yogabook / asana catalog
All available asanas are listed below. For those who perform them without expert instruction, this warning applies.
Asanas can be classified in different ways, the following option is just one of many. At the bottom are the functional exercises and the explorations.
Warming up
Dog poses and staff pose
Standing poses
Reverse poses
Backbends
Warming up
Hips
Shoulder
Abdominals
Quadriceps
Twisting poses
Back of legs
Body side and others
Meditation poses
Transitions
Sequences
Functional exercises
Explorations
LIST OF ASANAS
without naming the variants
Warming up
Dog poses and staff pose
- adho mukha svanasana (head down dog pose)
- Dog elbow stand
- Dog headstand
- urdhva mukha svanasana (dog pose, head up)
- caturanga dandasana (staff pose)
Standing poses
- trikonasana (triangle)
- parivrtta trikonasana (twisted triangle)
- parsvakonasana (side angle)
- parivrtta parsvakonasana (twisted side angle)
- virabhadrasana I (warrior 1 pose)
- virabhadrasana II (warrior 2 pose)
- virabhadrasana III (warrior 3 pose)
- Counter
- parsvottanasana (intense lateral stretch)
- prasarita padottanasana (straddled intensive leg stretch)
- ardha chandrasana (half moon)
- parivrtta ardha chandrasana (twisted half moon)
- for you (the mightly one)
- uttanasana (intensive stretching)
- vrksasana (tree)
- garudasana (eagle)
- caturkonasana (square)
- tadasana (mointain)
- urdhva hastasana (arms up)
- hasta padangusthasana (hand-big-toe-pose)
Reverse positions
- adho mukha vrksasana (handstand)
- right-angled handstand
- pinca mayurasana (elbow pose)
- Right-angled elbow position
- sirsasana (headstand)
- Right-angled headstand
- halasana (plow)
- parsva halasana (side plow)
- karnapidasana (pressure on the ears)
- supta konasana (reclining angle)
- sarvangasana (shoulder stand)
Hip
- 1st hip opening
- 2nd hip opening
- 3. hip opening
- 4th hip opening (lateral half splits)
- 5. hip opening
- Seated forward bend: heels to the edge of the mat
- ardha padmasana Forward bend
- adho mukha supta padmasana
- baddha konasana (held angle)
- baddha konasana Forward bend
- supta baddha konasana (lying held angle)
- adho mukha supta baddha konasana (lying held angle with face down )
- upavista konasana (upright angle)
- parsva upavista konasana (lateral upright angle)
- parivrtta parsva upavista konasana (twisted lateral upright angle )
- hanumanasana (forward splits)
- samakonasana (side splits)
Shoulder
- hyperbola
- shoulder opening on the chair
- raised back stretching
- ardha garudasana (half eagle)
- gomukhasana (cow face)
- upavista konasana with block
- tolasana (libra)
- downface dog wide
- elbow dog pose
- purvottanasana (incl. „8 treasures“)
Belly
Knee / Quadriceps
- virasana (hero)
- supta virasana (lying hero)
- ardha supta krouncasana (half lying heron)
- supta krouncasana (lying heron)
- baddha padasana
- quadriceps stretch 1 on the wall
- quadriceps stretch 2 on the wall
- malasana
Backbends
- salabhasana (grasshopper)
- bhujangasana (cobra)
- ustrasana (camel)
- setu bandha sarvangasana
- urdhva dhanurasana (back arch)
- dvi on viparita dandasana
- eka pada viparita dandasana
- dhanurasana (downward bow)
- lying on a roll
Back relaxation after backbends
Twisting poses
Back of leg (hamstrings)
- post-mottanasana
- janu sirsasana
- parivrtta janu sirsasana
- ardha baddha padma pascimottanasana
- tryanga mukhaikapada pascimottanasana
- parsvottanasana
- hip opener 5
- supta padangusthasana straight / sideways
- krouncasana
- supta krouncasana
Flank and others
Meditation postures
Transitions
For all transitions to a different pose, see the variants of the starting pose
Sequences
Relaxation
Functional exercises
Functional exercises are often very effective and efficient exercises to strengthen or stretch a muscle or muscle group or to improve coordination skills. They are intended to be practised more frequently if necessary and complement the asanas very well.
Head
- Head tilt
- Press your head to the wall
- Press your head to the floor
- Press the forehead to the floor
- Press the forehead to the wall
- Lying head rotation
shoulder (trunkohumeral, trunkoscapular, scapulohumeral muscles) upper / arm
- Contract the biceps
- Front lift
- Side lifts
- Dumbbell bench press
- Pull overs
- Biceps curls
- dumbbell rowing
- Rotate arms
- Rhomboid stretching with dumbbells
- Farmer’s Walk
- passive scapula depression with dumbbell
- training the shoulder blade elevators
- supraspinatus training
forearm
- Dorsal forearm extension
- Palmar forearm stretch
- Palmar forearm stretch in upavista konasana
- Grip strength training
- Practicing supination and pronation of the arm
- Practicing radial abduction and ulnar abduction of the hand
- practicing palmar flexion and dorsiflexion of the wrist
Back / trunk
- Roll up the back
- Deadlift
- Therapeutic walking uphill
- Therapeutic stair climbing
- Press heels to the floor
- Extend lumbar spine lying down
- charge lumbar spine alternating in supine position
Hip joint / leg
Foot / ankle / lower leg
- Spread your toes
- Soleusdehnung am Klotz
- Pronation auf Klötzen (Fuß)
- Dehnung der intrisischen Fußmuskulatur mit Faszienrolle
Explorations
Explorations are small exercises to deepen body awareness, acquire specific skills, make observations, assess range of motion, recognize dependencies or deepen biomechanical understanding. Unlike asanas or functional exercises, they are not intended to be practiced regularly, often a single execution is sufficient.
shoulder / arm
- Palpate the biceps tendon
- Open and close fist against resistance
- Bend your arms and turn them overhead
- Bend your arm and place it on your head
- Influence of the finger extensors on palmar flexion and the finger extensors on dorsiflexion
- arm abducting turned in arm
- caturkonasana arm pose
- Bend arm in supine position
- Elevate shoulder blade
- Observe the angulus inferior (lower tip of the shoulder blade) when raising the arm
- Back and raised arms against the wall
trunk
- Alternating spinal extension/flexion
- Independent mobility of the 3 areas of the spine
- „Sitting giant“ test
- Observe chest during breathing
- Contract the latissimus
- Press the spine against the wall and tilt the pelvis