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Dear friends,

On the morning of September 2nd there was a fire in the building next door to Santosha.com's warehouse (click for News Story). Unfortunately the building was destroyed by the fire. The tenants of that building were friends of ours and we are saddened by their losses. Thankfully no one was injured, and the building housing our warehouse did not catch fire. But our warehouse did suffer heavy smoke and water damage and our entire inventory was destroyed.

We are all working swiftly to restore our business. We are securing a new location and the ordering of new inventory is underway. Unfortunately we will not be able to begin shipping for at least two weeks. It is too soon to know the exact date when shipments can resume. In the mean time we are not taking orders on Santosha.com. If you are shopping for Incense and related products please visit our website Incense Warehouse. This site is taking orders but shipments will not resume for at least two weeks.

Anyone who has placed an order prior to the posting of this note has either been notified regarding their options or will be notified shortly.

Please note that our website is still open and you can still access Step-By-Step Yoga, Styles of Yoga, etc.

We offer our sincerest apologies for both the delay in recent shipments and our inability to serve your needs for the next few weeks. And finally, heartfelt thanks go out to all of you who have contacted us regarding the fire and have offered your thoughts, prayers and support. We look forward to resuming business as usual!

Warmest regards,

Sal, Tara, TJ & Cindy


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The Bow Pose - Dhanura-asana
Dhanur Asana - Bow Posture
Posture: Dhanura-asana - The Bow Pose
Translation: The Sanskrit word dhanur means bow-shaped, curved or bent. The bow referred is a bow as in "bow and arrow." This asana is so named because the body mimics the shape of a bow with its string stretched back ready to shoot an arrow.
Pronunciation: dha-noor-ah-sa-na
Difficulty: (5)
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The Bow Pose (Dhanura-asana) Instruction:
1
Lie on the stomach with the head turned to one side and the arms alongside the body with palms facing upward.
2
Turn the head and place the chin on the floor. Exhale, bend the knees, reach back with the arms and grasp the right ankle with the right hand and the left ankle with the left hand.
3
While inhaling, slowly raise the legs by pulling the ankles up and raising the knees off the floor while simultaneously lifting the chest off the floor. Hold the inhale breath. The weight of the body should be resting on the abdomen.
4
Tilt the head as far back as possible. Hold the posture as long as you can comfortably hold the inhale breath.
5
Slowly exhale bringing the knees to the floor, release the ankles, slowly bring the legs and arms straight down on the floor and turn the head to one side, assuming the prone posture you began with.

Comments:
The most obvious benefit of the dhanur-asana is that it restores flexibility to the spine. Regular practice will relieve lower back pain and release tension and strain in the upper back and neck area. The alternating stretching and releasing of the abdominal muscles increases blood flow to this area and aids all sorts of digestive disorders and discomforts. Strain or fatigue in the legs is also released after a few repetitions. Extended practice will help develop upper-body strength.

Durations/Repetitions:
The dhanur-asana is either held for the duration of the inhaled or between one and three minutes while breathing gently through the nostrils. Repeat it two or three times.
Variations:
The two variations of the dhanur-asana have to do with the method of breathing and the amount of arch of the back. As one progresses with this asana and is able to hold the posture for a longer period of time, the posture can be held while slow, rhythmic breathing is maintained through the nostrils. As the spine becomes more flexible try drawing the feet closer to the head. Some are able to join the top of the head to the soles of the feet although this is certainly not necessary to accomplish the dhanur-asana.
Yoga Posture Index
Adept Pose
Bow Pose
Camel Pose
Child Pose
Cobra Pose
Corpse Pose
Cow-face Pose
Downward Facing Dog
Eagle Pose
Forward-bend Pose
Fish Pose
Half Moon Pose
Half Spinal Twist Pose
Hand-Foot-Big Toe
Headstand Pose
Hero Pose
King of the Dance Pose
Locust Pose
Lion Pose
Lotus Pose
Mountain Pose
One-Legged Pose
Plow Pose
Powerful or Noble Pose
Restrained Angle Pose
Salutation Pose
Scorpion Pose
Shooting Bow Pose
Shoulder Stand Pose
Sun Salutation Pose
Thunderbolt Pose
Tree Pose
Triangle Bow Pose
Turned Side-Angle
Wheel Pose
Wind Relieving Pose
Yoga Texts
The Yoga Sutras
Hatha Yoga Pradipika
The Bhagavad Gita
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