BARPS: A method devised by Navtej Johar to practice asana more effectively.

Considering that stretching is fundamental to asana practice, the BARPS method effectively facilitates the “stretch” by progressively engaging the principles of bracing, aligning, joint rotation and poised breathing.  The name, BARPS, being an acronym of these five steps:

Bracing: Just as pranayama is described as “mindful breathing”, we define asana as “mindful contact with the floor”. Our first objective is to brace one end of the body firmly against the floor, offering it sthirata or anchorage so it can be effectively elasticised by being stretched in the opposite direction.

Aligning:  The pull in the opposite direction, however, requires alignment of the joints in order for the stretch to be safe and effective. For this the major joints that are involved in the construction of the asana need to be strung together and the vertebrae to be stacked one atop the other with some measure of precision and alignment.

Rotating: Joints are knob shaped and have a tendency to rotate at will depending upon the slack or tautness in the musculature of the body. It is important to become aware of their proclivity and orientation within the constraints of a specific shape or asana, and then learn to subtly self-regulate their rotation order to tease and ease the body deeper into the asana.  This skill and freedom, to self-regulate the shape and efficacy of an asana from the inside, fosters autonomy in asana.
Poising: The articulation of a stretch finally requires a determined moment of poise, a still “look before you leap” moment. It is exactly here that the mind and the breath may be gently ushered into the asana, making the practice more attentive, attuned, absorptive, spacious, and reposeful.

Stretching: The body anchored, aligned and autonomously calibrated, and the breath and mind reflexively poised, the cohesive unit comprising of body, breath and mind is ready to commandingly stretch and establish the breathing-body in a safe, fulsome and pleasurable asana.

The aim of the BARPS method is to ensure safety, promote efficacy of the asana, and to offer the body/mind promised experience of sukham and sthiram.  And, most of all, make the practitioner the master of her/his practice!