Sunday, September 6, 2009

Advanced Yoga Poses

By H. Sulanti

Regular practice of yoga strengthens the body and the mind. There are some poses in yoga which should be practiced only after one has mastered the easy yoga asanas, that is, if one has a good hold on all the arm balances, inverted poses and backward bends, it is time to move on to the next level of poses which are called advanced yoga poses. A yoga practitioner should master the basic and intermediate yoga positions before moving on to the advanced ones.

One major difference between the advanced and other ones is that the former needs immense strength and flexibility which is achieved only after regular practice of the basic as well as intermediate yoga poses for a considerable period of time. They are often very demanding and involve twisting of the body to look like some object or being from the nature.

The ability to balance the body properly is another aspect of them as almost all the advanced asanas require the practitioner to balance and control the body to a great extent. And for a proper balance during difficult poses, it is essential for the mind to work with the body which is possible only for the veterans.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the advanced yoga poses take the individual or the aspirant to the next level of existence. The advanced yoga poses involve deep levels of meditation, which allows the mind to be free from all the worldly thoughts and which also paves the way for spiritually enriching experience.

Some of the popular advanced yoga poses are:

  • Compass Pose or Parivrtta Surya Yantrasana
  • Crow Pose or Bakasana
  • Eagle Pose or Garudasana
  • Firefly Pose or Tittibhasana
  • Flying Crow Pose or Eka Pada Galavasana
  • Flying Crow Pose or Eka Pada Galavasana
  • Forearm Stand or Pincha Mayurasana
  • Forearm Stand or Pincha Mayurasana
  • Headstand Pose or Salamba Sirsasana
  • King Dancer Pose or Natarajasana Pose
  • Monkey Pose or Hanumanasana
  • One Legged Kind Pigeon Pose or Eka Pada Rajakapotasana
  • Revolved Half Moon Pose or Parivrtta Ardha Chandrasana
  • Scorpion Pose or Vrschikasana
  • Side Crow Pose or Parsva Bakasana
  • Wheel Pose or Urdhva Dhanurasana


It is very important for any yoga enthusiast to understand that rushing into advanced yoga poses will not help much, as the foundation of any yoga course is the performance and practice of yoga poses. Each yoga pose has its own benefits and it is important to not strain one's body during yoga which becomes a possibility if one rushes into the advanced yoga poses.