Sensational Yoga Poses
Muscle driven sensation (the making of sensational yoga poses)
Lots of people want a "sensational" body, i.e. one that looks good. The "sensational" in sensational yoga poses means something slightly different.
It refers to the sensations that are created within your body when you use it. More precisely, it's the sensations that are "driven" by your muscles and that are quantifiable as muscular effort, tension, force, and pressure.
These are the sensations that can help you become present within your body. These are the sensations that allow you to directly experience your body. These are the sensations that indicate that your muscles are working.
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Sensational yoga poses index page TOC1
The table of contents below link to different parts of this page. To return to this toc use the heading links that are underlined in red or the 
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Alphabetical indexes
For a list of yoga poses listed alphabetically click: alphabetical yoga poses. For a list of all files listed alphabetically and also by category click: alphabetical index
Yoga poses
The yoga poses page includes two table of contents, one for the basics of yoga poses, and the other for yoga pose categories.
The basics includes tips for beginners, tips for sequencing poses intelligently as well as basic ideas for how to "do" yoga poses.
Yoga poses, Connecting to your body, Warming up for yoga, Ideas for sequencing yoga poses, Modifying yoga poses, How important is alignment when doing yoga?, Keeping your joints safe when doing yoga, Keeping your SI joints safe, Preventing injury while doing yoga, Yoga for beginners
Yoga poses: categories
The categories section of the yoga poses page includes links to poses categorized by position (standing, sitting etc.) and action (twisting, side bending, forward bending etc.)
Yoga poses, Standing poses, Basic balance poses, Back bending poses, Forward bending Poses, Twisting yoga poses, Arm supported poses, Kneeling yoga poses, Prone poses, Arm balances, Supine/Belly up poses, Binding yoga poses, Seated Poses, Yoga Poses using a wall, Inverted poses, Ashtanga yoga poses
Flexibility
The yoga for flexibility page includes two table of contents, one focuses on the basics of stretching and improving flexibility while the other includes links to stretches categorized by parts of the body.
Yoga for flexibility, A quick guide to how to stretch, Create stability while stretching, What you can do while holding a stretch, What does it mean to be flexible?, Can you get flexible without stretching?, Stretching for beginners, Understanding reciprocal inhibition, Muscle control for stretching effectively, A basic sequence for stretching, Stretching to improve flexibility
Flexibility and stretching: categories
The categories section of yoga for flexibility includes links to stretches that are grouped according to body part.
Yoga for flexibility, Arm Stretches, Active Shoulder Stretches, Side Stretches, Lower Back Stretches, Psoas Stretches, Hip Stretches (Glute and Piriformis), Adductor stretches, Hip Flexor stretches, Quad stretches, Hip Extensor stretches, Calf/toe/ankle Stretches, Hamstring Stretches, Stretches for your spine
Strength
The yoga for strength page focuses on improving strength, generally using body weight and yoga poses, but also with some kettle bell exercises (and weight lifting ideas coming soon).
If there is anything basic for working on strength, the one suggestion I'd make is to create a stable foundation for the muscles that you are trying to strengthen.
yoga for strength, Exercises to improve stability, Strengthening the abs, Hip Flexor strengthening, Leg strengthening, Shoulder strengthening, Knee strengthening, Hip strengthening, Strengthening with kettlebells and more
Learning to balance
One idea that is fairly prevalent is that balance is "activity specific"". I'd like to dissuade you of that notion, and show you that when learning how to balance, it is possible to learn it in a way that is transferable to a wider range of activities and positions.
Learning how to balance, Is balance activity specific?, Aligning Yourself with gravity, Staying balanced in any activity, The purpose of isolation, Two ways to stay balanced, Balancing on one knee, Shifting your Foundation, For better balance do this, Becoming Smarter, Balance Basics, Practicing Balance, Balancing on One foot, Balance poses with Arm Support, Arm Balances, Inverted yoga pose basics, Headstand, Handstand,
De-stressing
Some people come to yoga simply to de-stress. You may find it enough to simply do yoga (either referring to the strength, yoga poses or flexibility categories). However, for a bit more of a low down on how to use yoga for de-stressing, and some other practices for de-stressing including meditation, dance of shiva and meridian yoga, then check out the yoga for de-stressing page.
Yoga for de-stressing, Meditation, Chakras and Meridians, Meridian Stretching, Dance of Shiva, Getting into the flow as a means of de-stressing,
Sensational Anatomy
Sensational yoga anatomy is anatomy that is relevant to the practice of yoga, movement in general and proprioception. It deals mainly with muscles, bones, connective tissue and joints and in particular keeping joints lubricated.
Sensational yoga anatomy, Anatomy for yoga teachers, Anatomy as a road map, Practice drawing anatomic elements , Ligaments are active, Synovial joint lubrication, Joints are strategic structures, Dealing with joint pain, Tensegrity movement, and posture, Anatomy trains, Muscles measure force, Muscles drive lubrication and proprioception,
The foot, ankle and shin
The Foot anatomy and biomechanics page relates to the foot, ankle and even the heel.
There is a set of muscles that could be called "the long foot muscles" that tie together actions of the foot, ankle and shin. These muscles can even affect heel stability. In addition, these muscles, and the as yet to be written about "long toe muscles" can all be used for better foot control in general as well as for dealing with collapsed arches.
These same muscles can also be important when dealing with knee and hip issues. They can also aid in improving flexibility of the ankles, knees and hips.
Foot anatomy, biomechanics, Basic foot exercise, Fallen arches (and fixing them), Exercises for achilles tendon pain, Tibialis Posterior, Peroneus Longus, Peroneus Brevis, Tibialis Anterior, Stabilizing the foot, heel and shin,
The knee joint
The keeping knees healthy page includes links to articles on knee anatomy as well as exercises for the knees and tips for dealing with knee pain.
keeping knees healthy Knee anatomy, Stabilizing the knee joint, The vastus muscles, IT band (and IT band knee pain), The long hip muscles, Medial collateral ligament pain, Keeping your knees healthy, Knee strengthening exercises,
The hip joint
The hip joint page includes links to articles on the hip joint. This includes anatomy, how to exercise the hip joints and how to keep them lubricated which is especially important if you want your hips to last you a life time.
Hip joint How are your hip joints lubricated?, The hip joint as a bicycle wheel, The gluteus maximus, The adductor magnus (the long head), The hamstrings, The hip flexors, Some of the deep six external hip rotators, Dealing with different types of hip joint pain, Getting a better feel for your hip joints,
The lower back
The lower back page includes links to articles on the SI Joints as well as the lower part of the ribcage. If you want to strengthen your lower back, improve flexibility, or deal with low back pain, it helps to have a thorough understanding of all of these and how they relate.
Lower back Anatomy of the lower back, Creating stability for the lower back muscles, The psoas, Bandhas, The thoracolumbar fascia, The transverse abdominis, The SI Joints, Low back pain, The importance of feeling your spine and lower back,
Breath and posture
The breath and posture page includes includes links to articles that focus on the spine (feeling it and controlling it) as well as links to articles on the ribcage. Both of these are key structures when dealing with both breath (breathing exercises) and posture.
Spinal column
Exercises for feeling and controlling the spine are often one of the first things that I teach in my classes. That includes learning to feel the ribcage. Learning to feel and control the elements of your spine (including the hips, ribcage and head) can make it easier to improve your posture and make it easier to learn a variety of different breathing exercises.
Posture
As alluded to above, in order to fix posture easily, it helps to be able to feel and control the elements of your spine. Since the same elements can be used to positively affect both breath control and posture, the exercises that I use to as a first step to improving posture can also double as breathing exercises.
With more advanced posture improving practices, different breathing techniques become more important.
Breath and posture, Fixing forward head posture, Exercises to fix your slouch, Simple proprioception exercises for abdomen, ribcage and shoulders,
Breathing anatomy and exercises
One of the first things to note about breathing is how the size of the apperture you are breathing through can affect your breathing efforts. That's a little of what is covered in breathing basics. To make breathing exercises easier to learn it can help if you understand the muscles that you can use for respiration and how they can be used in different combinations. Another important ideas is understanding how posture affects your breath. You can use this understanding to make it easier to learn different breathing techniques more easily.
Shoulders and Arms
The shoulders and arms page focuses on the shoulders and arms as well as the ribcage.
Shoulders and arms, Stabilizing the ribcage, Feel and control your shoulder blades, The serratus anterior, The trapezius, The pectoralis minor, Shoulder anatomy, Using your shoulders and training them, Shoulder rotator muscles (rotator cuff and more), Stabilizing your elbows, Shoulder basics and proprioceptive elements,
Proprioception and Flow
One reason for grouping proprioception and flow, under one category is that proprioception can make it easier to get into the flow. That being said, you don't necessarily need to use proprioception in order to get into the flow.
I've included a more detailed explanation of the flow, and it's opposite mind-state in my book Know to Flow.
A large part of this book is about learning more efficiently, and also, how you can implement flow while learning to make learning almost anything more enjoyable.
With respect to proprioception:
- Pressure and touch in particular are important for feeling our physical connection to things outside of ourselves.
- Muscular effort and tension are important for feeling and controlling the relationships between the bones of our body.
All of these "sensations" provide a gate way to becoming present or getting into the flow. They are also a means of experiencing your body and learning to understand it.
Proprioception and flow,
The feeling of muscles activating,
Controlling muscles mindfully,
Learning to feel your body,
What is proprioception,
Proprioception, fixing pain and poor posture,
Why improve body awareness?,
Yoga for lazy people,
Proprioception and improving it with Stretching,
How to get into the flow,
It helps to know,
What is yoga?,
How to be like water,
Managing change effectively,
No mind,
Understanding consciousness,
I've included a more detailed explanation of the flow, and it's opposite mind-state in my book Know to Flow. A large part of this book is about learning more efficiently, and also, how you can implement flow while learning to make learning almost anything more enjoyable.
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