Advanced D
Advanced D 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
Bhujangasana in Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā is described with the body from the navel to the toes on the ground, the hands on the ground and the upper body raised. Yogasana is described in the same chapter as a seat. These historical descriptions need to be compared with the whole present-day shape, even when names resemble each other.
The passages specify no modern variant letters, entries from handstand or sixth Ashtanga series. The leg arrangement or transition of a hand balance therefore cannot be established from an older description of a seated or prone pose.
Schmidt’s edition describes Mayurasana with both hands on the ground and the navel region against the elbows. In the section on mudrā, Viparitakarani is described with the head and hands on the ground and the legs raised. Both hands belong to these historical descriptions; they specify no one-armed Mayurasana or order of modern headstand variations.
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)2.43–46, p. 17 · Wellcome Collection
- Richard Schmidt: Fakire und Fakirtum im alten und modernen Indien — Yoga-Lehre und Yoga-Praxis (1908 [1907])pp. 191, 199 · Wellcome Collection
- Svātmārāma: Haṭhayogapradīpikā, with the Jyotsnā and Manobhilāṣiṇī commentaries (1895)1.30, p. 20; 1.45, p. 26 · Wellcome Collection