Ashtanga Yoga Poses, The Standing Series
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The general sequence of ashtanga yoga poses is
- Sun Salutation A (3-5 times)
- Sun Salutation B (3-5 times)
- Standing Poses,
- Seated Poses (mostly Forward Bending in Nature,) followed by the
- Finishing Series which includes back bends general cooling down poses and headstand.
After sun salutes, finish in mountain pose at the front of your mat, feet together, knees straight, spine long, arms by your side.
Big Toe and Hands Under Feet Ashtanga Yoga Poses
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The first two ashtanga yoga poses after the sun salutations are both forward bends. In both of these forward bends the feet are hip width apart. In the first one you grab on to your big toes with palms inwards (padangusthasana). In the second ashtanga yoga standing forward bend you slide your hands under your feet with palms upwards and fingers pointing towards your heels (padahastasana.)
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If you can't reach your toes, you can either bend your knees, or keep your knees straight and place your hands on your shins (or thighs.)
Make your legs feel long and your spine. You can lengthen each inhale and relax each exhale making both actions slow and smooth.
Forward bends tend to be cooling, providing a good chance to rest and recover after sun salutations. They are also a chance to lengthen the hamstrings.
Vinyasa
To enter the "big toe" pose forward bend, start in mountain pose, jump your feet hip width apart as you inhale.
- Exhale and bend forward and grab your toes.
- Inhale and lengthen your spine and neck.
- Then bend forwards.
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To move into "hands under feet" pose
- inhale and reach forwards, arms straight, slide hands under feet,
- then exhale and fold again.
Hold each pose for five breaths.
To exit "hands under feet" pose,
- inhale reach forwards and straighten arms.
- Exhale grab your waist.
- Inhale stand and then exhale feet together.
Side Triangle Pose and Twisting Triangle Ashtanga Yoga Poses
In the next two ashtanga yoga poses the feet are about a leg's length apart with both knees straight. In the first two poses the feet where about hip width apart. Now they are wider.
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Big Toe Pose versus Triangle Yoga Pose.
Side Triangle
For side triangle you step your right foot back and turn your pelvis to face the long edge of your mat. Turn your right foot out 90 degrees and your left foot slightly inwards.
When reaching to the side in this pose I like to drop the hip. Reaching to the right push the right side of your pelvis down. You can rest your bottom hand on your shin or to do the full pose grab the big toe with your first two fingers and thumb. If you can't reach the toe then focus on letting your ribcage sink down. If you can grab the toe then make your toe strong and pull your ribcage away from your foot.
Vinyasa
To enter triangle
- Inhale and step or jump the feet apart. (Turn to the side if you need to.) Turn right foot out 90 degrees and left foot in slightly.
- Exhale and drop your right hip and reach your right hand down your leg. Reach your left hand up. Look up to your left hand.
- After five breaths, inhale and stand up and then repeat to the other side.
You always do the right side of an asymmetrical ashtanga yoga pose first.
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Twisting Triangle
In Revolving Triangle or "twisting triangle" the feet are still hip width apart. The knees are straight. In regular triangle pose your pelvis faces the long edge of your mat. In twisting triangle square your pelvis to the short edge of your mat. Your front foot faces forwards (relative to your pelvis) and your back foot is turned outwards slightly.
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Remember that the twisting triangle follows the "side bending" triangle.
Usually I like to bend forwards with my hands either on my front shin or on the floor, and then after holding for a few breaths then I enter the twist. You twist towards your front leg side. If your right leg is forwards then twist to the right.
Ideally your left hand is on the floor but if you can't reach the floor then place your hand on your shin, or try to hold the pose with your hand lifted or your forearm pressing on the outside of your shin.
Keep your neck long and make your legs feel long also.
Twisting Triangle Vinyasa
After doing triangle to the left, stand up with an inhale and turn and face the back of your mat to get ready for twisting triangle. Exhale and bend forwards touching your left hand to the floor or placing it on your shin. Inhale and reach your right hand out to the side and then twist your ribcage so that your right hand reaches up. If you are extra flexible try to place your hand to the floor outside your foot, or work towards this position as you hold the pose.
After five breaths inhale and stand up and face the front of your mat. Now do the left side. Afterwards stand and then with an exhale return to mountain pose or samisthitthi.
Side Angle Yoga Pose
For the next set of ashtanga yoga poses, the feet are even wider apart.
In the first two forward bends the feet were hip width. In the triangle set of ashtanga yoga poses the feet where a legs length apart. In this set to poses they are slightly wider, however one knee is bent while the other is straight.
When bending the knee keep the front of your shin vertical or nearly so. The knee can be a little bit forwards. Try to position your feet so that you can make your shin vertical and your thigh level.
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- Triangle Pose and Side Angle pose.
As with triangle you do the non twisting side angle pose (uthitta parsvokonasana) on both sides first and then the twisting version (parivrtta parsvokonasana).
Side Angle Pose
In side angle pose, I'd suggest that like your first drop the hip of the turned out foot. Then bend the knee. Work at keeping the side tilt of the pelvis as you go deeper into the pose.
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You can rest your bottom arm on your thigh, or touch fingers or palm to the floor.
Roll the top side of your pelvis and ribcage open. Roll the upper arm outwards so that the biceps moves up towards the ceiling. (Think of your body and upper arm "rolling" in opposite directions.)
Vinyasa
To get into side angle pose, step your right foot back and turn to face the long edge of your mat. Turn your right foot out and your left foot slightly inwards. Do this all on an inhale. As you exhale drop your right hip, bend your right knee and place your hand on the floor outside your foot. Reach your left hand over your head to the right and form a straight line from right foot to right hand.
Twisting Side Angle Pose
In the twisting version you can have your hands in prayer with one elbow resting on the thigh or you can try touching your bottom hand to the floor with your arm crossing the outside of the thigh.
Some teachers also suggest students placing their back knee on the floor for this ashtanga yoga pose.
Another option is to have the bottom hand to the inside of the front foot. You can then focus on stretching the front of the hip as well as twisting the ribcage and stretching the abdominal muscles.
Vinyasa
Vinyasa for the side angle poses is almost exactly the same as for the triangle series. The only difference is the poses themselves. In side angle the feet are wider and one knee is bent.
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Four Wide Leg Forward Bends
The next set of ashtanga yoga postures is a series of four wide leg forward bends (prassaritta padottanasana).
These postures again stretch the hamstrings, but with the feet wider that in the first forward bends. These postures are all symmetrical The left and right sides of the body do the same thing.
In the fist and last posture of this set the hands are on the floor.
- In the 1st pose the hands are shoulder width apart with the hands positioned on the floor so that the fingers point forwards. The elbows are bent.
- In the 4th pose you grab your big toes and again and bend your elbows. (You can use your arms in these postures to help support your upper body weight.)
In the second and third they are not.
- In the 2nd ashtanga yoga pose of this set the hands are on the waist,
- while in the 3rd they are grabbing each other behind the back.
In wide leg forward bend 1 the hands are on the floor shoulder width apart with elbows bent. You can use your hands to help pull your chest between your legs. An option is to place your crown on the floor and lift up into tripod headstand.
In the second pose the hands are on the waist. To help prepare for the next pose focus on drawing your shoulder blades towards each other.
In the third pose clasp hands behind back, make your arms long and then lift them. You could also open your palms and turn them outwards. Experiment with using your pectoralis minormuscles to pull the top of your shoulder blades forwards and down. Keep your neck long.
In the fourth pose, grab your big toes. Bend your elbows. Make legs and spine feel long.
In order the hand positions are:
- hands on the floor shoulder width apart,
- hands on the waist
- hands grabbed behind the back
- grabbing the big toes
Vinyasa
Jump your feet apart, turn to the side if you need to. Feet parallel. Inhale.
- Exhale bend forwards hands on the floor.
- Inhale lengthen spine and straighten arms.
- Exhale fold.
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- Inhale hands to waist, exhale.
- Inhale and stand.
- Exhale and inhale and then exhale forwards to the second position.
- Inhale and stand.
- Clasp hands, lengthen arms and inhale.
- Exhale fold.
- Inhale and stand.
- Hands on waist. Inhale. Exhale and fold and grab onto toes.
- Inhale lengthen. Exhale fold.
- Inhale reach forward. Exhale.
- Inhale stand.
- Exhale to mountain pose.
Hold each pose 5 breaths.
Praying Behind Your Back
The next Ashtanga Yoga Pose is prayer forward fold (Utthitta Purvottanasana).
Your hands are in prayer behind the back with legs in the same position as in twisting triangle. You then bend forwards.
If you can't do prayer you can make both hands into fists and put them together, or fist one hand. Or have the backs of your hands together.
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To make it eaiser to get your arms into this pose you can roll your arms inwards and again focus on using pectoralis minor.
Vinyassa
Enter this pose by stepping your right leg back and then turning 180 degrees to the right so that your right leg is in front and your left leg behind. Do this on an inhale.
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Exhale and fold.
Inhale to stand and turn to face your left leg. Exhale fold.
Inhale up and face the side, reaching your arms out to the side as you do so.
Exhale to mountain pose.
Hold each side for 5 breaths.
One possible aid for remembering how this pose follows the last four is that in the wide leg forward bends the legs are symetrical and straight forming a pyramid shape. In this pose, the hands are together and form a pyramid shape.
Standing Balance Ashtanga Yoga Poses
After parsvotanasana (Prayer Behind the Back), the next two ashtanga yoga poses in the standing series are balance poses.
Big Toe Pose
In hand to big toe pose (Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana) you balance on one leg while holding on to the big toe of your lifted leg.
- In the first variation your lifted leg is to the front.
- In the next variation your move it to the side.
- Then finally you move it to the front and let go of your toe.
You could use a strap or belt to lasso your foot. Or you can bend the knee and grab it If you have trouble gripping you could also grab the side of the foot.
Vinyassa
- Shift onto your left leg, grab your right big toe.
- Exhale and straighten your leg to the front.
- After five breaths inhale, and then reach the leg to the side. Look in the opposite direction.
- Inhale and then exhale foot to center.
- Lift the leg higher and kiss your knee, then let go and hold for five more breaths.
Inhale and then exhale to mountain. Repeat on the other side.
Half Bound Lotus Pose
In Half Bound Lotus (Ardha Baddha Padmasana) you bend forwards while one leg is in lotus. The bind happens when you grab your big toe from behind your back.
If you are uncomfortable in lotus you can fold your shin to the outside of the thigh. You can then practice balancing even though you aren't in half lotus. Another option is flying pigeon, standing with your standing knee bend and the "lotus" foot resting on the standing leg knee like in pigeon pose.
To help remember the order, think straight leg balancing on one leg first, then bent knee. Or think upright with leg straight and then fold the lift leg and the body as you bend forward.
For lotus, bring the right leg into lotus and reach the same side arm behind the back. Bend forward. Take your time in this.
- Inhale lengthen forwards.
- Exhale bend your elbows and fold. Note that hand is beside the foot.
- Inhale look forwards. Exhale.
- Inhale and stand.
Exhale to mountain pose. Repeat on the other side.
 Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana 1 |  Utthita Hasta Padangusthasna 2 |  Utthita Hasta Padangusthasna 3 |  Ardha Badda Padmasana |
Chair and Two Warriors
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These three postures are possibly placed at the end of the standing sequence as a way of boosting heat prior to beginning the seated sequence of postures.
You could also think of them as a way to practice stabilizing the legs or strengthening them.
This sequence of yoga poses is a little bit like a modifiedsun salutation B.
Chair Pose
In chair pose, utkatasana, you can bend your spine backwards or keep it straiht. It can feel really nice if you make your lower back feel full.
When you bend your knees sink your hips back. Lean your chest forwards for balance.
Neck long, reach your arms up.
Warrior 1
For warrior 1, the hips are square to the front. Sink your pelvis and reach your spin and arms up out of your pelvis. Vary between sinking down low and keeping your pelvis square to the front.
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Warrior 2
In warrior 2 the pelvis is turned to the side. Use your side thigh muscles to pull the bent knee back so that the knee is over the foot viewed from the front and from the side. Look at your front arm in this asthanga yoga pose but stay aware of your back arm. Neck long!
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Vinyassa
From mountain pose, inhale lift the arms. Exhale fold. Inhale reach forwards, exhale to chaturanga dandasana. Inhale up dog, exhale down dog, inhale into utkatasana.
Hold for five then do a sun salute to downward dog. Inhale right foot forward warrior 1.
Inhale stand and turn and exhale into the left side.
Inhale and turn and exhale into left side warrrior 2. Then inhale and exhale to right side.
Hold each of these poses for 5 breaths.
After the final warrior 2 do a sun salutation and finish in downward dog. From there jump forward to seated to begin the seated set of ashtanga yoga poses.
- The Hip Control Guide,
Learn to Feel and Control Your Hip Muscles - Balance Basics,
Master balance by developing sensitivity and control. - I Used to Hate Sun Salutes,
Practice Balance while doing Sun Salutations.
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