Pranayama Breathing

(Breathing Exercise)

• Good for lungs and respiratory system
• Helps with mental relaxation
• Helps high blood pressure
• Relieves irritability
• Good for detoxification
• Exercises nervous, respiratory and circulatory systems
• Increases lung capacity and elasticity. Improves flexibility in  neck and shoulders.
  

Half Moon with Hands-to-Feet

Ardha-Chandrasana with
Pada-Hastasana

• Improves spine flexibility and core strength.
• Reduces lower back pain and helps with sciatic problems
• Tones the spinal nerves and abdominal organs improving the working of the bowels
• Increases flexibility and strength of rectus abdominis, gluteus maximus, oblique, deltoid and trapezius muscles
• Alleviates anxiety and reduces mental stress
• Exercises colon, pancreas, kidneys, muscular, skeletal, respiratory and glandular systems
• Firms and trims waistline, hips, abdomen and thighs

Awkward (Parts I, II, III)

Utkatasana

• Improves overall body strength
• Strengthens and tones leg muscles
• Relieves menstrual cramping
• Reduces fat pocket under buttocks
• Aligns skeletal system
• Good for arthritis conditions
• Good for digestion
• Relieves joint pain
• Relieves sciatica
• Improves flexibility in toes and ankles
• Exercises liver, intestines, and pancreas
• Strengthens legs and arms, improving circulation to the lower joints.

Eagle

Garurasana

• Works into twelve major joints of the body
• Good for central nervous system
• Facilitates lymphatic function, improving immune system
• Improves mobility of hip joint
• Improves balance
• Strengthens legs
• Good for varicose veins
• Improves flexibility in the largest joints of the body: scapulae, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles.

Standing Head-to-Knee

Dandayamana-Janurshirasana

• Builds mental strength: concentration, determination, and patience.
• Uses all major muscle groups
• Exercises digestive and reproductive organs
• Strengthens back muscles

Standing Bow Pulling

Dandayamana-Dhanurasana

• Improves cardiovascular function and circulation to the heart and lungs.
• Opens shoulder joint
• Helps frozen shoulder conditions
• Improves spine flexibility
• Develops balance between strength and flexibility.
• Reduces abdominal fat
• Helps regulate ovaries and prostate gland

Balancing Stick

Tuladandasana

• Increases cardiovascular circulation, especially to heart blood vessels
• Creates a total spine stretch
• Relieves stress from spine
• Good for varicose veins
• Builds strength in legs
• Exercises pancreas, spleen, liver, nervous and circulatory system
• Strengthens the heart and improves artery function.

Standing Separate Leg Stretching

Dandayamana-Bibhaktapada-Paschimotthanasana

• Increases circulation to the brain and adrenal glands
• Calms nervous system
• Combats depression
• Improves digestion
• Helps reduce abdominal obesity
• Helps with diabetes and hyperacidity
• Releases tension in the lower back
• Exercises muscular, adrenal and reproductive systems

Triangle

Trikonasana

• An excellent cardiovascular workout
• Intensely stretches each side of the body
• Opens and increases flexibility of hip joints
• Good for kidneys, thyroid and adrenal glands
• Opens shoulder joint, good for frozen shoulder
• Strengthen and tones legs 
• Helps regulate hormone levels
• Works all muscular groups simultaneously
• Works the circulatory, digestive, immune, reproductive and muscular systems – all at the same time.

Standing Separate Leg
Head-to-Knee

Dandayamana-Bibhaktapada-Janushirasana

• Good for depression and memory loss
• Reduces abdominal obesity
• Balances blood sugar levels
• Assists in regulating pancreas and kidneys
• Works endocrine, digestive and reproductive systems
• Stretches and tones the spine and nervous system. Balances pituitary and thyroid glands.

Tree

Tadasana

• Corrects bad posture
• Increases hip and knee flexibility and mobility
• Stretches spine
• Releases abdominal tension
• Relieves lower back pain

Toe Stand

Padangustasana

• Creates balance and focus in body and mind.
• Strengthens core muscles and weak joints.
• Strengthens hips, knees, ankles and toes.
• Helps relieve arthritis in all leg joints including hips.

Corpse

Savasana

• Returns circulation to normal. Promotes mental clarity and relaxation.
• Slows heart rate, reduces blood pressure
• Teaches complete relaxation
• Stills and focuses the mind

Wind Removing

Pavanamuktasana

• Massages ascending, descending and transverse colon
• Optimizes function of the digestive system.
• Regulates and normalizes hydrochloric acid levels in stomach
• Improves and may cure conditions of constipation, flatulence and hyperacidity
• Relieves lower back pain
• Improves flexibility of the hip joints
• Firms and tones muscles of the abdominal wall, thighs and hips
• Increases peristalsis in the gut

Sit-up

• Strengthens abdominal muscles.
• Increases energy.

Cobra

Bhujangasana

• Increases spine strength and flexibility
• Relieves lower back pain.
• Improves function of intestines, liver, kidney, and spleen.
• Rejuvenates spinal nerves enriching them with a rich blood supply
• Improves flexibility and tone of spinal muscles, massages, works and tones back muscles
• Helps cure or relieve lumbago, rheumatism, arthritis and menstrual problems
• Stretches the thoracic region and expands the rib cage bringing relief from asthma
• Gentle pressure on the abdomen massages all organs and improves their function
• Strengthens deltoids, trapezius and triceps
• Relieves cervical spondylosis
• Improves concentration

Locust

Salabhasana

• Same benefits as Cobra pose and even more effective in helping conditions of slipped disc and sciatica
• Increases spine strength and flexibility, and relieves upper back pain. Improves circulation in the arms, combatting tennis elbow and carpal tunnel syndrome.
• Firms hip muscles
• Helps relieve and prevent backache
• Relieves lumbago, rheumatism, arthritis and menstrual problems
• Improves loss of appetite
• Improves sluggish digestion
• Increases abdominal pressure and regulates intestinal function
• Strengthens the abdominal wall
• Helps correct bad posture
• Improves function of liver and spleen
• Strengthens shoulder, arm and back muscles
• Compresses and opens spine
• Relieves cervical spondylosis and back pain
• Encourages concentration and perseverance

Full Locust

Poorna-Salabhasana

• Firms muscles of the abdomen, upper arms, hips and thighs
• Increases spine strength and flexibility and relieves back pain, especially in the middle spine.
• Helps relieve and prevent lower backache
• Relieves lumbago, rheumatism, arthritis and menstrual problems Helps cure loss of appetite.
• Corrects bad posture.
• Improves function of liver and spleen
• Strengthens deltoids, trapezius and triceps
• Compresses and opens spine
• Relieves cervical spondylosis

Bow

Dhanurasana

• Increases circulation to heart and lungs and improves oxygen intake
• Increases spinal strength and flexibility and tone of spinal muscles
• Opens diaphragm and expands the chest region – improves respiratory conditions
• Opens shoulder joint and helps frozen shoulder conditions
• Revitalizes spinal nerves by increasing circulation to spine
• Strengthens, compresses and opens lower, mid and upper spine
• Reduces abdominal fat and strengthens abdominal muscles
• Helps regulate ovaries and prostate gland
• Relieves lumbago, rheumatism, arthritis and menstrual problems
• Improves digestion
• Corrects bad posture
• Strengthens concentration and mental determination
• Improves function of kidneys, liver and spleen
• Strengthens deltoids, trapezius, rhomboids, latissimus dorsi and triceps
• Relieves cervical spondylosis

Fixed Firm

Supta-Vajrasana

• Helps conditions of sciatica, gout, varicose veins and rheumatism in the legs
• Improves circulation to the lower limbs and flexibility of the lower spine, hips, knees, and ankle joints.
• Slims and tones thighs, firms calf muscles and strengthens the abdomen.
• Strengthens and improves flexibility of lower spine, knees and ankle joints.
• Lubricates and increases circulation to joints.
• Strengthens and lengthens abdominal muscles.
• Creates a great stretch into hip joints and diaphragm.
• Relieves lower back pain.

Half Tortoise

Ardha-Kurmasana

• A rejuvenation pose providing maximum relaxation
• Increases blood flow to the brain, promoting mental well-being, memory, and clarity. Relieves neck and shoulder tension.
• Relieves digestion problems 
• Stretches lower part of the lungs, increases lung capacity
• Firms the abdomen and thighs
• Increases flexibility of hip joints
• Improves mobility of shoulder girdle and associated muscles (scapula, deltoids, triceps, latissimus dorsi)
• Relieves stress and migraines
• Helps with insomnia
• Increases flexibility in hips

Camel

Ustrasana

• Compresses spine, relieving back problems
• Opens rib cage, lungs and digestive system
• Stimulates nervous system
• Great for lungs and many bronchial problems
• Strengthens back and shoulder muscles
• Improves flexion of neck
• Stretches the throat, lungs, abdominal organs, shoulders, and hips. Releases emotional tension.

Rabbit

Sasangasana

• Stretches the spine to increase proper nutrition to the nervous system
• Improves the mobility and elasticity of the spine and back muscles
• Stimulates thyroid and parathyroid glands through compression, helps balance and regulate metabolism
• Balances hormones
• Improves flexibility of scapula and trapezius
• Improves digestion, glandular problems and helps improve conditions of the sinus, common cold and chronic tonsillitis
• Helps insomnia, depression

Head-to-Knee with Stretching

Janushirasana with Paschimotthanasana

• Head to knee pose helps balance blood sugar levels and the metabolism
• Improves flexibility of sciatic nerve and ankle, knee and hip joints
• Enhances kidney function
• The intense stretching pose increases circulation to liver, spleen and pancreas
• Stimulates thymus gland, digestion and immune system
• Increases flexibility of the trapezius, deltoid, rectus femoris and biceps muscles, sciatic nerve and last five vertebrae of the spine
• Stretches and strengthens pelvic girdle, hip joints, shoulder joints and spine
• Improves concentration and mental endurance
• Powerfully massages all the abdominal organs
• Stimulates and tones the digestive organs, increases peristalsis, relieves constipation and other digestive problems
• Regulates function of the pancreas, assisting those with diabetes or hypoglycemia
• Mobilizes joints and increases elasticity in the lumbar spine
• Relieves compression of the spine and sciatica
• Strengthens and stretches the hamstrings
• Stimulates the immune and lymphatic systems. Helps balance blood sugar levels.

Spine Twisting

Ardha-Matsyendrasana

• Compresses and stretches spine from the bottom to the top
• Increases hip and back flexibility
• Improves digestion
• Firms the thighs and abdomen
• Improves elasticity, flexibility, circulation and nutrition to spinal nerves, vessels and tissues
• Increases synovial fluid of the joints
• Tones the roots of the spinal nerves and sympathetic nervous system
• Opens bronchial muscles and rib cage
• Helps prevent slipped disc
• Relieves lower back pain
• Helps sciatica and arthritis of the knee
• Massages kidneys, liver, gall bladder, spleen and bowels
• Increases circulation and nutrition to the spinal nerves, veins, and tissues

Blowing in Firm

Kapalbhati Breathing

• Detoxifies and cleanses body by removing stale air rom lungs
• Brings mental clarity
• Strengthens abdominal organs and wall
• Normalises bowels
• Energizes body
• Improves oxygenation to the body
• Improves cardiovascular and respiratory systems
• Good for high blood pressure
• Good for internal organs, digestive system, and abdominal muscles.