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BSEB Inter Yoga & PE study materials
BSEB Inter Yoga & PE study resources

BSEB Inter Yoga & PE: Asana, Pranayama, Mudra, Bandha and Kriya: Techniques and Benefits

BSEB Inter Yoga & PE · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

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Asana, Pranayama, Mudra, Bandha and Kriya: Techniques and Benefits

What this domain tests

Technique, benefit and contraindication - the exam's standard triad. Expect questions asking you to classify a posture, name a pranayama type, identify a lock, or state who must avoid a practice.

Asana

  • Definition: sthira sukham asanam (YS 2.46) - a posture that is steady and comfortable, effort dissolving into steadiness.
  • Counts: 15 in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, 32 in the Gheranda Samhita, conventionally 84.
  • Classification: standing (tadasana, trikonasana, vrikshasana), seated (padmasana, vajrasana, paschimottanasana), prone (bhujangasana, shalabhasana, dhanurasana), supine (pavanamuktasana, halasana), inverted (sirshasana, sarvangasana), meditative (sukhasana, siddhasana, swastikasana).

Pranayama

  • Prana + ayama (extension/regulation). YS 2.49: regulation of inhalation and exhalation.
  • Components: puraka (inhalation), kumbhaka (retention - antar internal, bahya external), rechaka (exhalation).
  • Types: nadi shodhana, bhastrika, ujjayi, sheetali, sheetkari, bhramari, suryabheda, chandrabheda. Kapalabhati is technically a shatkarma kriya but is usually taught alongside pranayama.
  • Classic ratio 1:4:2; beginners are taught without retention.

Bandha and mudra

  • Three bandhas: jalandhara (throat), uddiyana (abdomen - empty stomach, external retention only), mula (perineum/cervix). Maha bandha combines all three.
  • Mudra covers hand gestures (chin, jnana) and whole-body seals (viparita karani, maha mudra, shambhavi).

Kriya (Shatkarma)

Dhauti, basti, neti, trataka, nauli, kapalabhati - cleansing practices preparatory to pranayama.

Worked example

Advise a hypertensive 55-year-old. Reasoning chain: kapalabhati, bhastrika and kumbhaka raise intrathoracic pressure and sympathetic drive → they are excluded → prescribe nadi shodhana and bhramari with equal counts, no retention, plus shavasana. Marks come from linking technique to physiological effect to contraindication, not from listing postures.

Traps

Performing uddiyana on inhalation; calling kapalabhati a pure pranayama; teaching retention to beginners; prescribing inversions to hypertensive candidates.