10 Jivamukti Yoga Poses You Must Try — Personal Reflections, Expert Opinions & Hidden Benefits

The Fast Facts

• Sharon Gannon, a founder of Jivamukti Yoga, put together Magic Ten as an ideal series of 10 asanas that are not only a great way to warm up the body before a yoga practice but also a series of postures that are perfect to get the body going at first thing in the morning and starting the day with energy and balance.
• In the above posture, proceed to walk forward with the feet following where the hands are placed and the hands are on the floor in front of the feet and the legs and arms straight.
• Lying face down, Place your palms of your hands on the sides of your chest, exhale and using your arm stretch and bring your sit bones up and back until your feet are on the floor.

Sharon Gannon, a founder of Jivamukti Yoga, put together Magic Ten as an ideal series of 10 asanas that are not only a great way to warm up the body before a yoga practice but also a series of postures that are perfect to get the body going at first thing in the morning and starting the day with energy and balance.

It includes all the motions of the spine (flexion, extension, twisting, lateral flexion), thus, practised every day, a practitioner experiences the fact that the body starts to be more agile, mobility is achieved and posture is corrected.

10 Jivamukti Yoga Poses You Must Try.

1 Adho Mukha Svanasana.

Step by step : Lying face down, Place your palms of your hands on the sides of your chest, exhale and using your arm stretch and bring your sit bones up and back until your feet are on the floor. Hold 10 breaths.

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2 Uttanasana Variation.

Step by step : In the above posture, proceed to walk forward with the feet following where the hands are placed and the hands are on the floor in front of the feet and the legs and arms straight. Hold 10 breaths.

3 Malasana.

Step by step : You open your hips, a little wider than your hips, and pull them down to the floor, straight on your back. Bend your elbows in to the knee, to open up your hips and make sure that your spine is extended and your shoulders are loose. Hold 10 breaths.

4 Twist.

Step by step : You should sit upright, with your legs straight and keep them on the floor, also keep your legs straight. Rotate on the waist towards the right side and squeeze the knees with the left arm and the right hand to the floor. Inhale 5 times breathing the entire length of the spine and switch sides.

5 Ardha Matsyendrasana.

Step by step : With the trunk erect sitting on the floor with the legs extended move the right leg and cross it over the left until the sole of the right foot touches the floor. You are going to leverage the right arm around the thigh to the right and turn the spine to the right. Breath 5 times and switch sides.

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6 Purvattanasana.

Step by step : Sit on floor with feet (hip width and) place hands behind sitting with fingers facing feet. Snort, as you breath in, raise your trunk, lifting your pelvis above your knees. Recline and be sure that your ankles are below your knees as well as your wrists below your shoulders. Hold 10 breaths.

7 Handstand (on the wall).

Step by step : Keeping your hands on the floor, push up, i.e. extend your legs to verticality. Let your head loose. Take not less than 10 breaths and relax in Balasana or Uttanasana.

8 Chest Opening.

Step by step : Get into Tadasana, join your hands behind your back, bring your palms towards each other and keep your arms and pelvis apart. The chest lifts up and the chin folds in towards the sternum without motion of the pelvis. Hold 5 breaths.

9 Side Bends.

Step by step : Starting with Tadasana, bring your hands in a position that you have them over your head and interlock your fingers and press your palms. Breath in and as you breathe out bring your trunk to the left. Inhale back to the center then breathe out to the right side. Repeat 5 times.

10 Standing Spinal Roll.

Step by Step :

Spinal Roll phase 1.
PHASE 1: The first action was from Tadasana with the fingers interlaced behind the head and the arching of the trunk back in three phases (Inhale and fall back on exhaling). Return to Tadasana.
Start of Spinal Roll phase 2.
PHASE 2: The chin was placed on the chest and the lowering was done until the head touched the knees in 8 phases (Inhale and when exhaling, round the spine and lower).
End of Spinal Roll phase 2.
PHASE 3: Using the legs, lift with them still bent until the trunk is at a 90º angle with respect to the legs (variant of Utkatasana). Return to Tadasana.
The next phase was after the performance of the first phase and thus the first phase back was repeated once again.

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Personal Experience.

The first time I came to a Jivamukti Yoga class in Mumbai I thought it was only going to be a hard physical exercise. The instructor, however, blending the energetic movements with chanting and a brief meditation, really changed my mindset. Furthermore, to be honest, the twists and backbends left me feeling both some resistance and quietude. Consequently, after 3 weeks, I realized that I had a good posture, breathing was easier and I was really concentrated. At work, I found relief in these ten postures, which I turned to for support whenever the stress was high.

Personal Interview – An Expert’s Insights.

Interviewee: Arunima Deshpande, a Jivamukti Yoga-certified teacher with a twelve years of teaching experience in India and Europe.
Q: What differentiates Jivamukti Yoga from the other styles of yoga?
Arunima: “Jivamukti asana blends perfectly with music, scripture reading, meditation, and ethical living. The postures library is only one feature; it’s a way of life.”
Q: Which poses should beginners start with to get the most benefit?
Arunima: “Downward Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) and Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II) along with some very mild backbends like Bhujangasana (Cobra) would be my recommendation. The three movements equip the exercisers with musculoskeletal strength and awareness of their safety needs too.”
Q: Do you have any secret tip for keeping up the practice?
Arunima: “Transform your energy into exercise, breathing (ujjayi), and a short meditation to top it off. It really changes the physical workout into a moving meditation.”

Expert Opinion – Hidden Benefits.

Dr. Ravi Menon, physiotherapist and yoga researcher, succinctly writes:
“The execution of the primary Jivamukti Yoga asanas will not only enhance your spinal movability, equilibrium, and abdominal strength but will also regulate your stress hormones. The vibrant vinyasa paired with the concentration can really be beneficial to your heart rate variability, which is a measure of better stress resilience. Gradually, such kind of physical activity will maintain the joints healthy and will impart a positive effect on the mood and the quality of sleep. Nevertheless, newbies are advised to train under the supervision of a professional instructor so as to avoid getting injured, and to learn the correct way of alignment.”^(1),(2),(3)

Bottom Line.

Jivamukti Yoga postures provide a complete and all-inclusive healing for the body, the mind, and the spirit. The integration of mindfulness, breathing exercises and yoga philosophy in each asana enables one to develop an enhanced relationship with one’s self and nature. Thus, physical benefits along with spiritual ones are available to the practitioner with the aid of repeated exercises. Eventually, individuals can not merely become stronger and more flexible but they can also attain their inner peace and a more balanced life. Accepting Jivamukti Yoga postures is indeed a process of transformation not just of the physique, but also of the psyche and the soul, thereby bringing forth a more integrated and illuminated life.

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