Repetition of Asanas

by Darren
(Australia)

I was reading about (for example)Tada Asana, it recommends to repeat 2-3 times, then progressing to walking on toes etc. My question is, is it beneficial to increase repetitions (10, 20, 30 times) or is it better to increase a work out by adding more types of Asanas...??

With the Tibetan 5 rites, they recommend a maximum of 21 repetitions, is this the case with Yoga ??


Answer
First you have to decide a sequence of yoga asanas which you feel comfortable based on your health and age. Practice this sequence daily.

It is advisable to do a set of asanas daily rather than doing a single asana for more number of times. However, for getting specific benefit required from a particular asana, its duration can be increased.

There is no hard and fast rule for the number of repetitions. Your body will let you know how many is enough. Do not overdo in the beginning (say for a month).

For a beginner, if your body is not flexible to do most of the asanas, do more repetitions with less holding time of asanas. If you have sufficient time and body permits, you can do more repetitions. When you get enough practice, duration of holding an asana can be increased and reduce the number of repetitions.

Finally, we can conclude that, it is better to gradually increase the holding pattern of asanas rather than doing more number of repetitions with less holding time. For example, if you can hold say bhujang asana (cobra pose) correctly for sixty seconds (typical value), only once is enough. So, with sufficient experience, you can hold your favourite asanas for approx sixty seconds without any repetition.

With Tibetan rites, there also you are increasing the repetitions over a period of time, max recommended is 21. It is similar to yoga. In yoga also you can do more repetitions if you so desire.


Daljit