Exhale softly as you come down. 1SUPTA PADANGUSTHASANA Leg Stretch Yoga inversions with Belt Purpose: To stretch hamstrings, paraspinal and quadratus lumborum muscles, reduce spondylolisthesis and Yoga inversions lordosis, and improve pelvic alignment. This pose increases poise and equanimity, while coordinating and loosening core joints. Contraindications: Gastroesophageal reflux, hamstring sprain. Props: A yoga mat, a belt, and a blanket. Avoiding pitfalls: Keep the muscles of both legs firm and active, and the pelvis steady as the leg changes position. Relax your neck, face, and shoulders. Breathe smoothly.
We recall that the Brahmins were a privileged high status group maintaining critical sacrificial procedures. The blurring of social boundaries between them and others would wipe out their social identity – their social status. Social status is an expression of difference. No difference would imply no social identity, the loss of power and privilege. Much of Brahmin social identity was embedded in a ritualised life. By complying strictly with the rules and regulations of the ritualised life the Brahmin could maintain their difference. But at the time of the Dharma-sutras there seems (as evidenced in the texts) to be some confusion and disagreement among the Brahmins about their norms, hence the need to discuss the critical situation and the urgency to draw up the (new) lines of demarcation.
Yoga was discussed in two of the extant Dharma-sutras. The first time it was mentioned in connection with the young Brahmin student:
In this life, however, the eradications of faults depend on yoga. The learned man who uproots these faults that torments creatures attain bliss (Apastamba-Dharmasutra 1.23.3)
