Advanced C
Advanced C belongs to the advanced Sthira Bhaga group in Ashtanga yoga’s six-series model.
About this advanced series
Advanced series build on acquired control, mobility and individual teaching. The A–D division appears in today’s six-series model. Series names and order may differ between teaching traditions.
Older names and shapes
Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā describes Siddhasana as a seat with the heels beneath the pelvis, Bhadrasana with a behind-the-back hold of the toes, and Simhasana with the knees on the ground and hands on the knees. In the same edition, Vrikshasana is a standing one-leg balance with the other foot at the upper thigh. These descriptions give historical context to the names.
Schmidt also compares Bhadrasana in Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā and Haṭhayogapradīpikā, where the arm arrangement differs. For an advanced form, name, leg arrangement and supports need to be compared separately. These older passages give no fifth Ashtanga series or its sequence.
In the 1895 Haṭhayogapradīpikā, Svastikasana is described as a seated posture with an upright trunk and the feet placed between the lower legs and thighs. The passage describes the older seated form, with no standing balance or entry from handstand.
Practising with care
If you have an injury or a medical condition, take medication, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have another circumstance that may affect your practice, consult a qualified healthcare professional about suitable activities and necessary adaptations.
Learn new and demanding poses with a qualified yoga teacher. Adapt the range to your body and stop if you feel pain or dizziness. A short video illustrates movement; its length does not prescribe how long to hold a pose.
Headstands, shoulder stands and lotus are not starting poses for beginners. Injuries, balance problems or glaucoma are examples of reasons to assess suitability individually. Do not force a bind or use the body as leverage against the knee.
Sources for this page
- Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā — translation by Sris Chandra Vasu (1895)2.7–8, 2.10–11, 2.15–16, 2.37; pp. 11–13, 16; 2.43–44, p. 17 · Wellcome Collection
- Richard Schmidt: Fakire und Fakirtum im alten und modernen Indien — Yoga-Lehre und Yoga-Praxis (1908 [1907])p. 187 · Wellcome Collection
- Svātmārāma: Haṭhayogapradīpikā, with the Jyotsnā and Manobhilāṣiṇī commentaries (1895)1.19; p. 15 · Wellcome Collection