Virasana and Supta Virasana: the Seat for back Arches to Breath Practices ( Short Course; Level Exp Beginner)

Virasana, and its extensions into Supta Virasana, are excellent conditioners of lower limbs. Supta virasana and Adhomukha virasana are often used therapeutically for a wide range of conditions, as preparation for other types of asanas, and as a seat for pranayama. The Virasana leg positions involves flexion at the hip joint, complete flexion at the knee joint, and plantar flexion of the ankles. The ‘squeezing’ action of the legs on themselves stimulates blood circulation in the legs, the flexions at the knee and the ankles can keep these joints supple and healthy. However, this position has been a casualty of our modern lifestyle. We rarely sit on the floor, we no longer squat, and we spend a lot of time seated on chairs. As a result, this position that used to be natural just a few decades ago is now becoming difficult to more and more people. Difficulty in Virasana can be due to limitation at the hip joint, length of the hamstrings, stiffness in the knee, shortness and hardness of the calves or stiffness in the ankles. If nothing else, this is a wonderful diagnostic tool for us to identify the imbalances in our legs.

This Short Course is in 3 parts

Part 1: Knee Care and Preparing Knees for Virasana/ Padmasana

Part 2: Seated Virasana with Preparation and Adaptations

Part 3: Extending Forwards and Backwards from Seated Virasana: Adhomukha and Supta Virasana

Knee Care and Preparing Knees for Virasana/ Padmasana

Full flexion of the knee comes in asana positions like Virasana and Padmasana. These positions are also incorporated in supine restorative positions. In this session we do some preparatory work that is especially useful for people with restriction in the knees.

This session is part of the Short Course Virasana and Supta Virasana: the Seat for back Arches to Breath Practices (Short Course; Level Exp. Beginner) and Short Course Virasana and Supta Virasana: the Seat for back Arches to Breath Practices ( Short Course; Level Intermediate)

Level: Experienced Beginners, Gentle, Intermediate

Duration: 60min

Tagwords: knees, therapy, props, support, supta padangusthasana, baddhakonasana, janu sirsasana, virasana, padmasana, upavistakonasana

Seated Virasana with Preparation and Adaptations

Virasana, and its extensions into Supta Virasana, are excellent conditioners of lower limbs. Supta virasana is often used therapeutically for a wide range of conditions, and is also a preparation for back arches. Difficulty in Virasana can be due to limitation at the hip joint, length of the hamstrings, stiffness in the knee, shortness and hardness of the calves or stiffness in the ankles .
first half of the session: Preparatory asanas/actions
second half of the session: detailed explanation, along with adaptations for the most common limitations.

Level: Experienced Beginner, Gentle, Intermediate

Duration: 50min

Tagwords: 50mins, running, trekking, sports, knee, hips, ankles, favorite, virasana

Extending Forwards and Backwards from Seated Virasana: Adhomukha and Supta Virasana

In this session, we look at forward extension from Virasana to Adhomukha virasana, and a supine extension to Supta virasana.

This session is part of the Short Course Virasana and Supta Virasana: the Seat for back Arches to Breath Practices (Short Course; Level Exp. Beginner)

Level:Experienced Beginner, Beginner

Duration: 60mins

tagwrods: 60mins, props, support, hips, knees, ankles, favorite, virasana, adhomukha virasana, supta virasana