Hindu Ark story

Navasana or boat pose is the featured pose today. Nav in Sanskrit is a ship or sailor. The most famous ship worldwide in history is that ship that saved mankind from the flood. This deluge story can be found in many cultures around the world including the ancient Hindu cultures.
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Bakasana – Crane Pose

The Baka in Hindu mythology comes from a story in the epic Mahabharata. Baka or crane is the disguise for a forest ogre inhabiting the forest where 5 brothers are exiled.

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Triangle Pose

Triangle Pose:   Trikonasana — Tri konas or three angles

The triangle is considered to be one of the strongest and most stable shapes in nature.  The quality of a triangle is strength and its capacity to support weight and resist pressure.
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Makarasana: Dolphin carries us safely

This myth is not found in our regular text Myths of the Asanas, but there is a story about the dolphin in Hindu mythology, so I will tell you about it. I discovered it after finding a picture of the Hindu goddess Ganga riding on a water creature. Here’s what I found about the water creature and the story:
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Lotus Pose

When we think of Lotus pose many thoughts might come to mind all starting with the letter “P”, Padmasana, pain, pretzel, possible in the next life, purity etc.  Padmasana is considered the quintessential seated mediation posture.  What must be understood about Padmasana is that it is not accessible to all.  What can be duplicated from this pose, however, is the grounded seat, long spine and a sense of replenishment.

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Slow Activities

Our culture heralds and promotes the fast paced life.  We are immersed in the need to be busy accomplishing projects, making agendas, setting up projects, achieving goals,  slaying the dragon, multi-tasking, and multiplying our lives with detail.  I believe that our culture values performance and we base our lives and identities on our performances.

We also know that stress is also part of our culture and that it can kill us if not directed appropriately.   We have been visiting this subject this month and have discussed that Stress reduction is not a luxury but rather a necessity.  Stress wreaks havoc on our mind, body and spirit.


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Vishnu, Brahma, Shiva in yoga mythology

Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva come into play often in our yoga stories so in this post I will give a little detail about these three characters. I do not consider myself an expert in Hindu culture, literature, or philosophy, so this post about the three Hindu deities comes from my understanding of the metaphors of each character.


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Hindu mythology creation story

I found several versions of a creation story in Hindu mythology and the one that corresponds to a yoga posture begins with Vishnu reclining on a couch while floating in the cosmic sea of possibility.
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The legend of Bharadvajasana

The tradition of yoga includes the teachings and wisdom of wise men called sages.  They sought to understand the mysteries of life and the universe.  Often the poses associated with the sages are difficult and challenging.  It takes patience, diligence and study, much what a student would also need to do to learn wisdom. 

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Garudasana – Eagle pose

In Hindu mythology Garuda is the half man, half eagle that carries Vishnu on his travels. He is the king of the birds. The word is usually translated into English as eagle though according to one dictionary the name literally means devourer because Garuda was originally identified with the all-consuming fire of the sun’s rays.
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