Monkey Pose (Hanumanasana) is quite possibly one of
the most intimidating poses in the yoga practice. It requires lots of opening,
acute understanding of body alignment, and a great deal of selflessness.
Precautions: There are a few points of caution you must
keep in mind while practicing this pose.
While practicing this yoga pose, always
listen to your body and the range of flexibility. At no
point must the Pose be forced as it can harm you. You might end up hurting
yourself if you don’t do it the right way.
It is advisable to practice this pose initially under the supervision of a yoga
specialist. It should be avoided if you have an
injury in the groin area or
the hamstrings. Those with chronic shoulder injuries should avoid it.
When you
begin to practice this pose, your focus will be on your front leg and how tight
it feels. You will feel the urge to stretch your hamstrings as much as you can
to get the flexibility this pose requires. However, you must keep in mind that
this pose requires your front and back legs to be equally flexible. If the
front leg requires suppleness in the hamstrings, the back leg has to be open
enough at the hip flexors. Once you manage to get this right, you will be able
to balance yourself in this pose.
It
doesn’t matter whether your pelvis touches the floor or not. What is more
important is that you protect your lower back, and push only as much as it can
go. The key is to always pick up the signs your body gives, and stop when it
asks you to. But by hugging your inner thighs towards each other and pressing
your legs down, not only will it help to stretch your pelvis up, but it will
also help engage your hamstrings and support your joints. Just remember to keep
your breathing right through all the muscular action.
Method:
How to do Monkey Pose (Hanumanasana):
Step 1: Kneel down on the floor, making sure your
knees are slightly apart. Inhale and move your right foot forward and raise the
inner sole. Only the outer heel must touch the floor.
Step 2: While you exhale, gently bend your torso
forward, and touch the floor with your fingertips.
Step 3: Now,
move the left knee backward until the front of the foot and the knee touch the
floor. Making sure the back leg should be extending straight back so that the
kneecap presses directly into the floor. While you are doing this, gently slide
your right leg forward untill it touches the floor completely as well.
Step 4: To
finish off the pose and come into a split position, continue sliding your right
foot forward. Make sure the toes are pointing skywards. Slide your left foot
backward, making sure the toes are touching the ground. Relax your thighs. Hold
the position till you are comfortable.
Meanwhile breathe slowly and comfortably.
Step 5: Release the pose by shifting the body
weight on the hands. Press your hands on the floor firmly, and slide both your
feet back to the original position. Repeat the pose with your left leg forward
and the right at the back.
Modifications and Variations: Learners just beginning to learn
this pose are often unable to get the legs and pelvis down on the floor, which
is usually due to tightness in the backs of the legs or front groins. While in
the starting leg position, place a thick bolster below the pelvis. As you
straighten the legs, slowly release your pelvis down onto the bolster. If the
bolster is not thick enough to comfortably support your pelvis, add a thickly
folded blanket.
To
increase the stretch, once you split your legs and stretch your arms up, you
can lean forward, bend over your front leg, and touch your feet. Hold the pose
for a few seconds. Inhale and come back up.
Special Tips: Emphasize the perfection
of technique. Let it be performed just after Windmill exercise to secure more
flexibility and stamina.
Benefits: There are lots of benefits to
practicing this pose or working your way towards this pose on a regular basis.
Over time
this pose also helps the hips become more flexible. Both legs are strengthened and stretched. It opens the hip flexors. The opening
that is required for this pose means that you will be getting deep into your
hip flexors. Generally speaking, most people have extremely tight hip flexors
due to sitting in chairs all day and engaging these muscles without ever taking
the time to mindfully stretch them out. It offers one of the deepest openings
for this area of the body, and will increase your range of motion faster than
any other hip flexor-opening pose.
It
deepens body awareness. This
pose is one of the more challenging poses to get right when it comes to
alignment. In this pose, you will be asked to be acutely aware of almost every
muscle in your body which, when practiced mindfully over time, will help you to
develop deep body awareness. It
develops perseverance. For most of you, this pose is not going to appear
on the first try. Achieving the correct alignment, the deep opening, and the
core strength required to really master this pose will take some time and some
work. It develops the will of
mind to stick with a difficult pose and see yourself through the desire to give
up. This strength of mind can then be used in many other areas of your life. It helps develop patience in the practice. This
pose is going to give you the gift of patience. There is really no rushing the
body to open, and there is no forcing this pose to come any faster than it is
going to come. When you stick to this pose, you will be calling on your mind
and heart to be soft and gentle, to be compassionate and kind to your body.
Results of this pose and the preceding
exercise may vary from person to person depending upon many factors such as
technique used, availability of time, age, health condition, regularity,
discipline, mood, interest and the rest.
Final
Position: Now enter into Natural Standing Posture and relax your body.
No comments:
Post a Comment