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Eighteen postures drawn as figures with the engaged and lengthening muscles named — and the honest note that the texts name the seat, not the muscle.
Patañjali describes no posture at all; these come from the haṭha corpus and, in their modern sequenced form, from the twentieth century. The texts name the seat, not the muscle: the anatomy is a modern reading, and is marked as one.
The base of every standing posture. Boring, and the whole thing.
Engaged: Quadriceps, Calves, Erector spinae, Deep core, Glutes (light).
Care: None. If standing hurts, that is the information.
A long diagonal line. Lengthens the whole back chain at once.
Engaged: Deltoids, Triceps, Quadriceps, Core.
Lengthening: Whole back line, Hamstrings, Calves.
Care: Wrists and shoulders take load. Bend the knees freely — a straight leg is not the point.
Named in the Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā, which claims it kindles bodily heat and destroys disease.
Engaged: Erector spinae, Glutes (light), Triceps.
Lengthening: Abdomen, Chest, Hip flexors.
Care: Go low. If the lower back pinches, you have gone past what the posture is for.
Classical, and the HYP claims it moves the breath through suṣumṇā and kindles agni.
Engaged: Quadriceps, Hip flexors, Core (light).
Lengthening: Hamstrings, Calves, Whole back line.
Care: Fold from the hip, not the waist. Bend the knees — the spine's length matters more than the leg's.
The accessible backbend. Most of the benefit of the big ones, little of the risk.
Engaged: Glutes, Hamstrings, Erector spinae.
Lengthening: Chest, Hip flexors.
Care: Do not turn the head once you are up; the neck is loaded.
The rest position. Where you go when a class is too much.
Lengthening: Whole back, Hips, Lats & shoulders.
Care: Knees. Put something under the hips if they will not reach the heels.
A twist without effort. The reason twists are given for digestion in every modern school.
Engaged: Obliques (light).
Lengthening: Obliques, Chest, Outer hip.
Care: Let the shoulder lift if it wants to. Never force a spine round.
The posture that makes people breathe hard. Strength, not stretch.
Engaged: Front quadriceps, Front glute, Deltoids, Core.
Lengthening: Inner thigh (back leg), Back hip flexor.
Care: Front knee tracks over the ankle, never inside it.
Named in the classical texts as a mudrā, not an āsana — and given extraordinary claims. The modern use is humbler and holds up.
Lengthening: Hamstrings (gentle), Lower back.
Care: Come out slowly. That is genuinely the only instruction.
Not classical at all — a modern warm-up, and one of the most useful movements in the whole repertoire.
Engaged: Deep core (cat).
Lengthening: Erector spinae (cat).
Care: Small range. It is a mobiliser, not a stretch.
Classical, and named without irony: the posture of a corpse. The hardest one.
Care: Warmth. The body cools fast when it finally stops.
The classical seat, and the HYP's first posture. It is a <b>meditation seat</b>, not an achievement.
Engaged: Erector spinae, Core (light).
Lengthening: Outer hips, Inner thighs.
Care: The most-injured posture in modern yoga. The knee pays for what the hip will not give. <b>Sukhāsana is not a lesser seat.</b>
The twist that carries a Nāth’s name — the Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā lists it among its chosen few.
Engaged: Obliques, Spinal rotators, Erector spinae.
Lengthening: Outer hip, Opposite side-body.
Care: Twist from the middle back, not by cranking the neck. Recent spine injury: skip it.
Modern in name and form — and the oldest shape on this site: a body drawn into a triangle.
Engaged: Both legs, Obliques (top), Core.
Lengthening: Front hamstring, Side body.
Care: Hinge at the hip, not the waist. A block under the hand beats a bent spine.
One-legged stillness. Carved on temple walls as tapas long before any studio — the modern form keeps the shape and softens the vow.
Engaged: Standing quad & glute, Calf, Core.
Lengthening: Inner thigh (lifted leg).
Care: Foot above or below the knee — never on it.
The bow — named in both old manuals. The body strung between hands and ankles.
Engaged: Erector spinae, Glutes, Hamstrings.
Lengthening: Chest, Hip flexors, Quadriceps, Front shoulders.
Care: Lift with the legs, not by yanking the shoulders. The low back speaks first — listen.
The kneeling camel. The old texts know an uṣṭrāsana — a different, prone shape; this kneeling arc belongs to the modern lineage.
Engaged: Glutes, Erector spinae.
Lengthening: Chest, Hip flexors, Quadriceps, Throat line.
Care: Hands reach the heels only when the chest is ready. The neck follows the arc — never dropped back.
The modern “king of āsanas”. The name is recent; the doctrine behind it — viparīta, reversal — is the HYP’s own, and Viparīta Karaṇī delivers it lying down.
Engaged: Shoulders & forearms, Deep core, Leg line.
Care: Neck injury, glaucoma, pregnancy, blood pressure: no. Everyone else: a teacher, a wall, years.
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