Yoga Sequence

Apana Vayu Yoga Sequence

Practice for grounding and letting go

Apana Vayu is the current that moves down and out. It carries what the body no longer needs, and it is the reason grounding and release feel like the same movement. This is a short practice, built to settle you rather than wake you up.

When it helps

The day has been loud and you cannot find the floor under your feet. Your lower back and hips feel tight from sitting. It works best in the evening, or after a day that asked too much of you.

Energetic effect

Apana moves downward, away from the centre. Practising with that direction rather than against it is what makes the sequence feel like release instead of effort.

Physical effect

The hips and lower back open through the squat and the seated shapes. The final supine poses take load off the sacrum and give the pelvis room to settle.

Mental effect

Letting go is not a decision you make once. The long holds here give the nervous system time to follow the body, which is usually the slower of the two.

1. Mobilization

Marjaryasana

5 breaths

Cat Pose

Focus on gentle movement in the spine

Learn more about Marjaryasana

Balasana

1 minute

Child's Pose

Feel the connection with the earth

Learn more about Balasana

2. Stabilization and activation

Tadasana

1 minute

Mountain Pose

Optional: with active Mula Bandha

Learn more about Tadasana

Uttanasana

30 seconds

Standing Forward Bend

Stretch of the lower back

Learn more about Uttanasana

Malasana

5 breaths

Garland Pose

Opening of the hips

Learn more about Malasana

3. Settling and integration

Baddha Konasana

1 minute

Butterfly Pose

Focus on hips and lower belly

Learn more about Baddha Konasana

Apanasana

1 minute

Knees to Chest Pose

Gentle massage of the lower back

Learn more about Apanasana

4. Final relaxation

Savasana

5 minutes

Corpse Pose

Focus on an extended exhale

Learn more about Savasana

Integration

Apana is the least glamorous of the five vayus and probably the most useful. It is the downward current, the one responsible for everything the body puts down or lets out. We tend to treat letting go as a mental act. Decide to stop worrying about something, and it should be handled. It rarely works that way. The body holds on in its own vocabulary, usually in the hips and the lower back, and no amount of deciding reaches it directly. That is what this sequence is for. Malasana and the seated shapes open the areas where holding tends to collect. The supine poses at the end ask for nothing at all, which is exactly the point. Apana works when effort stops. Practise this in the evening if you can. The downward direction and the long exhale both belong to the end of the day rather than the start of it. And if you notice afterwards that something you had been turning over has quietened down without being solved, that is not a coincidence. It is what the downward current does when you give it room.

The teacher behind this sequence

Gründer & Autor

Manish Rana

Gründer von Asanaverse.de. Manish schreibt über Yoga, Ayurveda und Meditation und verdankt seine tiefe Verbindung zum Yoga seinen indischen Wurzeln. Mit über 1000 Stunden Yoga Alliance Teacher Training gibt er sein Wissen an die Community weiter.

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Go deeper into the poses

Every asana in this practice has a page of its own. You will find alignment cues, what the shape actually works on, and the energetics behind it.

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