Try these simple asanas for improving blood circulation

Sit comfortably on a chair, bed or yoga mat if possible with legs stretched out in front of you, hands resting beside you or at the back as support. See that the back and head are aligned and erect. You may take back support. This is the base position for the following two asanas.

Ankle Joint movements: Inhale and pull both feet towards yourself. Exhale and move them away from bending the feet towards the floor. Both movements are executed with ankle joint movement. This is one round. Do five to 10 rounds.

Ankle joint rotation: Sitting in the base position, rotate your ankle joint five rounds in clockwise direction and five rounds in anti-clockwise direction.

Propping up legs while lying on the back: Lie down on a sofa or bed with head and spine aligned. This is the base position for the next two practices.

Simple Sarvang asana: Place some pillows so that you can prop your legs up to about 30 degrees. Lie down and either watch your own breath with eyes closed or practise Shavasana in this posture by listening to an audio recording of it. Then you can keep increasing to 60 degrees with the help of pillows or by propping up against a wall and lying down and relaxing for five to 10 minutes. By and by, you can prop it up to 90 degrees and rest for five minutes.

Yogic breathing: This is a very effective relaxation routine that helps in proper blood circulation in the copy.

First part

· Keep lying down on your back.

· Inhale deep and balloon up your stomach to its maximum capacity.

· Exhale and deflate your stomach and pull your navel towards your spine.

· This is one round of abdominal yogic breathing.

· Do three rounds in the beginning, you do up to five rounds.

Second part

· Then as you inhale, just fill up your chest area only with your rib cage moving up.

· Exhale and deflate your rib cage.

· This is one round of thoracic breathing.

· Start with three rounds and take it to five rounds.

Third part:

· Inhale and balloon up the stomach and with the same breath, inflate your chest area too.

· When you exhale, first deflate the chest area, then the stomach

· This is one round. Do three rounds initially and take it up to five rounds.

Nadi Shodhan (Alternate nostril breathing):

· Sit comfortably on the chair

· Raise your right hand and fix the middle and forefinger at the eyebrow centre.

· Use the thumb to close the right nostrils and ring finger to close the left nostril.

· Close your right nostril and inhale deep from the left nostril.

· When you want to exhale, then close the left nostril and exhale through the right nostril.

· Then inhale through the right and exhale through the left.

· This makes one round.

· Begin with three rounds and build it to five rounds.

Hridaya Mudra

· At the end of the practice or any time during the day, you can do this mudra.

· Join the thumb with the middle and ring finger of both palms.

· Bend your forefinger to touch the base of the thumb.

· The little finger will be pointing outwards.

· Close your eyes, perform Hridaya Mudra, and watch the inflow and outflow of breath inside both nostrils.

· Do this for three minutes initially and then can be done for any length of time.

Do all practices in consultation with your doctor and watch out for diet and lifestyle changes to get the full effect.

(Kamini Bobde is a Kundalini practitioner who follows the Swami Satyananda Saraswati tradition of yoga. She is the author of Kundalini Yoga for All: Unlock the Power of Your Body and Brain. Published by Penguin)