03/18/2026
How do we transition to the ground for floor āsana-s, such as supine āsana-s?
In Vinyāsa Krama, it is implied we would start in the standing position known as Samasthiti and transition mindfully, step by step with the proper breathing which is made long and smooth and movements performed mindfully and slowly. There can be a few ways to come down to the ground from Samasthiti to then perform any number of floor āsana-s in this dynamic practice, and once we arrive to the āsana in question, we can perform a series of variations, perhaps repeat the entry and exit into the āsana mindfully with the breath 3 to 6 times, and perhaps then staying in the āsana for 3 to 6 long inhalations and exhalations. Certain key āsana-s and Mudrā positions can be approached in an even longer static hold as Mudrā-s for even more than 12 breaths, developing the capacity to stay in a given āsana for minimum 3-5 minutes (this is usually reserved only for certain key āsana-s and Mudrā-s, such as in Paśchimottānāsana, Śīrṣāsana, Sarvāṅgāsana, and Mahā Mudrā), perhaps eventually approaching a static stay of 10 minutes or more for some in which it is appropriate to stay for so long, though a due counter-pose or Pratikriyā is in order to balance the effects of said āsana.
In any case, after a "lead-in" transition sequence to come to the ground, and after performing the āsana in question or sequence of āsana-s in question, one may then transition through a "return" sequence in more or less reversing the order of entry, to finally come back up to Samasthiti, once again done slowly and mindfully through long breathing as is established in this practice.
The more "classical" way to come down to the ground to, say, the supine position as the starting hub for any number of supine āsana-s, might involve moving with the breath from Samasthiti, Tādāsana/Ūrdhva Hastāsana, Uttānāsana, Utkatāsana, walking or jumping back, to Caturaṅga Dandāsana, Ūrdhva Mukha Śvānāsana, Adho Mukha Śvānāsana, then walk or jumping through, to sit in Dandāsana. Then we would raise the arms for Niralamba Dandāsana, then we would roll the spine down to lie flat on the ground, and then we can lower our arms slowly with the breath to come to the starting supine position referred as Supta āsana Sthiti (different from the passive resting position known as Śavāsana). This is how the lead-in transition sequence is, more or less, in Śrī T Krishnamacharya's 1934 Yoga Makaranda.
There is the alternate option of lead-in sequence that bypasses any such weight bearing dog poses that may not be appropriate to some practitioners, or if one is feeling too fatigued to necessarily do the full sequence. Of course, the movements still being slow through the long inhalations and exhalations. In order to get to, say, the supine position, one may start in Samasthiti, Tādāsana/Ūrdhva Hastāsana, Utkatāsana, Niralamba Dandāsana, then Sālamba Dandāsana. Then we would raise the arms for Niralamba Dandāsana, then we would roll the spine down to lie flat on the ground, and then we can lower our arms slowly with the breath to come to the starting supine position referred as Supta āsana Sthiti.
But where do such dynamic transitions come from in the Haṭha treatises when the well-known Haṭha texts such as Haṭhapradīpikā seem to present the āsana-s as more or less static? Well, in the lesser known text the Haṭhābhyāsa-Paddhati of Kapālakuraṇṭaka, there's many procedures described in a dynamic and repetitive manner, jumping procedures are there, highly dynamic rigorous and athletic procedures are there, and even transition procedures, be they moving from a standing position to seated on the ground and back, from a seated position lifting up and swing forward to come to lie on ones back, moving from a supine position up to a standing position, rolling from a supine position to a prone position, moving from a prone position to a standing position, or even a challenging procedure of coming from a standing position more directly to a shoulder-stand position and roll down to a supine position. Using the pictorials from the Śrītattvanidhi that is based upon the older Haṭhābhyāsa-Paddhati (refer Norman Sjoman's research, "the yoga tradition of the Mysore palace"), I include excerpts from the Kaivalyadhama translation of the Kapālakuraṇṭaka work which readily avails the Sanskrit verses to peruse through. The Haṭhābhyāsa-Paddhati of Kapālakuraṇṭaka is relevant to Krishnamacharya teachings in the sheer dynamism exhibited and familiar forms we find in this text, not to mention it is directly relevant as Krishnamacharya was employed by the Mysore Maharaja and otherwise references the Śrītattvanidhi in his 1934 Yoga Makaranda and the Yoga Kuraṇṭi in his 1941 Yogāsanagalu.
In coming back up to standing, starting from the supine position, as in the protocols seen in Vinyāsa Krama, we may reverse the sequences, more or less, seen earlier. From Supta āsana Sthiti, raising the arms, then exhaling to up into the seated position Niralamba Dandāsana, followed by using the next exhale to then lower the arms to Sālamba Dandāsana. Then lean the weight forward into the hands to lift-up (or walk back), to jump-back to Caturaṅga Dandāsana, Ūrdhva Mukha Śvānāsana, Adho Mukha Śvānāsana, then walking or jumping forward to stand in Utkatāsana, followed by Uttānāsana, up to Tādāsana/Ūrdhva Hastāsana, and finally back to Samasthiti.
Alternately, we can come up through the simplified sequence. From Supta āsana Sthiti, raising the arms, then exhaling to up into the seated position Niralamba Dandāsana, followed by using the next exhale to then lower the arms to Sālamba Dandāsana. Then raise the arms once again to Niralamba Dandāsana, bend the knees and place the feet on the floor and come forward to stand in the squatting position Utkatāsana, then come all the way up to Tādāsana/Ūrdhva Hastāsana, and finally Samasthiti.
In Vinyāsa Krama and HAP, transitions from supine to standing, standing to supine, supine to prone, and prone up to standing: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18EX4h87Sv/
Supine āsana-s from the Haṭhābhyāsa-Paddhati, and compared to supine āsana-s from Vinyāsa Krama: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DdETMNdfw/
Previous post examining all the āsana-s and Mudrā-s from three Haṭha texts, HP, GS, and HAP: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CPUBf1mrM/
