Asana is the physical practice of yoga and relates to the body. Asana is also another name for the poses or postures of yoga.Most modern practitioners initially come to yoga by doing yoga postures or yoga asana. But yoga asana is not yoga. An asana is simply a physical shape that you do with your body.
We use yoga poses to do yoga. But the yoga poses themselves are not yoga.
Here are some of the asanas we perform on a daily basis.
Vrikshasana or Tree Pose is a balancing asana. It is one of the very few standing poses in medieval yoga, and remains popular in modern yoga as exercise.
Trikonasana is a standing asana in modern yoga as exercise. Variations include Baddha Trikonasana (bound triangle pose) and Parivrtta Trikonasana (revolved triangle pose).
Surya Namaskar, Salute to the Sun or Sun Salutation, is a practice in yoga as exercise incorporating a flow sequence of some twelve gracefully linked asanas. The asana sequence was first recorded as yoga in the early 20th century.
Padmasana is a cross-legged sitting meditation pose from ancient India, in which each foot is placed on the opposite thigh. It is an ancient asana in yoga, predating hatha yoga, and is widely used for meditation in Hindu, Tantra, Jain, and Buddhist traditions.
Ustrasana is a deep backward bend from a kneeling position; the completed pose has the hands on the heels.
The body comes into a V-shape, balancing entirely on the buttocks, the legs and back are lifted high and arms extend forward and parallel to the ground.
In this asana the palms are placed under the shoulders, pushing down until the hips lift slightly. The backs of the feet rest on the ground, the back is arched until the arms are straight, and the gaze is directed straight upwards or a little backwards. The legs remain on the ground.
The pose is done by the heel of the upper leg is tucked in under the lower thigh near the buttock. The arm on the lower leg side is raised, the forearm bent down, while the other arm reaches down behind the back, the forearm bent up, so the hands can clasp between the shoulder blades.
Dhanurasana Bow pose,is a backbending asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga. The feet are grasped to lift the legs and chest to form the shape of a bow with the body, the arms representing the bowstring.
Shavasana is performed on the back with the legs spread wide and arms relaxed to the side, and the eyes closed. The whole body is relaxed on the floor with an awareness of the chest and abdomen rising and falling with each breath.