Yoga > The Pawanmuktasana Series – Simple, Yet Highly Effective

I have been talking about the simple asanas being very effective. What could be more effective that the Pawanmuktasana series as designed by Swami Satyanand Saraswati! I can safely vouch for this series to be solely responsible for strengthening my muscles gently and preparing my body for more intermediate and advanced asana practice.

The Series: For details on the Pawanmuktasanas either consult a teacher certified by the Bihar School of Yoga or refer to the book titled Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha by Swami Satyanand Saraswati himself. The detailed instructions and diagrams are sufficient to get you started on these series that have almost no, or negligible, contraindications.

The Benefits: As prescribed by Swami Satyanand the Pawanmuktasana series must precede other asanas. Holding an asana for a long duration (even if it is only for half a minute) can be quite intense on the muscles involved. The repetitive movements of the Pawanmuktasana series prepare the muscles gently to enable the holding of a posture comfortably and joyously, instead of putting a strain on the muscle and making one prone to injury.

But if one was to do the complete series it can even amount to a full body workout. In fact, the complete series provides a very balanced routine because it engages most of your limbs and muscles. Just because it seems very gentle it may look rather ineffective as far as toning up the body is concerned. But actually, if you practice the complete series just for a month you'll notice considerable physical effects, including toning of the abs.

The ‘simple’ hand, foot and neck movements are anti rheumatic, the ‘simple’ leg movements are great for digestion and strengthening the abdominal muscles and ‘simple’ exercises like chakkichalan and rowing are great for shakti bandhas. And beyond the aforementioned benefits these seemingly simple exercises work at various levels like loosening and stretching of muscles, nerves and joints at the physical level and even at the deeper levels of the energy and the mind.

The Modern Application: Although it can work up to be an effective cardio activity, the simplicity of movements ensures that it works gently even on stiff muscles, hence greatly reducing the chance of injury. I also feel that the Pawanmuktasana series may have been the base for vinyasa yoga, and hence most of the trendy and new age flow yoga styles. In this series the emphasis is on movement and repetition. 

My Experience: Even though I have been practicing yoga consistently, whenever I let go of the pawanmuktasanas for a long gap I start seeing the stiffness coming back into the body, especially in my shoulder joints or wrists. I have thus decided to incorporate the Pawanmuktasana series regularly in my practice. 

Insight > For The Love Of Yoga

I love yoga for its versatility and flexibility, vastness and simplicity, intensity and ease. Yoga can be curative and restorative. Yoga enables you to use the power of your body optimally, in turn leading the body towards optimal health. 

There literally is something in yoga that everyone can do. And I learnt this only by experience. I went through a phase when i had given yoga a rather long break in my life. So while my body was still quite flexible, my muscles had lost considerable strength. Every time I got back to an intense yoga practice, I landed with a mild muscle injury. Although the injury was mild enough to be cured only with adequate rest, it was painful enough to keep me away from practicing yoga for a few days. This went on for almost a year.

This is when I truly realised the flexibility of Yoga. Instead of refraining from yoga altogether due to a muscle strain,  I started designing practises for myself that included asanas that didn't require any movement or pressure on the strained muscles. For example, with a strained intercostal muscle in the chest, I focussed on asanas for the lower body and the core, without any pressure on the chest muscles. When I strained a muscle in the hip/thigh, I focussed on asanas on the upper body, and so on. The vast choice of asanas, along with umpteen variations, made it possible for me to practice a full hour of yoga without overstraining the already strained muscles. This choice of practice not only made it possible for me to practice yoga regularly, it also slowly started building strength in my muscles. The variety of sequences that I followed also made the entire experience more interesting for me, without falling into a boring repetition.

I like my Yoga practice to leave me feeling energised and refreshed and not groaning with pain unlike some other physical workouts. It has been over a year now that I have not succumbed to any injury due to yoga. Having done my teacher's training helped me in designing balanced sequences for myself. But even if you can't do that, always discuss openly with your yoga teacher and help them to offer sequences that are most suited for you.