Elevate your practice with Asana Cards

“By practising asanas, we not only release the accumulated tensions that have accumulated in our body, but most of all we achieve peace, harmony and connection of the body, soul and mind. “ - Asana Creatives

How often do you want to practise yoga at home but resign because you are not able to remember all the sequences of your favourite flows?

Of course there are plenty of handy apps enclosed in the small glass rectangle, and maybe one day we will dive into what kind of yoga guidance they offer. But yoga for us is a space where you dedicate yourself fully, your attention, awareness and will are needed to face the challenges of a solo practice.

Thankfully we were introduced to Dorota (@yogawithdotti) who is a certified yoga teacher, designer and creator of Asana Cards and the Asana Creatives brand.

Dorota lived, among others, in Mexico, where she taught yoga and got to know the eclectic Mayan culture and the beauty of the Yucatan Peninsula. That's where the idea for Asana Cards was born.

A card deck created to support you in disconnecting from the constant stream of notifications, messages and alerts disrupting your inner peace. Dorota wanted the cards to be a tool to deepen the independent practice of yoga with an emphasis on disconnecting from the world of technology, in line with the idea of ​​"disconnect to reconnect".

“Asana translates as ‘seat’, but the more modern interpretation of the word denotes physical postures or poses.” N. Gilani, The Yoga Manifesto

What’s inside the box?

Asana Cards are double sided cards with colourful illustrations of positions with their names in Sanskrit and English. At the back side of each card, you will find information about benefits and step by step instructions on when to do a pose, what it is good for and how to get into the right alignment. On most cards you will find an instruction to stay in each pose 5 breaths, yet of course you can shorten or extend this amount according to your needs.

How to use it?

Combine practice with deepening not only knowledge about names of poses but also their purposes and benefits. “Creating your own sequences- allow you to adapt the practice to your own needs and goals.”

Open the box, take the deck out and spread the cards in front of you. In a quick moment you will notice familiar shapes - downward facing dog, upward facing dog, mountain pose - ingredients to start your sequence with sun salutation. You will bring your home/travel practice on a new, unique level by getting inspired to diversify your flow with new poses!

If you are just beginning your solo practice and you are not sure yet what is the best order of poses, look up the cards with ready sequences. And pick cards according to the numbers and organise them following the order of the sequence.

Beginnings may be hard, because you will need to focus on multiple aspects at the same time. Yet thanks to bringing such focus and dedication, soon you will know better how your body reacts for a particular pose and how to modify it for you or simply, which asana you should skip.

“The cards also contain information about modifications that can be made in the event of inflexibility or other physical limitations. In addition, they also indicate when a given position may be inappropriate or inadvisable for certain groups of people.”

Why do we love it?

First of all - because we don’t need any device to look up what’s next in our flow. What is more, while using cards you get more familiar with recognizing basic yoga poses. “Each card has a picture of a yoga pose and its name in Sanskrit for easy memorization” - Dorota explains

Asana Cards are great travelling companions and tools for harmonious outdoor yoga!

Asana Cards will inspire you to refresh your practice and once you start playing with designing your own sequences you will spark the curiosity of poses you were skipping or never heard of! That openness for new elements in your practice will be followed by a fresh dose of motivation to keep coming back on the mat and exploring new possibilities yoga gives you!

Asana Cards deck (30€) is available to purchase at Studio Balance