Intermediate

From Salamba Sarvangasana I, remove your hands from your back and interlace your fingers behind you. Maintain your outer shoulders on the blankets as you turn your thumbs down towards the floor and open the palms away from you.  1.Press the arms and hands down as you continue to lift your back ribs and shoulderblades into the back. 2. Lift the buttocks up towards the ceiling as you reach the inner legs up. 3. Keep this as you move your buttocks foward and your thighs back.

Geometry: In this inverted pose, all my limbs are supported on my upper arms and shoulders. The back of my head is on the ground.one leg stays in line with the hips and shoulders and one leg extends overhead as in parsva halasana.From Salamba Sarvangasana:Keep the left leg straight, turn the right leg out so the toes point to the right.

Geometry: This pose takes Dhanurasana onto the side. Primary Actions:  1. Pull the hands against the fronts of the ankles to lift the legs as you simultaneously pull the legs away from the hands to lift the chest. 2. Roll the top of the thigh in and the back of the thigh out as you lift the inner leg and reach up through the inner heel to lift the legs further. 3. Lengthen the tops of the buttocks towards the knees to lengthen the lower back as you balance on your abdomen. 4. Lift the arms and legs to lengthen the entire body into the shape of a bow. 

 

in Maha Mudra, the legs are as in Janu Sirsasana, but the heel is in contact with the perineum. The arms are stretched straight as you hold onto the big toe with the forefinger, middle finger and thumb (as you do in utthita hasta padangustasana) of both hands and all 3 bandhas - mula, uddiyana and jalandara are engaged. Start in Dandasana and bend the right knee to a 90 degree angle to the left leg, placing the right heel in contact with the perineum.  Reach hands towards the big toe of the left foot and grasp the big toe with the forefinger, middle finger and thumb. Keep the arms straight as you pull on the toe of the left foot.

Geometry: In this variation of Halasana – The legs are stretched straight overhead towards one side of the body and then the other side.  

This pose is similar to Sukhasana (Easy Pose) in the shape of the pose, but in Svastikasana the feet are active, whereas in Sukhasana, the feet are passive.  The legs are folded in a triangle with the feet under the knees/thighs and the shins crossed in the center line. The torso is upright with the shoulders over the hips. To practice this pose, sit in Dandasana and bend the right knee and place the right foot under the left knee or lower thigh. Then bend the left knee and place the left shin in front of the right shin and the foot under the right knee or lower right thigh. 

Geometry: The standing leg and torso are in Uttanasana with one leg extended up towards the ceiling.