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Now we will begin the practice of āsanas, prāṇāyāma, and meditation according to the system of Yoga in Daily Life. Close your eyes and mentally attune yourselves to the practice. Scan through and relax your entire body, from the crown of the head to the tips of the toes, and from the tips of the toes to the crown of the head. Observe your breath, attuning to the complete yogic breath. The inhalation begins at the navel and rises upward to the throat, while the exhalation descends from the throat down to the navel. Take several full inhales and exhales. Open your eyes, rub your palms together, place them on your face, hold for a moment, and gently massage your eyes, forehead, and face. Then, lie down on your back. We begin the first exercise, the first āsana: Ānanda Āsana, the posture of relaxation. Lie down comfortably. Spread your legs freely to the sides. Your hands are by your body, palms facing upward. You may place a cushion under your head or under your knees. Close your eyes and relax your eyelids. Feel your entire body from the tips of the toes to the crown of the head. Gradually, step by step, direct your attention to individual parts of the body and consciously relax them until, at last, your entire body is completely relaxed. Feel the inner peace and tranquility. If relaxing while lying on your back is uncomfortable, you can perform this exercise lying on your stomach. Physical relaxation leads to spiritual relaxation. Relaxation is an important element for the proper practice of yogic exercises and for their effect. Therefore, Ānanda Āsana must be performed at the beginning and at the end of every session, and if necessary, even between individual exercises. Once again, scan through and relax your entire body. Feel the relaxation. Become aware of the relaxation throughout the entire body. The next exercise is training in abdominal breathing. Continue lying on your back. Relax and place one hand on your abdomen. Observe how the hand on the abdomen rises with the inhalation and falls with the exhalation. Observe how, with relaxation, the breath gradually slows down and your exhalation especially lengthens. Take about 10 inhalations and 10 exhalations. Direct your attention and concentration to the abdominal breathing, to the movement of the abdominal wall up and down. Conscious abdominal breathing leads to physical and spiritual relaxation. With this kind of breathing, blood circulation throughout the body improves, leading to a good metabolism. We conclude the practice of abdominal breathing. As you exhale, place your hand on the floor. We continue lying on our backs and practice stretching the body. Relax. Place your hands alongside your body. As you inhale, raise your right hand up behind your head, stretch your right wrist and right heel in opposite directions, simultaneously pressing your pelvis into the floor. Take a deep breath and lift your right hand, extending upward with your right wrist and downward with your right heel. Exhaling, slowly lower the right hand and place it beside the body. Inhaling, raise the left hand up behind the head. We stretch the left hand upward and the left heel downward, stretching the entire left side of the body. Exhaling, lower the hand and relax the left side. Let us continue practicing the exercise in the rhythm of the breath, two more times on each side. Right hand, right leg, right heel. Inhaling, we lower the hands. And the left hand, the left heel. They stretch your left side in the opposite direction. Let us continue. Stretching the entire body releases the tension that has accumulated throughout the day or during sleep from remaining in a stationary position for a long time. The breath deepens and normalizes. The exercise refreshes your entire body. One more time to the left side: left hand, left leg. Breathe. Lower your hand. Relax and scan your entire body. Observe the effect of this exercise. The next exercise is head turns while lying down. We continue to lie on our backs. The legs are relaxed, the arms are relaxed. Relax your entire body, spread your arms to the sides with palms facing upward, and slowly turn your head to the right and to the left. Perform the exercise five times on each side, exhaling as you turn your head. Breathing, return to the neutral position. Try to perform the exercise in the rhythm of your breath—inhaling straight, exhaling, turn your head to the other side slowly and unhurriedly. Direct all your attention to the cervical spine, to the area of the neck. Observe. Feel how the shoulders relax, the neck relaxes, and notice how the circulation in the head area improves. We finish the exercise and return to the starting position, arms extended to the sides. The whole body is relaxed. Now we perform the twist. Bend your legs at the knees and press your feet into the floor. Feet together, knees together. Exhaling, slowly turn both legs to the right side, and turn the head to the left. Try to keep your knees and feet together. Breathe normally and calmly. Perform the exercise in rhythm with your breath, three times on each side. Inhale, and as you exhale, move your knees to the right and your head to the left. Slowly, unhurriedly, smoothly. Inhaling, we return to the neutral position. Exhaling, we turn the legs to the left side, the head to the right. Lift your feet off the floor. The foot rests on the foot, the knee on the knee. Let us continue. Each in their own rhythm of breathing. Listen to your breath and perform the movements in your own rhythm of breathing. Observe the effect of this exercise. Be aware of how the mobility of the spine increases and your breath deepens and harmonizes. During the twist, the arms and shoulders remain on the floor in an unchanged position throughout. The head and feet turn slowly, smoothly, and simultaneously in opposite directions. If you feel sharp pain in the intervertebral discs, it is not recommended to perform this exercise. Complete the āsana, straighten your legs, and observe—be sure to observe—the effect of the exercise you have just performed. Scan your entire body, scan your spine, your breath. The next āsana is twists, lying on your back with bent legs. Bend your legs at the knees, drawing your knees toward your abdomen. Interlace your fingers and wrap your arms around your knees. Observe carefully, do not rush, and hold this position. Feel the gentle and pleasant stretch of the spine. Observe your breath in this posture. Now, exhaling, we turn to the left, to the right, to the left, to the right. Gently we begin to sway, massaging the spine, the muscles along the spine, and the muscles of the back. Observe the pleasant massage. The exercise strengthens the oblique abdominal muscles, relaxes the back, improves its blood circulation, and activates the functioning of the kidneys. Listen to your body. After finishing, straighten your legs and move into the position of Ānanda Āsana. Place your feet a small distance apart, turn the sides of your feet outward, turn your palms upward, and relax your entire body. Observe the effect of the exercise, observe your breath. Move the fingers of your hands and the fingers of your feet. Clench and stretch the fingers on your hands and feet. Rotate your wrists and ankles in one direction, then in the other. Stretch your whole body, turn from right to left, place your palms under your lower back, and, pushing off with your hands, slowly rise up. Assume the position of Vajrāsana. Close your eyes and relax for a few moments. Relax and scan your body. And remember, you should never rise from a lying position sharply. It is essential to move into the transitional position of Vajrāsana. Now open your eyes and rise to your feet. Next, we perform the exercise standing. Place your feet about shoulder-width apart freely. Spread your feet apart. Let your arms hang down along your body and bring your attention to the area of the shoulders, the shoulder joints. Raising and lowering the shoulders alternately. We perform the exercise five times for each shoulder. Inhale, slowly raise your right shoulder upward. Reach out, stretch your shoulder toward your right ear. As you exhale, lower it down. Then raise the left shoulder toward the ear. Exhaling, lower it down. Let us continue, each in their own rhythm of breathing. While performing this exercise, this āsana, try not to bend your spine. Only the shoulder is working. And do not tilt your head. Draw the shoulder up to the ear. Exhaling, lower it down. Continue. This exercise is beneficial if you feel morning stiffness in your shoulders or stiffness from the cold. This āsana relaxes the muscles in the neck and shoulder joints. Let’s continue. Perform gently. One more time each. And we finish by performing it on the left shoulder. Shoulder rotations while standing. Five circular movements simultaneously with both shoulders. Inhaling, raise the shoulders upward. Draw the shoulder blades back. Exhaling, we lower down and forward. Five rounds in the rhythm of the breath. Stand upright, calmly. Direct all your attention to the area of the shoulders. Slowly and mindfully perform the exercise with both shoulders, making large circles. Keep the arms hanging down along the body. Rotate your shoulders five times forward, then five times backward. This āsana relaxes and strengthens the shoulder joints. Rotate with your fingers on your shoulders. Place your fingers on your shoulders and describe as large circles as possible with your elbows. Bring your elbows together. Inhale as you raise your arms upward. Draw the shoulder blades and elbows back. And exhaling, slowly lower and bring the elbows together in front. Five circles in one direction and five circles in the other direction, slowly and smoothly. We stretch the muscles of the chest and stretch the muscles of the back in the area of the shoulder blades. The āsana straightens the bent back. It strengthens the weak, relaxed back muscles. It relaxes and strengthens the shoulder ligaments. It stretches the muscles on the front side of the chest. It deepens the breath and increases the mobility of the shoulder joints. Let your hands go down. Observe the effect in the area of the shoulder joints, in the region of the neck. Rest a little, relax. Align your breath. We continue with the next exercise: Crossing the arms above the head while standing. Perform the exercise 5 times in the rhythm of your breath. Inhaling, spread your arms to the sides. Turn your palms upward. Cross your arms above your head. Inhaling, slowly lower them down. Turn your palms downward. Arms up—inhalation. Palms up—inhalation. Exhale downwards. Direct your attention to the chest. The exercise relaxes and harmonizes your body, your breath, and your thoughts. It relaxes and strengthens the back muscles, increases the mobility of the shoulder joints, deepens the breath, and affects the lateral parts of the chest. Lower your hands, relax, you may close your eyes. Breathing, relax your entire body, observe the effect, become aware of the effect of the exercise you have performed. Feel how the exercise affects your body, the circulation of your blood, the tone of your muscles, your thoughts, and the state of your entire body. We take our eyes off and continue the practice. Bending and extending the arms while standing. Stretch your arms forward, turn your palms upward, and as you inhale, bend your arms at the elbows and touch your shoulders with your fingertips. Exhale slowly, straighten your arms. Continue in the rhythm of your breath. Inhale, fingers to the shoulders, exhale, inhale to the shoulders, exhale. Continue. Breathe normally, turn your palms downward, and lower your arms. Complete the exercise. Rest a little. And we continue performing the same exercise, but with the arms extended out to the sides. Turn your palms upward, inhale, bend your elbows with your fingers, and touch your shoulders. Exhale. Straighten your arms. Five times. This exercise strengthens the back muscles and improves the mobility of the shoulder joints. Observe how your arms bend and straighten, how your elbows move, how the muscles of your back and arms work. One more time. Turn your palms downward, lower your hands in front of your eyes. Take a deep breath in, exhale. Relax your entire body. We continue with āsanas. Working with the muscles of the legs. Shift the weight of your body from one leg to the other. Place your hands on your hips. Place your feet a little wider than shoulder-width apart. Both feet remain on the floor throughout the practice of the āsana. Do not lift your feet off the floor. Inhale, and as you exhale, shift your body weight onto your right leg and bend the knee. Inhale and return to the starting position. Exhale, shift your body weight onto the left leg, bend the knee, and inhale as you straighten up. Continue. Five breaths on each leg. The exercise strengthens the leg muscles, enhances stability, improves the sense of balance, and heightens the ability to concentrate. Look ahead of you; do not look at your feet. The next exercise is shifting the body weight alternately onto the toes of the right and left foot. Inhale, and as you exhale, place your foot on the toes, good, and then to the other side. We perform the exercise similarly, alternately placing weight on the right and left foot. At the same time, feel the tension in the muscles of the lower leg. The exercise strengthens the muscles of the feet and calves. Higher, higher, higher we lift the heel. So, very well. We finish the exercise and lie down in relaxation: Ānanda Āsana. Place your feet shoulder-width apart, turning the soles outward. Turn your palms upward, close your eyes, scan and relax your entire body from the crown of your head to the tips of your toes, and from the tips of your toes back to the crown of your head—your whole body completely. Observe how your breathing restores and normalizes. With each exhale, the peaceful relaxation deepens. Normal breathing. Relax your entire body once again. Mentally scan through the relaxation, observe your whole body. Take a deep breath in, and as you exhale, feel your fingertips. Move your fingers, bend and straighten them. Wiggle your toes, bend and straighten your toes. Now simultaneously bend and straighten the fingers and toes. Rotate your wrists and ankles in one direction, then the other. Loosen up the wrist and ankle joints, bending and straightening. Elbows and knees always move slowly and smoothly as you come out of the relaxation position of Ānanda Āsana. Place your palms under your lower back, and as you exhale, push off the floor with your palms and rise up to sit in the position of Daṇḍāsana—the staff pose or stick pose. Straighten your legs, straighten your back, place your palms on your knees. The next āsana is Pāvana Mukta Āsana, the knee-to-head stretch. Perform the exercise five times for each leg. Bend your right leg at the knee, interlace your fingers under the knee, and straighten. Straighten the leg, inhale, and as you exhale, draw the knee toward you. On the exhale, lower the head and touch the knee with your nose or forehead. Inhale, straighten the leg, lift the head, and continue performing the āsana in the rhythm of your breath. Five times. Make sure that your back remains straight. Bowing your head, touch your forehead or nose to your knee. You can slightly bend or arch your back while doing this. Observe the pleasant stretch along the spine. And now we perform the exercise on the left leg. Bend your left leg at the knee. Interlace the fingers of your hands. Inhale, straighten the leg, and as you exhale, draw the knee toward the chest, lower the head down, and inhale as you return to the starting position. We continue. If you find it difficult to perform this exercise, it is not a problem. Even if you do not touch your forehead to your knee, continue performing the exercise. Place your hands with the palms behind your back, relax your spine. And observe. Take a few seconds to observe the effect of the āsana you have performed: the spine, back muscles, arm muscles, leg muscles. This exercise improves the blood flow to all the joints. It works very well against heaviness in the abdomen. It helps to align the body correctly and improves digestion. The next exercise is the half-butterfly. Place your hands on your knees, forward. Bend your right leg at the knee and place the foot either on the thigh, or you may place the foot on the floor if it is difficult for you to do so. Place your right hand on your right knee, turn your elbow outward, and gently perform rhythmic rocking of your right leg up and down. Breathing is normal. Direct all your attention to the hip joint. Perform the movement 10-20 times on the right leg. Carefully remove it, hold onto the big toe, lower the right leg. Now place the left foot on the left thigh or near the left knee. Then gently rock the left leg 10-20 times. This āsana stretches the thigh muscles, the joints of the legs, and improves blood circulation in the hip joints. This is a very good preparatory exercise for the meditation posture. Also, massage. Place your palms behind the hip joints and observe the effect of the exercise. If you have issues with your ankle joints, knees, or hip joints, if performing this exercise causes you pain or discomfort, you may skip it and not do it. We finish the relaxation and move into the Vajrāsana position, sitting on the knees. The next āsana is Marjari, the cat. The final āsana in our sequence. We perform the āsana in three sets. Check your starting position, check the position of your back, your spine, your head. Place your hands on your knees. Inhaling, rise onto your knees, hands forward. Inhale. Exhaling, lower yourself onto your palms, arch your back. Arch your back upward, lower your head down. Inhale as you bend your back downward, lift your head upward, and raise your eyes, looking upward. Exhaling, we lift the spine upward, lower the head down, and direct the gaze toward the navel area. Once more. Arch your back downward, inhale. Arch your back upward, exhale. Inhaling, we rise, arms forward. Exhaling, we lower ourselves onto the heels. Once again, just like that. Inhale. Exhale, lower down onto your palms. Stretch your spine upward, and lower your head down. We bend downwards. Inhale. Lift the eyes upward, the tailbone. Exhale, the spine rises, the head goes down. Once more, inhale and exhale. After the exhale, we conclude the exercise. We straighten up, arms forward, inhale, rise onto the knees, then rest by lowering onto the heels with hands on the knees. And one more time, one more approach. Let us continue in the rhythm of the breath. Press your palms firmly against the floor. Each time, stretch your back a little higher upwards. Bend down just a little bit lower. Focus all your attention on the movement of the spine. This āsana makes your spine flexible, mobile, supple, and resilient. It makes our body flexible. One more time. And after the exhale, we finish the āsana. We lower ourselves onto our heels and conclude our sequence of exercises. Relaxation. Ānanda Āsana. Lie down on your back, legs shoulder-width apart, arms relaxed and spread out to the sides. Close your eyes, take a deep full breath, and a slow exhale. Exhaling, relax your entire body. Observe how the relaxation deepens. Observe how your breath is restoring itself, your heart rhythm. Scan and relax your entire body from the crown of the head to the tips of the toes, and from the tips of the toes to the crown of the head. The whole body. Just relax. Do not think about anything, do not worry about anything. Ānanda Āsana translates as "the posture of bliss." Observe how bliss flows throughout your entire body. Relax. Gradually we conclude the relaxation. Inhale, exhale. Slowly come out of the state of Ānanda Āsana. Feel, move the fingers of your hands, the fingers of your feet. Bend and straighten the fingers on your hands and feet. Bend your elbows and knees. Move your arms and legs. Gently rotate your head to the right and to the left. Move in whatever way you feel like, in whatever way feels pleasant to you. Feel your entire body. Place your palms under your lower back. Without pushing off the floor with your hands, lift yourself up. Rub your palms together, warm your hands, and place them on your face. Hold for a few seconds, wipe your eyes, wipe your forehead, and bend forward. Touch your forehead to the floor, relax your entire body, and observe the flow of fresh, pure blood to the area of the head. And mentally thank the Teacher, thank Svāmījī. And mentally wish all living beings on the planet peace, happiness, and well-being. Hari Om. I am concluding. Let us rise. Wishing you all the best.