International Yoga Day 2024: 10 Yoga Asanas For A Healthy Mind And Body

1. Angamardana:  Angamardana is a series of 31 processes to invigorate the body and reach peak physical fitness and mental health. Angamardana means gaining complete mastery over the limbs, organs, and other parts of the body. It needs no fitness equipment. True to its name, this practice revitalises the body on all levels, including the muscles, circulatory system, skeletal structure, nervous system, and the basic energy system. Angamardana strengthens the spine and builds physical strength, fitness, and tenacity, taking years off the body. (Image source: twitter/ Isha Foundation USA)

2. Yogasanas: Yogasanas are a set of powerful postures through which we can elevate one's consciousness and manipulate energies.  The word asana literally means posture. Out of the innumerable asanas a body can assume, 84 have been identified as yogasanas, through which one can transform the body and mind into a possibility for ultimate well-being. Hatha Yoga is offered as a set of 21 powerful postures, or yogasanas, to enable the system to sustain higher dimensions of energy. Yogasanas are not exercises but rather very subtle processes to manipulate one's energy in a particular direction. Yogasanas are a way of aligning the inner system and adjusting it to the celestial geometry, thereby becoming in synchronisation with its existence and naturally achieving a chemistry of healthfulness, joyfulness, blissfulness, and, above all, balance. (Image source: twitter/ Isha Foundation USA)

3. Surya Shakti: Surya Shakti is to energise the system in a different dimension. This 18-step process helps to strengthen the ligaments that hold the skeletal and muscular structures together. It is a dynamic form of the Sun Salutation.  Surya means “sun,” and Shakti means “energy.”. Surya Shakti is a complete process that is largely physical in nature. If you do 108 cycles of Surya Shakti, it will make you fit, and you will not need any other form of exercise. Surya Shakti builds the physical body and makes the sinews and ligaments of your body strong. In yoga, we give importance to the sinews that hold the skeletal system and the whole body together. When we do any yogic practice, which is physical in nature, the focus is mainly to strengthen those muscles, not to pump up your muscles. Strengthening the sinews of the body is what will endure for a long time and keep you well. Surya Shakti does this in a tremendous way. When we say Surya, we are talking about the sun, which is the basic powerhouse of the planet. Life on the planet is solar-powered, including the human system. Surya Shakti is a way of using that energy. (Image source: twitter/ Isha Foundation USA)

4. Surya Kriya: Surya Kriya is a 21-step yogic practice of tremendous antiquity designed as a holistic process for health, wellness, and complete inner wellbeing. “Surya” means “sun,” and “kriya” means “inner energy process.” Surya Kriya activates the system to raise the samat prana, or solar heat, in the system. It also balances a person’s left and right energy channels, leading to stability in the body and stillness in the mind. This strong foundation becomes the basis for exploring the higher dimensions of life. (Image source: twitter/ Isha Foundation USA)

5. Jalaneti: This is a simple but effective process of cleansing the nasal passages with salt water, using a copper Jala Neti pot. The process makes breathing easier by helping air enter the lungs, unimpeded by mucus and dirt that builds up through the day. It is a delicate process, which, if done improperly, can either reduce the benefit or even cause irreparable damage. (Image source: twitter/ Shri Jayarangha Naturopathy and yoga hospital)

6. Bhuta Shuddhi: Bhuta Shuddhi means “purification of the elements” and is a process of purifying the five elements within the human system. The basis for all creation, including the physical body, is a group of five elements: earth, water, wind, fire, and space. The wellbeing of the body and mind can be established by purifying these five elements within the human system. This process also shapes the body to tread towards one’s ultimate wellbeing. (Image source: twitter/ Isha Foundation)

7. Bhastrika Kriya: Bhastrika Kriya is a powerful kriya that purifies the blood and increases lung capacity. It can be of assistance to people with asthma, allergies, sinusitis, hormonal imbalances, and skin diseases. This is a Kriya, meaning inner energy process utilising the breath, or Pranayama. . It purifies the blood, so naturally, one will breathe better. The need for breath will come down not only by increasing one’s lung capacity but also because oxygen consumption is low. This works in two ways: the expansion of the lung capacity and the relaxation of the whole system. (Image source: Instagram/ yogire.me)

8. Bhakti Sadhana: Without devotion, hatha yoga can be very counterproductive, which means one could become very body-oriented and further away from the state of union that is yoga. Consistent practice of Bhakti sadhana gently brings you into this state of devotion. If you use your emotions and try to reach the ultimate, we call this bhakti yoga. That means the path of devotion. Bhakti yoga means using the intensity of one's emotions to transcend one's limitations.(Image source: canva)

9. Thoppukarnam: Thoppukarnam balances the right and left sides of the brain and, at the same time, exercises the body. (Image source: Instagram/ projecthatha)

10. Shanmukhi Mudra: Shanmukhi Mudra is a simple but subtle practice that brightens and rejuvenates the face and eyes and brings about a state of balance leading towards increased awareness and meditativeness. (Image source: twitter/ Isha Foundation USA)

Inputs From: Shlloka, Classical Hatha Yoga Teacher and Lifestyle Expert. (Image source: canva)