On most mornings I do all or some of the exercises and postures on this list, all slightly modified for my needs over the years, some named for convenience - I used to memorize the best sequence this way. I used to start with Surya Namaskara, but lately I've been leaving it out.
- Nishi - a few elements of the Japanese system I learned when I was a kid. The terms below are mine, to remember better, and to identify with an animal:
- "turtle stretch" (laying on your back, pull your heals down forward: one, other, then both, stretching your whole body - it reminds slow steps of a turtle);
- "fish swim" (laying on your back, hold your feet together and make snake-like swimming movements from waist down, as if you were advancing through water);
- "cat shake" (laying on your back, erect all your limbs and even hear up and shake all as fast as possible for one minute, or as long as possible - cats remove water from their fur with such vigorous shaking).
- Yoga Asanas:
- Padasana (legs up)
- Halasana (legs back)
- Sarvangasana (tree - all body, supported shoulderstand)
- Dhanurasana (roll up)
- Ustrasana (camel)
- Vajrasana (lion)
- Virasana (knee)
- Konasana (step inside)
- Padmasana (lotus)
- Mathsyasana (lotus-fish)
- Bhujangasana (cobra)
- Hanumanasana (split)
- Uddiyana Bandha (abs)
- Savasana
- Dhyana (meditation, usually on a point) - it is a great state of mind, nonverbal self-reflection and , helps me to maintain a deeper concentration on my activities during the day.
Since age 17, I practiced Raja, then Kundalini, and then Hatha yoga styles - first two for prolong meditation (concentration on a dot and raising attention from the genitals up) and made me who I am to large extend, together with the followed dza-zen meditation. Pranayama and Hatha made me feel as never before - absolutely irreplaceable body awareness.
Whenever you inhale, you turn on the sympathetic nervous system slightly, minutely speeding up your heart. And when you exhale, the parasympathetic half turns on, activating your vagus nerve in order to slow things down (this is why many forms of meditation are built around extended exhalations).
Robert M. Sapolsky
