Samasthiti
Mountain pose: standing with feet together, arms by the side and gazing straight ahead.

Urvdha Hasasana
Upward hands pose:  Toes together, heels together.  Hands vertically raised, palms inwards.  Eyes gazing straight ahead.

Urvdha Baddhanguliyasana
Upward bound hand pose.  Interlaced fingers with palms facing upwards and arms straight.

Namaskarasana
Prayer pose: Standing with toes together and heels together. Elbows bent with palms touching together in the centre of sternum/’heart’. Eyes gazing straight ahead.

Urdhva Namaskarasana
Upward prayer pose: Standing in Tadasana, but with arms raised and straight. Palms pressed together. Eyes gazing straight ahead.

Paschima Baddha Hastasana
Rear bound hand pose:  Fingers interlocked behind back, base of palms pressing together, drawing downwards to straighten arms.

Gomukhasana
Cow Faced Pose in Tadasana: One arm over the shoulder and hand in toward the middle of the back.  The other arm folded inwards and backwards, reaching upwards behind the back to grip the fingers of the top hand.
The full pose is a sitting pose with the legs crossed over each other so knees are on top of each other. This variant is done standing.

Vrksasana
Tree pose:  Tree pose
Balance on one leg with the other leg bent and the heel into the upper thigh.  Hands raised with straight arms above the head.
Variations:
a) Independent – unsupported in the middle of the room.
b) back to wall – gives the most support
c) near the wall – stand with the wall next to you and lightly touch the fingertips of the hand on the wall side for support as you come into the pose.

Utkatasana
Chair pose:   Arms raised and straight, head looking up, Weight onto heels, knees bent for ‘sitting’ action, back straight, tailbone down.

Utthita Hasta Padasana
Extended Hands and Feet pose:  Extended hands and feet position:
Legs wide, Arms outstretched parallel to the ground.

Utthita Trikonasana
Extended triangle pose:
Legs wide,  Feet turned right, Torso extended to right.  Right hand on shin.  Left hand straight up, palm facing front.

Virabhadrasana II
Second Warrior pose:
Wide legs, Bent right leg so that knee is directly above the ankle (not behind – too wide; not in front – too narrow), Torso is vertical – reach back with the left hand, Arms extended parallel to the floor and in line with the legs,  Face forward to look beyond the right hand.

Utthita Parsvakonasana
Extended Right angled pose:
Come to Warrior 2 pose as above.   Extend torso to the right, Place right hand on the floor,  Reach left hand straight upwards.  Palm faces the front for now.

The classical pose has the upper hand extended over the head and turning to look upwards under the arm.

Vimanasana
Flying vehicle pose:  Legs are wide apart, the upper body is turned towards the front leg (unlike Warrior II, in which the torso remains perpendicular to the splayed legs).   The Pelvis faces the front leg and the front leg is bent so the thigh is parallel to the floor.   The back leg pushes straight back strongly (ideally the back heel is on the floor).  The arms are extended horizontally out to the side in order to assist with balance.

Virabhadrasana I  First Warrior pose:
Right leg (front) bent at knee with thigh parallel to ground.   Left leg (back) straight with heel pressing to floor.  Torso vertical and facing the Right leg. Arms raised vertically with palms facing inwards and face looking upwards.
Variation:  Place a block under the back heel and pressing firmly into the block to straighten the back leg.  Once you have your balance raise your hands vertically to the ceiling and only if stable look upwards.

Ardha Chadrasana (New Pose) Half-moon pose:  
a) Bending knee:  From the Triangle pose we place the upper hand onto the hip.  Then bend the front leg and shift the weight forward to place the hand onto the floor or block.  The back foot is light and we transfer the weight forward onto the hand and the front foot.

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b) going up bent elbow:  Once the weight is transferred to the front foot and the hand, the standing leg is straightened and the back leg is lifted horizontally

c) Final with bent elbow:  At this stage we keep the upper hand on the hip, and at most the face can be turned to face the ventral side of the body.  However, in the classical pose the upper arm is extended up and the head is turned to look toward the upper hand.  This requires careful balance, so it will be introduced only later.   This week we teach it with the alternatives below.

To come down:  Look down! Keep the weight forward onto the hand.  Bend the front leg and lower the back leg extending it far back.  Keep the body horizontal – don’t come up – and return to Triangle pose and then come out in the normal manner.

Alternative 1.  Back to the wall:  The pose is done close against the wall with the back to the wall.  This provides good stabiltiy.

Alternative 2. Heel to the wall:  The standing leg is placed a full leg’s distance from the wall, and the back leg is then raised and the heel pressed into the wall for stability and leg lift.

Parsvottanasana – Extreme lateral stretch:
Stand with right stepped in front of left leg and hips facing the front. Hands on hips with elbows back.  Sternum lifted, looking forward,  Concave back.  Extend forward keeping back straight and placing hands on blocks with arms straight.  Look up.  This is the pose at this stage.
Classically the chest is reaching down the leg toward the knee and the head reaches down toward the ankle.

Adho Mukha Svanasana
Downward facing (dog) pose:  Arms straight, shoulder width apart fingers pointing forward.  Legs straight hip width apart toes pointing forwards and heels down to the ground.  Back straight and buttocks lift high.  Chest moves inwards toward knees and head hangs down naturally.

Padangusthasana
Toe gripping in staff pose:  Sitting with the legs splayed and straight in front of you.  Forefingers are wrapped round the big toe, arms are straight and the torso straight up vertically.

Alternative:  If you cannot grip the toes with straight legs, then either hold the ankles or place a strap around the balls of the feet and hold further up the strap with straight arms.

Ardha Halasana
Half plow pose:
Torso and and shoulders on flat pillow, neck free over the edge. Head towards the wall. Shoulders shoulders leg distance from wall. Torso vertical. Legs straight and horizontal. Feet into the wall.

Eka Pada Sarvangasana
One legged shoulder stand:
If stable: raise only one leg vertically, bring down and establish symmetry, then raise the other leg vertically. Come down.

Salamba Sarvangasana (New progression)
Full torso shoulder stand:
If stable, raise both legs – one at a time and align the body keeping the weight onto the shoulders and pressing the elbows in to the pillows.  There is no undue pressure on the back of the head or neck.

Halasana (New pose)
Plow pose:  Keep pressing your elbows into the pillow as you descend one leg at a time over your head.   The elbows press down and the hands walk further down towards the armpits, minimising pressure on the neck.  The legs are straight and the toes pointed down.  The buttocks are lifted high .

Karnipidasana (New pose)
Ear pain/wig pose:  From shoulder stand, the knees are brought down and aspirationaly pressed into the ears either side of the head.  The toes are stretched beyond the head with the tops of the feet on  the floor.  The arms are crossed around the back of the thighs, and interlocked.
Alternative:  If the feet cannot touch the ground a bolster is placed under the tops of the feet.

Pictures of Forward Bending poses

Paschimottanasana
Extreme body stretch:  Classically the head is taken forward toward the feet and rested on the shins.   At this stage we sit in upward facing staff position and grip the toes, coming forward as much as our hamstrings will allow without the back bending, and keeping the chest and face up.

Savasana
Corpse pose: Laying flat on the floor relaxing completely feet out to the side and with the eyes closed.