Yoga · Illustration · System

Nishidana

An illustrated yoga card system — with a companion app, multilingual and drawn in multiple body types. A feinedesign original.

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The Origin

From a seat came a system.

Nishidana didn’t begin with a card, but with a seat. For the SITZEN project, feinedesign designed a maple meditation bench — and found its name in it: niṣīdana, the seat one settles onto. The object became a practice, and the practice a card system.

One character, many bodies

The same posture, at home in every body.

Every pose is drawn in multiple body types — so everyone who practises can see themselves in it.

Front and back

What every card carries.

Most decks show only the beautiful front. With Nishidana, the back is a considered system: clear key actions, benefits and structured transitions — on every card.

Key Actions

Root evenly through all four corners of the feet.

Lengthen through the spine and the crown of the head.

Relax the shoulders while staying active and steady.

Benefits

Improves posture and body awareness.

Develops balance and grounding.

Establishes calm focus and steady breathing.

Creates a strong foundation for standing sequences.

Possible Transitions

Into

Step forward from Adho Mukha Śvānāsana (Downward-Facing Dog)

Rise from Uttānāsana (Standing Forward Fold)

Standing at the beginning of practice

Out of

Utkaṭāsana (Chair Pose)

Vṛkṣāsana (Tree Pose)

Uttānāsana (Standing Forward Fold)

Sun Salutation flows

Another example

Head-to-Knee Pose

Jānu Śīrṣāsana

Key Actions

Draw the bent knee wide and press the sole into the inner thigh.

Turn the chest to face the extended leg before folding.

Lengthen the front of the body rather than rounding to reach.

Benefits

Releases the hamstrings and the whole back line of the body.

Opens one hip at a time, revealing side-to-side differences.

Calms the nervous system and slows the breath.

Gently mobilises the spine in a supported forward fold.

Possible Transitions

Into

Bend one knee from Daṇḍāsana (Staff Pose)

Open one leg from Paścimottānāsana (Seated Forward Fold)

Seated cool-down

Out of

Paścimottānāsana (Seated Forward Fold)

Baddha Koṇāsana (Bound Angle Pose)

Before reclined twists and rest

From deck to practice

Cards that become a practice.

Every card is part of a system: one shared data model powers the printed deck and the companion app. Single postures become transitions, transitions become sequences — and one deck becomes a growing family: Yin, Restorative, Chair, Anatomy.

Zwei Haltungen im Übergang – Vīrabhadrāsana I und Vorbeuge

Scalable

One system, many decks.

One illustrated character, one data model — any number of decks. From Yin through Restorative to Chair Yoga: every deck shares the same DNA, in its own palette.

Nishidana × feinedesign

Let’s talk about Nishidana.

A feinedesign original — for publishers, studios and partners who’d like to think further with us.

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