Productivity Part III: A Hands-On Sequence

Note: This is a YogaDiviners sequence. All sequences should be practiced with utmost attention to ease and comfort. Always build your practice with patience and care.

Enthuse the brain, body and sustained focus to bring forth productivity with a hands-on combination of asana, pranayama, mudra, kriya, and bandha.

Ardha Pawanmuktasana

Method:

1. Lie on your back and breathe to relax your body
2. Exhale and hug the right knee to the chest with your hands clasped over it, raise the upper body and stretch the chin up to the knee
3. Inhale and return to starting position on an exhale
4. Repeat with the other leg

Pawanmuktasana

Method:

1. Lie on your back, use the breath to keep the body relaxed
2. Exhale, bring both your knees to the chest and hug them with your arms wrapped around them, and stretch your chin to rest between your knees
3. Inhale and return to the starting position as you exhale.

We recommend three sets of this series with a one-minute hold each time, accompanied by relaxed breathing. The repetitions work towards building ease in the posture.

The Pawanmuktasana series is done in the supine position, with the ground beneath as support. If we allow the earth to cradle our ankles, knees, hip and pelvic, they come into balance and the breath naturally centers itself in the navel region. This series works on improving the digestive system, stimulating the production of pancreatic juices and bile, removing toxic waste and gas from the intestines, and unnecessary thoughts from the brain, releasing energy and the feel good hormones.

Merudandasana

Method:

1. Lie down on your back with your legs straight and arms stretched out at the level of the shoulders, allow the body to relax and unwind here
2. Inhale and place your right foot on your left knee
3. Exhale and twist with your right knee dropping to the left, the right shoulder remains down hugging the ground and the head stretches to the right.
4. Stay in this posture for 5 minutes. Keep breathing as deep as possible, allowing the navel to get engaged as you breathe
5. Inhale and come back to the starting position
6. Repeat on the other side

This is a spinal twist in which you yield to the ground. This releases the fluids, synovial, cerebrospinal, blood and lymph, detoxifying and nourishing the spine and the brain cells. This keeps the flow of information going well, which clears the way for learning, focus, memory and creativity. The nervous system remains balanced and we are free of mood swings.

Saral Hasta Bhujangasana

Method:

1. Lie down flat on the stomach
2. Place your palms beside the chest
3. Keep the elbows tucked in completely
4. Keep the feet together and toes stretched out
5. Inhale deeply as you raise the upper body till the navel
6. Relax the arms while straightening the arms
7. Allow the shoulders blades to contract so that your chest expands to the maximum
8. Extend your neck out of your shoulders and mimic the movement of the cobra
9. Take deep breaths in the final posture
10. Stay in the posture for 30 seconds to 1 minute
11. Come down on an exhale and relax your body on the mat

This is a backward-bending asana that activates the thyroid glands (improving thyroxine levels and mood), adrenal glands, and balances cortisol, the stress hormone. The arch on the back ensures a rich supply of blood to the muscles of the back. It activates jatharagni, the digestive fire, with soaring energy levels. This posture slows down the number of breaths per minute, disengaging the primitive brain from its gross nature and connecting it to its higher centers.

Sharanagata Mudra

Method:

1. Sit in vajrasana with the back straight
2. Keep the big toes locked and knees together
3. Inhale and stretch your arms up
4. Join your palms together
5. Exhale and bend forward gently till you drop the forehead and arms on the ground
6. Relax your neck, shoulders, and elbows completely
7. Keep you palms joined together
8. Close your eyes, take deep breaths and stay in the posture for as long as you are comfortable
9. Inhale and slowly stretch your hands up and come back to vajrasana and relax your arms
10. Stay in the posture for 5 minutes

Sharanagata Mudra very intently focuses on the expression of surrender, a force so vulnerable, yet with infinite power to bring in limitless joy. If your mind is in a state of bliss, the body cannot be far behind. So the mudra, despite being such a simple gesture, heals the body and mind in many ways. The vagus nerve which runs along the front of the body gets activated inducing a calming response on all the nerves, nervous tension, anxieties and fears are all soothed and put to rest. In the YogaDiviners methodology, the palms are joined in namaskar position, a gesture that connects to the cerebral cortex, thus powerfully firing the brain. This posture helps one to unwind, relax, feel tranquil, and get deep sleep.

Viparita Karani Mudra

Method:

1. Lie on your back with your spine straight and flat
2. Breathe and relax your body
3. As you exhale, gently lift your butt, supported by your hands and stretch your legs straight in the air at a 45 degree angle from the ground
4. Rest the elbows down on the mat as the palms provide resistance at the hip bone to keep your body from sagging down
5. Maintain calm as you breathe and hold the posture for 2 to 5 minutes
6. While releasing, first bring your hands down, and gently lower your back and hip to the mat and then the legs
7. Rest the body here for a while

This is an inverted posture which drains fluids stagnating in the legs, greatly improving the pace and quality of your blood. Oxygenated blood circulates throughout the body, nourishing all the organs and especially the brain. The rich blood supply activates all the neurotransmitters. After an initial spurt in blood pressure, it slows down the heart rate and breath to suffuse the whole body with a fresh burst of energy and perspective, rejuvenating the hair, vision, hearing and skin.

Jalandhara Bandha

Method:

1. Sit in any meditative posture
2. Keep your spine straight and relaxed.
3. Place your palms on your knees and straighten your elbows. This action will give a lift to your shoulders and a forward tilt to your body
4. Pressing the palms down inhale deeply
5. Stretch your chin back in the inhalation
6. Stop your breath and quickly drop your chin down into your jugular notch
7. Retain the breath in for 30 to 60 seconds or as long as you can, you can gently contract your throat muscles to close the opening in the throat and retain the fluid, prevent it from falling into the stomach pit
8. When you cannot hold your breath any longer look up first, release the chin lock and return to starting position, releasing the breath very slowly in a long exhalation
9. This completes one round
10. Practice 3-5 rounds daily

Note: This is best practiced on an empty stomach

This bandha regulates the functioning of the thyroid and parathyroid glands, and improves metabolism. It brings about age reversal by enhancing spinal health and cell activity. Holding the breath creates a pressure change and brings the blood supply to the throat, eyes, ears, and brain, refreshing your sensory organs and revitalizing the brain. According to yogic wisdom, it improves the functioning of the throat center thus transforming your communication and expression.

Kapalbhati Kriya

Method:

1. Sit in any meditative posture
2. Start with inhaling deeply and then forcefully exhale from the nose. Keep your mouth closed, facial muscles relaxed, eyes closed, inner focus at the eyebrow center and exhalations rapid and forceful.
3. No need to inhale as it occurs automatically
4. Build your practice starting from 7 minutes and going up to 21 minutes

This is a kriya or a cleansing yogic technique that cleanses the frontal lobe of the brain. This is the part that controls higher brain processes and awareness, memory, learning, clarity in thinking, and judgment. Kapalbhati forces carbon dioxide out, which increases the oxygen levels and blood supply to the brain. With this steady, oxygen-rich blood supply, blockages get removed in the brain and nerve cells start showing better performance. Kapalbhati involves rapid exhalations, meaning more breaths per minute. The brain also goes through expansion and relaxation many more times per minute than during normal breathing. This process rejuvenates the brain, flushing out the toxins and grating mental alertness. It also activates the parasympathetic nervous system, increasing the release of happy hormones like serotonin and dopamine.

Shavasana, the Corpse Pose

Finally just lie down on your back, with your hands down by your sides, and palms facing the ceiling. Keep your eyes closed and just watch your breath. Watch the abdomen rise as you inhale and relax as you exhale. Avoid opening your eyes or any other movement.

This seemingly innocuous posture, in which there is nothing to do, except lie with our eyes closed, is a pose of absolute stillness, where our body mimics the death position, lying on the ground unmoving. This is far more difficult to do than it sounds. In this state, it is not just the muscles which wind down to zero activity, joints are at rest too and so are the capillaries and body cells. They all have fallen into a state of calm and the blood continues to flow effortlessly without stressing any organ in the body, including the heart. Five to ten minutes daily, or longer whenever possible, of this posture is a balm to the system. It restores productivity to a stressed out body.

This is a journey back to health, hormonal balance and happiness.