Yoga Posture Photos

Sudhakar Ken McRae & Kathleen Knipp are Professional-level Kripalu yoga teachers offering weekly Kripalu yoga classes at alleyCat Yoga in Columbia, Missouri.

We lead Kripalu Yoga & meditation retreats at Pura Vida Spa in Costa Rica (February 4-11, 2006), in Tuscany, Italy (June 2-9, 2006), in Murren, Switzerland (June 10-16, 2006), and in Corfu, Greece (June 17-24, 2006).

We also offer Professional-level Kripalu Yoga teacher training at the Kripalu Center in Lenox, MA:

Art of Class Design: Balancing Body with Mind & Spirit
Raja Yoga of Patanjali: Unraveling the Threads of Enlightenment
Anatomy of a Warrior: Practical Anatomy for Yoga Teachers

We will be presenting Accessing the Power of Mantra at the 2006 KYTA Conference at Kripalu Center.


Natarajasana II
Shiva's Dance

An illustration of this posture, Natarajasana II or Shiva's Dance, can be found in Asana • Pranayama • Mudra • Bandha by Swami Satyananda Saraswati. The book is published by the Bihar School of Yoga in Munger, Bihar, India. They publish a lot of great books. I don't know if they are available anywhere in the US or Canada. We purchased quite a few at the Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, India.

This standing, balancing spinal twisting posture is fun to lead in a yoga class! It certainly requires a lot of practice beforehand — especially if you mirror postures as you are leading them. The hand mudra is called the Jnana Mudra (in some sources it is referred to as the Chin Mudra).

 

Krishnasana
Krishna's Pose

This posture, Krishnasana or Krishna's Pose is found in the same book mentioned above. (They call it Natavara asana).

It is a great balancing postures for beginners. Everyone can do a version of the posture!! I encourage folks to keep the toe of the crossed over foot on the floor if they require a little extra support. The mudra is called the Apana Mudra. Of course, an important detail of the posture is the smile... Krishna is a happy, playful fellow!!

 

 

 

Dhanuskasana
Archer

This posture was taught to Kripalu residents during a training in Kayavarohan, the site of a temple built by Swami Kripalvanandji to honor his teacher Swami Pranavanandji (Lord Lakulish).

The Archer posture is a favorite of ours, and of our students. It is very powerful! It is another standing, balancing, spinal twist that everyone can do. Beginners can separate their feet a little wider for better balance. The mudra for this posture is the Merudanda Mudra. We encourage our students to maintain the drishti (eye gaze on the mudra) during the entire holding of the posture.

 


Check back again! We plan to add a couple of postures to this page whenever we have a few free minutes.

 

KYTA Members...
remember we are offering a $150 discount for
Awakening: A Kripalu Yoga Retreat
held at Pura Vida Spa in Costa Rica
February 4-11, 2006
This special offer is only for KYTA members and their
traveling companions.

Don't miss out...like this guy did last winter...

 

 

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING: Class Design l Anatomy l Patanjali