yoga, one pose per page
Twenty-four lessons on what yoga is and what a pose actually is, the first sit and meeting the breath, mountain pose and standing tall, the Sun Salutation built one movement at a time, downward dog and the first inversion feeling, the warrior poses, tree pose and the honest wobble, standing folds and seated folds, hip openers and twists, gentle backbends, child's pose and honest rest, props and why a folded blanket is enough, ujjayi the victorious breath, vinyasa and movement paired with breath, a first home sequence you can remember, reading a class timetable without fear, soreness versus pain, when not to practice, a habit that survives a bad week, and teaching one pose to a friend.
One pose, one breath, one honest page. That's a lesson.
yoga, one pose per page
Twenty-four lessons on what yoga is and what a pose actually is, the first sit and meeting the breath, mountain pose and standing tall, the Sun Salutation built one movement at a time, downward dog and the first inversion feeling, the warrior poses, tree pose and the honest wobble, standing folds and seated folds, hip openers and twists, gentle backbends, child's pose and honest rest, props and why a folded blanket is enough, ujjayi the victorious breath, vinyasa and movement paired with breath, a first home sequence you can remember, reading a class timetable without fear, soreness versus pain, when not to practice, a habit that survives a bad week, and teaching one pose to a friend.
Set in Space Grotesk, Inter and JetBrains Mono (SIL Open Font License).
Every fact in this book is as the primary source states it, fetched and read during this build: the Wikipedia articles Yoga, Hatha yoga, Asana, Pranayama, Yoga as exercise, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Tadasana, Virabhadrasana, Balasana, List of asanas, Sun Salutation, Vinyasa, Bikram Yoga, Ujjayi and Downward Dog Pose, all cached at build time and cited in each lesson's source line. General information about how yoga works, not advice, and not medical advice. An honest no-demo book: no pose was performed and no photograph was staged by this machine; every pose claim is stated as its source states it. Rituals stated as this book's own plan (the lesson order, the practice asks, the first home sequence, the soreness and pain pairing, the decoder and checklist pages) are labeled as this book's plan. No product recommendations. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Wikipedia. No facts from Reddit, forums, vendor blogs or search engines.
Your purchase is for personal use only. You do not have redistribution rights: please do not share, resell, or republish this book or its pages.
© 2026 Steve Hodgkiss. All rights reserved. Personal use only; no redistribution rights.
Edition 1.0 · stevehodgkiss.net
Contents
Per the Wikipedia article Asana, an asana is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose, later extended in hatha yoga and yoga as exercise to any type of position, adding reclining, standing, inverted, twisting and balancing poses; the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali define asana as a position that is steady and comfortable, and Patanjali mentions the ability to sit for extended periods as one of the eight limbs of his system; per the Wikipedia article Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the eight limbs are yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi; the traditional number of asanas is the symbolic 84, and Iyengar's 1966 Light on Yoga described some 200.
What a pose is
An asana is a body posture: originally, and still, a general term for a sitting meditation pose. Later it grew to mean any type of position: reclining, standing, inverted, twisting, balancing.
The oldest rule is one line: the Sutras define asana as steady and comfortable, and the seated stillness is one of Patanjali's eight limbs.
The traditional count is the symbolic 84; Iyengar's 1966 Light on Yoga described some 200. One page, one pose, is plenty.
Sit once this week and test the only rule: steady, and comfortable.
Per the Wikipedia article Tadasana, Tadasana or mountain pose is a standing asana in modern yoga as exercise, not described in medieval hatha yoga texts, and the basis for several other standing asanas; the name is from tada, mountain, and asana, posture or seat; the posture is entered by standing with the feet together, grounding evenly through the feet and lifting up through the crown of the head, the thighs lifted, the waist lifted, the spine elongated, and the breathing relaxed; Iyengar Yoga teaches practitioners to balance the weight equally on the two feet, and the pose appears in the first and second weeks of Iyengar's asana courses in Light on Yoga; Norman Sjoman suggests it was adopted into modern yoga in Mysore by Krishnamacharya to form the primary foundation for his vinyasas.
Mountain pose
Tadasana, mountain pose, is the standing pose on which many other poses are founded.
The entry is quiet: feet together, grounding evenly through the feet, lifting up through the crown of the head, thighs lifted, spine elongated, the breathing relaxed. Iyengar Yoga balances the weight equally on the two feet.
It opens the first and second weeks of Iyengar's courses. It is a 20th century base, the primary foundation of Krishnamacharya's vinyasas.
Stand in mountain pose for ten breaths this week and let the crown do the lifting.
Per the Wikipedia article List of asanas, Uttanasana is the standing forward bend, a standing, forward bend asana described in the 20th century, recorded by Theos Bernard as Padahastasana and described by Krishnamacharya; per the Wikipedia article Sun Salutation, the Iyengar sequence of the Sun Salutation moves through Tadasana, Urdhva Hastasana, Uttanasana and Uttanasana with head up on the way into Downward Dog, and the Ashtanga type A sequence includes Uttanasana and Ardha Uttanasana, the half lift; letting the knees soften so the spine can hang is this book's plan for a beginner.
Standing folds
Uttanasana is the standing forward bend, described in the 20th century, with roots in Krishnamacharya's Mysore.
You meet it inside the Sun Salutation: the Iyengar sequence steps through Tadasana, arms up, Uttanasana, then Uttanasana with head up, on the way toward the floor.
The Ashtanga count names the halfway shape too: Ardha Uttanasana, the half lift. Two honest folds: down, and half up with a longer spine.
Fold forward from standing once this week and let the knees soften until the spine hangs.
Per the Wikipedia article Balasana, Balasana or child's pose is a kneeling asana in modern yoga as exercise; the name is from bala, child, and asana, posture or seat; from a kneeling position, bring the forehead to the floor and relax the arms alongside the body, palms upwards; it is a counter asana for various asanas and is usually practiced before and after Sirsasana, the headstand; it is not described until the 20th century, a similar pose appearing in Niels Bukh's 1924 Primary Gymnastics; named variations include spreading the knees, stretching the arms forward, a rolled blanket placed on the backs of the lower legs, and resting the forehead on stacked forearms.
Child's pose
Balasana, child's pose, is a kneeling pose: from kneeling, bring the forehead to the floor and relax the arms alongside the body, palms up.
It is a counter pose for various asanas and is usually practiced before and after the headstand.
Not in medieval texts; a similar pose appears in Niels Bukh's 1924 gymnastics. Named variants: knees spread, arms forward, a rolled blanket on the backs of the lower legs.
Rest in child's pose for ten breaths this week and call it practice, because it is.
Per the Wikipedia article Ujjayi, ujjayi means victorious or conquering; it is a pranayama, a breathing technique, practiced simultaneously with the asanas in modern yoga as exercise, and especially in Pattabhi Jois's Ashtanga vinyasa yoga; it is a type of diaphragmatic breathing in which the muscles of the throat, the glottis, are slightly constricted, causing the air to produce a whispering sound as it passes in and out; in Ashtanga the inhalation and exhalation are both through the nose, and are meant to produce a sound loud enough for the practitioner to hear but not so loud as to be heard by someone standing six feet away; it is described as a seated practice in Iyengar's 1966 Light on Yoga.
The victorious breath
Ujjayi means victorious. It is a pranayama practiced together with the asanas in modern yoga, especially in Ashtanga.
The mechanism: diaphragmatic breathing with the throat slightly constricted, so the air makes a whispering sound in and out, through the nose.
The volume rule from the source: loud enough for you to hear, quiet enough for someone six feet away. Iyengar describes it seated, in his 1966 Light on Yoga.
Try one ujjayi breath this week: narrow the throat slightly and listen for the ocean.
This book's plan for a habit that survives a bad week, resting on mechanics the sources state: per the Wikipedia article Tadasana, the pose is used in some schools in between other poses to allow the body and consciousness to integrate the experience of the preceding asana and to prepare for the next; per the Wikipedia article Yoga as exercise, sessions start slowly, become more vigorous, then slow down again toward the end, and Mysore style students practice on their own at their own speed within a three-hour window; per the Wikipedia article Asana, Patanjali's sutra 2.47 describes asanas as achieved by loosening the effort and meditating on the endless, and Norman Sjoman notes that one can only relax through effort, there being a distinction between dormancy and relaxation; no habit was tested by this machine, so the ritual is this book's plan.
A habit that survives
This book's plan for a habit, resting on the sources. Mountain pose is used between poses to integrate and prepare: little stations, not one heroic hour.
Mysore students practice on their own at their own speed. And sutra 2.47 reaches a pose by loosening the effort; Sjoman notes one can only relax through effort.
So the plan is honest: some practice beats no practice, and a bad week survives on one pose and ten breaths.
On your worst day this week, stand in mountain pose for ten breaths and count it as kept.