PASCHIMATAANAM

S. Ramaswami
ono of the Asilnas thal ,huscular tong and strenglh comprehensively tesls tho it boslows. Brahmacharyaawill powet, petsaverenceand sanam is yet another name endutance of an abhyasi is given to it. Evidently it helps Paschima t aa n a m , o r t h g in maintaining Brahmacharya posterior stretching Asanam, and is forsmost Ernong those the stretching exlending {rom that swaken ths Kundalioi. th toes upto the finger tiPs B ENEF ICIALASANA tn ono continuous movemenl. Pschimataanasanam ls yet A highly bnoficial posturs. a n o th e r p o 3 tu r e th st b r iig s i t i m p ro v o s c i r c u l a t i o n . o ut th e u n iq u e ch a r a cte r of muscle tone of a large group our Acharya's Yogig system. of posterior rnuscles rahen It is nor merly siting, strtcombined with its countarching the legs and touching pos or Pratikriya which is lhe toos as being generally Purv at aanoA s e n a m .A l m c s t undofstood. When done with all tha texts on yoga reter to vinyasas and corresponding this asanam. ll is slso known breathing tho Paschimataans as Pas c hima Uttaanaasanam, group works on thE complets where the preposition'Ut' is systEm and the bansfits i n troduc ed ind i c a t i n g a n u p . mntiond in the yoga texts ward pull of all postarior appear meaninglul. Vinyasas muscles. Anothor name by and coilesponding broathing which it is known is Ugraakriyas are essentialfor aasana sanam, which is indicative of sid d h i. thg tremgndous effort required in t he in i t i a l s t a g s t o Pfasaorya Bhuvi Paadau Tu mastor it End the benefits of Dorbhya.sm Angulhtam
Ar&rr!thl Jaanoopari L8laatsm Tu Paschiman T!rnam Uchylte ll

The above stanza appearin g in Tri -S i khi B raahmana Upanisad of Shukla Yajur Veda merely givos tho bssic description of lhe postu16. It is to sit, exrending tho legs and keeping them straight T n e n extendi ng the arms, o n e sh oul d hol d l he bi g toes with the hooked fingers. Further axtending tho torso, one should bend down to keep ths forehead on the knees, lt is posterior stretchin g a a sanam. METHODOLOGY There are many variations in Paschi nral aanam. The most popular on described in th e above U pani shadcan b e d o ne i n l 6 steps, or vr n va a sas

S T E P 1 . S t a r tf r o n r S a m as. ST EP 7 . Be n o in g slig h u ) t hit hi. B r e a t h e n o r m a l l y f or the knees and holding the a f ew t im e s . br6ath after inhalation, swing forward, first completly flaxS T P 2 . l r r h a l e , r a i s e r he ing the knees and sxtnding arms overhaad. them after c|oseing tho 8upponing arms. LEnd on ths S T E P 3 . E x h a l o s r r a t c h in g ground with lags erfondd from the hip, bend forward and rhe buttocks botwgen and keep the palms t y th lhe palms. This requires side of the feet and touching som guidance. In t[is posrthe knees with the forehead. tion, pressing the palms. This is Uttaana Asaana. streogthan the back, by pushing lhe palvts, lho spine Some people do Utkataa- and chest fofward and locksanam. Now keep the palms ing the chin. This is DEndsabv the side of tho fs6t. sanam.and finds leferencein VyaasaBhashyaof Psatanjala STE P4 . E x h a l e a n d h o ld Yo g a Da r sa n a m . No w in h a le the breath. Pressing the raise tho arm, stretchtng th6 palms and after slightly bendrhouldrrs and neck also in ing the knEas, jump back to tho pfocess. Stav for a few attain chatulangadandaasana b r a a th s fo cu ssin g a lte n tio n position, as doscribd in the o n th e tip o f th e n o se . r issue of Indian J uly 19 7 Review. ST EP 8 . No w e xh a lin g oxtend the arms forwr-.'d, O nem a y r e a c hr h i s p o s t t i o r ' p u sh in g Ih e p e lvr sa n d sp in e , ftom Utkataasanam also, hy h o ld r h e b ig to e s wir h th a gently raising the burtocks thumb, and the next lwo and reaching I position half tingers forming a hook, pr6sway between Utkataasanam sin g a llth e wh il th e p o ste r io r and Uttaanaasanam. portion of th3 l6gs rgainst th e g r o u n d . STEP 5. From Chaturangapressdandaasanam, inhale, ST EP 9 . Afte r a f e w ing t he p a l m s , s t r a t c h i n gt he b r o a th s, fu n h e r Br te n sio n ankleg and arching the bacL, may bs attnlpled. Exhaling bring the polvis btween the and spreading the elbows, palms. suoporting the body one should lovl,or ahe torso, on palm s a n d l o e s . T h i s is so that the toreheadis placed U r dh w a m u k h a s w a a n a a- between sraight knees. This is Pa sch im o ta sn a a 6 e n a m . s anam. SI EP 6 . P r o c e e d t o d o A dhomu k h a s w a a n a a s a n am or ex ha l a t i o n .
Prato!ry! Paadau Shuvr OEftda. roopau Sanyastha thaaisn!hil yugmd Madhvr

rctnend

P8ad8n

Yogeonorrpctam

aira Jtdulai frraaltrYaam PrtchimottrnamlEhuhu ll

The above stsnza by Ghrunda sdmits ths necessity of repeated offorts (yetna) in achieving the posturr. In the initial stages, it may be diffi. cult evn to sit in Dandasanam with arms raised. Back. thighs, tho stubboh hamstr. ing8, and ihe ankl6s rofuss to budge. But with deeper exhalation. relared concent. ration, perseve?cnco and some coaxi ng by the abhyaasi,the musclos slowly yield and after considersble praclice the pbsture may be achieved fairly comtortably. One mav stay in ths asEnam fof a few breaths or 6ven rninutos. up to a few tr wrll be possible only when one starrs to enioy lh posture, which rs vidgntly the cas6 as descrrbed by In HathSyogaSvaatmaarama pradeepikaas follows:
Prrgorya Pasdtu thuvr DoFdrDorbbytam luplu P.d!$adwitayan grih;rwt I

JDospa,i nytslhc Lalastadosc Pos!imala6oaVaselhidrm msahuhc ll Hro lho aulhor tecom-

mends the ob'ryasl lo stay in tho poslure. BY "va8eth" one should infet a consid,able length ot llme. Adepts nray proceed lo do turther cxtnsion ol ah oosterior muScleg.

STEP 10, Aft, som practice one may kep th6 chin in th knoes looking ah6ad the tots. A tutthor extension will require keeping lhe forehgqd on t he s h i n , a b o u r 3 away frorn the knees, Vsriati o n in t he h a n d p o s i t i o n s al 6lso possible Keeping thc f ull palm o n t h e g r o u n d . holding the heels (reler to rkotch 1 ), keepingthe fingers intgrlocked and turned outward and kept around the coles. keeping tho palmr on the ground, clasping one wrist with othr hand are som of the variations. lt can be also done without support of the arms (niraalemba), such as koeping the arms oxtgnded from the shoulder level. keeping thr palms claqped behind the head ,s montioned in Siva Stmhlta, kooping thom ro. gt hf 8s i n " P r a n a a m ' ,bahind the bsck, olc. S T E P11. O n e m a y a t t e m p t to balanca in the posture by keeping tho pslms bV the si d of t he t h i g h s a n d r a i s ing the body. Radf$ may f i n d it s s imil a r i r y w i t h a c e r tain exercise in parallel bar in gymnsstics. In fact. our Acharya.contends that somg of t he Y ogi s h a v e a c t u a l l y invantod msny gymnastic ai d s and 8s s u c h i t i s h i g h l y probablet ha t b a s i c a l l y g y m nastics ir an otfshoot of yoga and at leaa t t h e b a s i s w a s provided by yogs, sv6n as gymnastics ths dsys app-

o
a.s to t). tar di{terent from yoga. This exercise is known a s Utp h lu th i a n d m a y b e a tte m p te din m a n y o th e r sit. ting posturas liko Padmaasan e m , Sim h a a sa n a me . tc. the posterior muscle groups and joints as tho heels, calf m u scles, th6 stubborn hamstr in g s, the knees, thi gh muscles,glutial, lumbo sacral. spine, shouldere, neck, arms. wrists and evcn knuckles get stratchod.

ST EP1 2 , Ke e p in g th c pa lm sb y th e sid e o f th s h ip s, There is hardly any yoga roturn to Chatutangadanda. toxt that dogs not refer to ASanAm. ih is p osturo, and gi ve a cl ue ST EP 1 3 . T o 1 6 a r e a ctu . to ths bensfits, of course slly rotrecing the path via using the peculirr lenguage Ur d h wa m u kh a swa a n a a used by Encient yogis. sa n a m , Ad h o m u kh a m , Utta nrsanpm, Taadasanam and HATHAYOGAPRAOEEPIKA sa m a sth ir h i. T h is i mportS nt asanam EENEFITS: This asanam (asanamaagrayam) paschiis h ig h ly b e n e ficia lfo r g e n e - m a ta na, makes the w i nd ot r a l im p r o ve m o n t in cir cu la - lo r ce ( P avana) fl ow through lrcn, muscle tone and the S,esFumlaand stimulros str e n g r ha n d im p r o ve sfu n c- th e g a srti cfi re (Jataraanal a), tio n o f a ll a b d o m e n a l a n d reduces thg abdomen (kaars. pelvic organs, tho kidnoys yam Udare) and mskes onE a n d th o sp in e . lt is sa id to free from disease (Arogaimprove vilatity, correct ta a m ) . csrtarn cas85 of impotency duo to incroasd vascularity SIVA SAMHITA : Strerch of the organs of genito urinay out both legs and keep thenr tracti nd paradoxically helps Vpan (slightly). Firmly take controL sox (Retha skhals- { trotO o't the head by the nam) and hence rs known as 'handE, and placJgjllglween Bhrahmecharyaasanam. All th6 knes. Thls is calted

Ugf aa s a n a n r s , a r d t o b e th e . bE S tsm o n g s s a n a s , 8 n d im ptove8 th6 movement Ot bodily f o r c e s ( A n i l a ) ; k no wn also as PaschimaUttasnaasa. nam, it rsmovs lothargy and weakness (deha Avasaanahara n a m ) . D i s c r i m i n a tin g A bhy a a s is h o u l d m a s t erth is bene f i c i a l p o s t u r e b y d a ily (Prat y a h a m ) p r a c t . i c e . lt makes vaayu flow in lhe posterior regions 6nd mskog one s l r o n g . T h o s e w h o Pr a ctico it with diligence find all sidhis generated in tfremselves, Hence by self effott th )'ogi should msttet ths po6lu r e . T h i a s h o u l d b e ke p t secret with groat cat and not g i v e n o u t i n d i 6 c r im in a t ely , T h r o u g h i t , v a y u sid d h i, or 8c l i v a t i o n o f a l l Pr a n ss (m ota b p l i s m . c i t c u l a tio n , rerpiration) iakes place and il do s t r o y s m u l t i t u d ss o f m is e r i s s ,

PROCEDURETPr o ce e d man, chel t, neck, shoul ders' from Oandaasanam. Keep arms bnd wrlats. The raising tho palrns by the aide of the2of rhe trunk may be done in buttocks or about one loot I Langanakriya by obess perbohind the buttocko, Press- sons. ing tho tralme and heals inhale and raiso the. trunk as CHATUSHpAAD.ApEETAM h ig n a s p o ssib le , str g tch in g the ankles and keeping the Since in both the above lEet on the ground, alEo postures. the kneos are kept keepirtg th knecs sttaight straight, to release tllo knFo a n d 5 t1 9 !g h o d . Re fe r to straj n, another oortU re. skstch ( 2 ) . Exh 3 ler stu r n to chati Jshpaadapeotam,.can be sta r tin g p o sitio n . On e m a y taksn up as part ot thg same r e p a a t lh e p cslu r e a fe w gfoup ct asanas. Fronr tim o s,a n d la te rsta ! tn r a h w D andaasanam, exhol e. and p o slu r e , lt a s bend rna knaes, ki tpi ng rha Ghrrurida rofeis to the b r sa th s it th e pos t u l e a s . : l h e k i n g o f a ll a vely good ttrotching move- ta3t in front of ths buttoct<s, .the bi l ms sitting po6tut3 (Yogindra- m o n t in vg lvin o th o a n r e r io r l nhal o, pressi ng p o ttio n s o f a n kle s, 9 h in , and faE t and rai sgth6 trunk. pc ata m ) . knss, thighs pelvie, abdo- keeping ir parallijl ro rhe T HE C O I . | N T E B P O S ES Sinco ticrabove is a strenous o x e r c i s e , i t r e q u ir o s a c oun t g r p o s e . t o n o r ma lise . a nta fio ( Purv a l a a n a m o l strqlching pose helps not only rlieyC lhc .ttrain, but olro itt'rch lhe antorior m us c l e sa n d t h u s c o mp l,- te s rhe involvment of?;.II-IrF Inaior grouP mu6cles.

g Y ound. I n h a l e a n d r l u r n . Re peat a f e w t i m e s . O n e may s t ay a l s o f o r a f e w breaths. In this a better stret c hing o f t h e s h o u l d e r s and nec k is o o s s i b l e .s o a l s o rhe hip join t w h i c h i s e x e r c i s6d bener. lt may b done as Langan a k t i y a . R e f e r t o sket c h (3). s i n c e i t r e s e n r bles a t ab l e i t i s c a l l e d Ch at us hpa a d a p e e t ao m r four l e gged s s at .

@ Frottr N AAVAAS A N A M : the s t art ingp o i n t o f C h a t u s h - a fe w tim e s. Qn e m a y sta r t yo g r shave i nventeda numbet paadapeotam, inhale, press a lso fr o m Ha la a sa n a m , F r o m o f h ybri d postures so thal , h a le r a ise a r m s th o se unused fi bers are exeri n g t he pa l m s , s t r e t c h t h e Ha la a sa n ain legs at about 60 degrees to o ve r h e a da n d to u ch th e to e s. cise d and put to w ork. Many the ground , N o w b a l a n c i n g In h a ler o ll b a ck to lyin g p o si- su ch postures are i n vogue' on t he but t o c k s , l i f t t h e h a n d s tio n a n d in a co n tin u o u s Co m bi ni ngP aschi mataanasa' and s t ret c h t h e m i n f r o n t a s m o tio n , o xh a le a n d d o Pa s- n a m andB addhapadmaasanam sh own in s k e t c h ( 4 ) . S t a y ch im a ta a n a a s m e n tio n e d g ive s A rdha B addha P adma a vi nyasaof for a f ew s e c o n d sa n d r e t u r n e a r lie r . On e m a y r e p e a t a ? Pa schi mataanarn ro t he origi n a lp o s i t i o n . T h i s fe w tim e s. T h e se d yr a n r ic ' wh ich i s gi ven i n sketch (5). (nry b6 repeateda few times. m o ve m e n is h e lp to e xe r cise Sir n il arl y w e have Mahaanl uIt is k nown a s N a a v a a s a n a m th e p o stsr io r m u scle sp a vin g d r a w hi ch can be l ooked th e wa y fo r a ch ie vin g .th e u p o n as a combi nati on of or boat posture. p o sr u r e . Ba d dhakonasanam and P asThs above group can be done in o n e c o n t i n u o u s strctch. and then one may m u scle s, te n d o n s wh ich a r e tr iyangmukhqi kapaadam and tak g ros t in S a v a a s a n a m F . o r se ld o m e xe r cise d . T h u s th e so o n. tho majorit y w h o h a v e d i f f i cu lt y in do r n g P a s c h i m a t a a n aas anam ,a f e w m e t h o d s arb suggestd to get soms mobility of the stubborn hip ioinls. One mEy start from l ying dow n p o s t u r e , w i t h arm sov erh e a d e , x h a l e ,p r e s s ing the heels and buttock, raisetha trunk and bond forward t o t he e x t e n t p o s s i b l e and hold t h e a n k l e so r t o e s . Inhaleand r e t u r nt o l y i n g p o . ssrt ion.T hr sr n a y b e r e p e a t e d

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