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Yoga Exercise - Garland Pose or Squatting (Malasana)



This Asana makes the ankles more supple and provides a good stretch to the back of the lower legs, the back, and the neck muscles. Malasana also offers a nice moment of rest for the legs during intense Yoga sessions.


STEP 1: Bring your feet together and assume a squatting position. Turn your knees outside.

STEP 2: Lengthen your back by stretching your arms forward and bow your head. Try to find your balance in such a way that there is a stretching towards the pelvis and the upper back is stretched lengthwise as a result of the fact that the back is stretched towards the floor. If you lose any of these stretches, it means that your position is not well-balanced. You can regain this subtle balance by changing the height of your heels above the ground.

STEP 3: If your back has the right dynamism, it feels as if you can lift your fingers from the ground. This means that you hardly rest on your arms. As your ankles and your back begin to relax more, your heels will move more and more towards the ground. Quietly steer you breath to the stiff parts of your body and let the relaxation do the work.


The lengthening of the body focuses particularly on the front part of the body (chest). Try not to lose the dynamism and supportive power of the lower back at all times. When your lower back loses its supportive function, the upper back and the chest will sink down and the sensation of relaxation will be lost.

 

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Article Comments
Ramayoga
Tuesday 7th August 2007 at 5:04:54 AM  

I respectfully submit that Malasana is not to be called Garland Pose. Mala in Sanskrit means
impurity, and specially Malasana (squat pose) is designed to facilitate bowel movement . Mala should be pronounced differently
from Maala. In Mala both the vowels are short, In Maala the vowel after the M is to be elongated which means garland.


The same mistake appears in several yoga community pages including the current Yoga Journal (Sep. 2007), page 77.

Very often there is a tendency to look at the English word and pronounce it the English way. With only 26 letters, English has its limitations, whereas Sanskrit has 51 letters or alphabets, so the short vowel and the long vowel are distinctly understood.
Also, yoga teachers make the same mistake when they pronounce "Tadasana" as "Tadasana" instead of the correct pronunciation,
"Taadasana" with emphasis on the first vowel a. I have placed two "aa" to indicate the emphasis since I am unable to
use transliteration marks.
I believe strongly that yoga teachers should learn to read Sanskrit correctly before they can be certified as yoga teachers.
Signed: Perinkulam Ramanathan, (500 R.Y.T.)


 
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