Yoga Drawings

Looking consciously at a Yoga Pose

You want to develop your yoga expression? You can learn a lot by looking at yoga postures.

First you look at a special quality, then you develop a feeling and consciousness for this quality and characteristic and then you transform it into your practice.

1. Learn seeing through artistical criteria


Seeing can be trained. This demands your ability to observe and to focus your consciousness on an object. It is possible for everyone and it is something objective. There are some easy and interesting criteria for poses in general: “lines of actions”, the perpendicular, “centers”, “tension” , “the plumb line”, “geometry”, “harmony”, “planes”, “coordination” and threedimensionality.

2. Seeing Dynamic in Yoga Poses

Heinz Grill. Half Moon Pose, (Anjaneyasana)
The two lines of action shape a concave and a convex bow

The seeing of the hidden dynamic in a pose can help you a lot, if you want to learn yoga. In a pose are leading directions ore forces. You can discover them. They are called lines of action. If you look at a picture peacefully, you can feel an abstract movement – if it exists. In this Anjaneyasana pose are two major movements or lines of action. One is concave and leads the legs, and the other one is convex and rising and refers to the upper body.

A yoga pose has an inner dynamic and abstract movement. In art, these lines are called “lines of action” and show the major movement of a pose. This seeing of the dynamic lines helps you to make your yoga poses lively and expressive. The lines of dynamic depend also on the person. People tend to have characteristic lines of action, depending to their personality.

3. Seeing lines of action in yoga poses

It traines a lot, to study the lines of dynamic in a yoga pose. The lines of dynamic depend on person and pose. Here are some examples for lines of dynamic in yoga poses.

Natarajasana (unknown) the dynamic is rising up but does not get cramped or overtensioned
there is one long lines that goes through both legs upwards. dynamic lines rise up in three parts

Pidgon Pose (Heinz Grill) – the dynamic lines shape a symetrical circle that is rising up from the ground
BKS Iyengar and Heinz Grill. The Splits (Hanumanasana) -continous dynamic and graduated dynamic
BKS Iyengar emphasises the rising verticality besides continous dynamic. Compleat Sitting Twist (Paripurna Matsyendrasana).
Geeta Iyengar emphasises the torsion in Paripurna Matsyendrasana.
The Splits, Hanumanasana, Heinz Grill

The tension is graduated. The most dynamic part ist the middle of the upper body.

The Splits, Hanumanasana, Iyengar

The tension is tending to be continous.

Tänzer, natarajasana, Heinz Grill
Dancer´s Pose (Natarajasana), Heinz Grill

The dancer rises up and balances.

Dancer´s Pose, (Natarajasana), Iyengar

The shape is directed. The form ist shaped in accurate technical guidance.

Warrior, Geeta Iyengar

The lines of movement are horizontal.

Warrior, Iyengar

Iyengar creates the same shape.

4. Seeing and feeling individual yoga – expressions

The expression of lightness and upraising. Lord of Dance Pose.Natarajasana

Every pose and every yogi has significant qualities. These qualities can be stronger or weaker. These qualities make yoga poses recognizable. The better you can recognize these qualities the better you can learn to improve your yoga poses. Then you can determine expression of your poses.

Articulated dynamic of Heinz Grill

Continuous dynamic of BKS Iyengar

5. Train objective seeing

Heinz Grill and BKS. Iyengar. The Splits (Hanumanasana) Heinz Grill portraits graduated dynamic, BKS Iyengar continous strength.

It is a kind of Freedom and creativity to see other yoga poses and to give the expression you want to your pose. Because the expression makes a yoga pose vivid and lively. If you know about your “Yoga-Expression”, you can better vary and create the expression you want.

This video “2People-2Expressions” shows always two different persons creating the same yoga pose. By seeing two pictures at the same time individual differences can be recognized easier.