Favourite Yoga position?

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Do you have any favourite Yoga position? I love The bow, for instance

And what is your favourite Yoga style? (Bikram Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Hatha Yoga, etc.). How many of them have you tried so far?

Downward F'ing Dog! (I don't do Yoga, I just wanted to say that)

I have a combination of vinyasa yoga (probably the same or similar to ashtanga yoga), and kundalini yoga. If I remember correctly, all physical movement yoga fall under the Hatha umbrella. As for positions, I love cobra because I hunch over so often but my fave is definitely shavasana.

It changes all the time. My least favourite pose when I started (because it was so hard) is now one of my favourite poses (because now I can do it and it has taught me that things that seem impossible can be achieved by regular practice), the pose is called tiriangmukiekapadapascimottanasana

So many to choose from! I love jumping from downward dog into bhuja pidasana, I love ghaba pindasana, I love ekabhuja urdva padmasana, I love baddha padmasana, I love janu sirsasana C. I love uthita hasta padangustasana.

I do Mysore style ashtanga vinyasa yoga meditation. I've tried a few other kinds and they don't really do it for me. Only ashtanga gets me into the zone in the way that a few hours dancing or 23 dried welsh liberty caps do.

anyones involving a girl sitting naked on my face.

'vinyasa' means 'movement-breathing-system'. If there is a specific sequence (krama) and every movement happens on a specific breath, then it is vinyasa yoga. Ashtanga yoga is vinyasa yoga. Most classes calling themselves vinyasa classes are not true vinyasa because the instructor does not care (and never will) whether or not you really are inhaling or exhaling when you should be. Ujjayi breathing of course. If it's not Ujjayi, it's not vinyasa!

'Kundalini' yoga is any kind of yoga which 'raises your kundalini' which is another way of saying 'induces psychosis'.

You're right about Hatha - it means 'forcing meditation', the principle being that you can force just about anyone into a state of meditation with the right kind of moving and breathing whereas not everyone can be brought to meditation via more intellectual means (actually, no-one ever thought their way into meditation!)

Very true about the vinyasa yoga. That's why I stay away from the very fast paced sets, because ujjayi goes out the window. I don't believe that the purpose of raising your kundalini is to induce psychosis though. It's more about raising your consciousness to the present, and putting yourself into a meditative state. I find it easier to delve into it with the mixture of repetition, willpower, and mantra.

Read this: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23044373
And google 'crazy wisdom'.

I can assure you that the experience of psychosis and kundalini rising are one and the same, but the prognosis depends on what prior training and preparation you've had.

I do "bicycle guitaring" yoga, but when I started doing it back in the early 1980s I did not at that time realize I was doing yoga. I just did it. For me, it is a meditation in motion.

Near as I can figure, this is both an action yoga (because of the movement) and a sound yoga (because there is music involved). There may be other forms of yoga involved. I am not familiar with all the formal names of the specific yoga types.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq126WChHhk[/youtube]

I don't exactly practice yoga, but I do use yoga poses as part of a balance and strength training program. My favorite is the plain old triangle.
The one I loathe? The tree. I have overly pronated ankles and I tend to fall over easily.

Here's a description of one of my favorites: lower back stretch -- I know it says pilates, but my mother taught it to me after having learned it in her yoga class, so I'm including it here. --Sorry, I don't know the formal name of it, if it has one. This one is also really great: seated half spinal twist, but I usually do it in a slightly different form where the bottom leg is extended straight out, as opposed to bent with your foot underneath you. It would look more like this (but I don't know the name of it so I figure the next best thing is to post a picture):



Other favorites I like to do are the cat/cow (what I'm told it's called) transition back and forth to help with lower back pains. I also like doing what I'm told is the snake/child's pose -- transition from one to the other. In addition, I do a lot of twisting stretches (they're easier and feel physically more rewarding and accomplish more of what I want to do than other types of stretches). I use the book "Yoga: The Iyengar Way" which has a lot of stretches in it and you can look up stretches by how they help your body and mental state which is useful.

Child's pose. (heh heh)

I love ashtanga yoga, but I'll do any kind. I don't get to practice much (full time job, two kids, small place) but I enjoy it immensely when I can.

Do you have any favourite Yoga position? chaturanga dandasana, pigeon pose,

And what is your favourite Yoga style? Hatha Yoga

How many of them have you tried so far? Just 1

My favourite poses are downward dog and child's pose. I get very tight in my shoulders and upper back and find these alleviate that tension.

My favourite style is shtanga and my least favourite style is Kundalini- all that fast breathing and huffing and puffing just makes me want to giggle or get agitated!

I've tried all the styles except the one done in extreme heat called Bikram. I am sensitive to temperature and fail to comprehend why anyone would chose to exercise in an overheated environment. Plus all the sweaty bodies, assuming you are in a group setting, would be gross to me.

I have practiced yoga off and on for about 8 years, under different instructors and styles... I learned about Hot Yoga about ten months ago, and it changed my life... Not only the physical asanas, but I found my Guru, and his teachings and our meditations have greatly changed my life... I believe yoga to be beneficial to anyone... I just recently learned about having AS about a week ago, but I feel that over the last ten months, the effects and anxieties of AS have been considerably changed...

As far as a favorite pose... Hmm... I love the entire series we practice... I do enjoy headstands and arm balances, though, as well as any hip opener and spine opener... Any stretch I can feel, really... I looove yoga...

Very interesting thread; thank you for posting it.
I've been taking a break from exercise for a while and have been meaning to get back into being physically-present through yoga.

Can anyone by chance recommend some online videos, preferably free?
Where did you guys learn about it as a practice?

Thanks.