MONKEY POSE (Hanumanasana)

 

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.

Monkey Pose deeply stretches the thighs. It stretches and strengthens the muscles in the thighs, hamstrings and groin. It requires some serious opening in both the hamstrings and the quadriceps. While you are hanging out in this pose, the hamstrings of your front leg will be getting a meager stretch, and your back leg will be getting a slight quadriceps stretch. No matter where you are on your way to fully expressing this pose, your legs will be getting the stretch of a lifetime.

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.

 

CENTRE SPLIT POSE (Samakonasana)

 

Centre Splits Pose (Samakonasana) is the straight angle pose and is said to be one of the most effective poses of yoga.  Keep in mind that this pose requires time, patience and repeated practice with structured deep stretches for the inner thighs and the knees.

Method: The following is the easiest way to do this pose:

Step 1: Stand in a natural posture while feeling a deep stretch in inner thighs. Resting hands on waist, inhale and look up, and slowly spread both legs to sides.

Step 2: Resting heels on the ground, raise toes upward. Relax your thighs completely. After a few breaths of relaxation, stretch the inner thighs and feeling the stretch.

Step 3: As you exhale, using the support of the hands on the floor, slowly spread the thighs deeper till you feel comfortable.

Step 4: Move the hips closer to the floor. Stretch the legs sideways very slowly so that both the legs form a straight line. Let the body be kept straight. Make sure you are not exceeding your capacity while stretching your legs.

Step 5: To release, bring both the legs back to the normal position and relax.

Special Tips: Emphasize the perfection of technique. Let it be performed just after Side to Side Lunge exercise to search out more flexibility and stamina.

This pose should be practiced with an empty stomach or at least two hours after you have taken your meal. People with severe back pain or injury should avoid this pose. People with leg problems should practice this pose under specialized guidance. People having a slip disc problem should avoid this pose. Pregnant women must particularly avoid this pose.

Benefits: Given below are some of the benefits that are derived with the practice of this Pose:

The lower body, mainly the inner thighs, upper thighs, hips, and pelvic floor muscles are stretched and strengthened with the practice of Centre Splits Pose. It is a great pose for a daily dose of revitalization and rejuvenation. Along with stretching out your muscles, it helps to make them more flexible which in turn improves the workability of your muscles. The Strong and flexible muscles of the lower body provide benefits by giving support to the spine and upper body. The stretching of the hips while opening them is the most challenging part of a yoga practice and working on the same helps to establish a balanced body. With an overall flexible body, challenging yoga poses can be mastered with straightforwardness.

It surely requires a little bit of patience and effort but it is a great practice when considered in the long run for your physical as well as mental health. It helps in providing good stability along with improving your psychological health. Along with stretching out your most tense muscles, it will provide you with a high-quality dynamic state of mind throughout the day. 

Practicing challenging hip opening sequence like Centre Splits Pose helps to release tensions accumulated at the hips and thighs. Reducing and releasing these tensions makes for a stronger body that encourages self confidence and teaches self control.

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.

PEACOCK POSE (Mayurasana)

 

Peacock Pose (Mayurasana) is an advanced hand-balancing yoga pose which is the most associated with Hatha Yoga.

Method: To build strength and flexibility, take up the practice of Peacock Pose. Here are the steps:

Step 1:  Sit on your toes with knees kept wide. Keeping some distance between your knees will open up your hips.

Step 2: Lean forward to place the hands on the floor. The fingers will point towards outwards your body. As you lean forward, your elbows will bend slightly. Make sure your elbows face inward towards your heart.

Step 3: Fold the elbows and make the torso rest on the upper arms. The elbows should touch the sides of the navel. As you press your palms into the floor, your torso will press against the back of your upper arms. Your head will come forward. Raise your heels while toes still touching the ground. Keep the shoulders in a retracted position to prevent the onset of a shoulder injury.

Step 4: As you lean forward, stretch the legs behind and keep the lower body tight. Unbend your knees and extend your legs behind you, toes facing the floor. The weight of your body should be distributed on your hands and feet. Engage your core as you prepare to shift the weight of your lower body to your upper body.

Step 5: Lift your feet off the ground one at a time. As you gain balance in your arms, lift your legs so that they are parallel to the ground. Lift your head and look forward. Keep the body straight to maintain your balance in the pose. Try to hold the pose for a few seconds.

Step 6:  Release the pose by lowering your feet to the ground, then your knees. Lift off of your hands and sit back on your knees and heels to take the pressure off of your wrists. Slowly lower down the body to the ground in a resting position.

Special Tips: Emphasize the perfection of technique. Let it be performed just after Side-to-Side Push-up exercise to obtain more flexibility and stamina.

This is called a balancing pose for a reason. Though most of the bodyweight is carried by the upper body, you should avoid leaning all the way forward. With your fingers pointing towards your pelvis and your wrists in a vulnerable position, leaning the head toward the ground may cause harm to your bones. Remain in an upright position as you find a balance between leaning forward and backward.

Benefits: Peacock Pose is an advanced yoga pose because it requires upper body strength and balance. It is an arm-balancing yoga pose that is practiced for reaping the stretching and strengthening benefits.

The hamstrings, glutes, erector, spine and posterior deltoids make for posterior chain muscles. As you hold your body parallel to the ground in the peacock pose, an immense amount of muscle power is used that strengthens the posterior chain muscle group. The posterior chain is the powerhouse of the body. Keeping it healthy and strong is the key to maintaining good health.

The performance of Peacock Pose is a natural, effective and simple way to trim the stubborn fat. During the practice of the pose, the abdominals are contracted and are kept tight, which results in the trimming of excess fat from the tissues. Also, it involves core stabilization that also contributes towards shedding of fat from the body.

The placement of arms, shoulders and wrists in the peacock pose fosters strength in these body areas. Stronger arms and shoulders are vital for healthy movements. By balancing on your hands, your wrists and forearms are stretched and your core and back are engaged. This pose is a great way to release tension in the body, elongate your limbs and challenge your balancing skills. It is beneficial for building core strength necessary for other advanced poses. You will feel the stretch the deepest in your wrists and forearms, though your core will also be engaged. As you balance your body on your hands, the extension of your legs will help release tension by opening up your back.

As you squeeze your legs together to keep your lower body above the ground, your pelvis will also open up, and your thigh muscles will become engaged. This stretch opens up and strengthens the whole body. The anti-gravity aspect of this pose may appeal to people who stand on their feet for long hours during the day. So, start living your life with grace, beauty and strength of a Peacock with the Peacock Pose (Mayurasana).

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 like.

Final Position: Now enter into Natural Standing Posture and relax your body.

 

COBRA POSE (Bhujangasana)

 

Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana) is a back bending pose. Before you attempt any back-bending posture, ensure that your body is sufficiently warmed up.

Method: Follow the steps below without any jerk and stretch as much as you can in the Cobra Pose:

Step 1: Lie on your stomach with your toes flat on the floor and forehead resting on the ground. Keep your legs close together, with your feet lightly touching each-other.

Step 2: Place your hands under your shoulders keeping palms downwards. Spread your palms on the floor under your shoulders and bring the elbows close to the sides of your body. The arms should be bent at the elbows. Arch your neck slightly backwards and look up.

Step 3: Taking a deep breath in, slowly lift your head, chest and abdomen while keeping your navel on floor. Slowly raise your trunk and head with the support of the palms alone. Make sure that your navel is pressed next to floor.

Step 4: Pull your torso back and off the floor with the support of your hands. Keep breathing with awareness, as you curve your spine vertebra by vertebra. If possible, straighten your arms by arching your back as much as possible; tilt your head back and look up. Keep your shoulders relaxed, even if it means bending your elbows. Ensure that your feet are still close together.

Step 5: Release back to the floor with an exhalation. Breathing out, gently bring your abdomen, chest and head back to the floor.

Special Tips: Emphasize the perfection of technique. Let it be performed just after Knee Tuck with Push-ups exercise to get more flexibility and stamina.

Always work within your own range of abilities. If you feel any strain on your lower back, relax the pose to lower yourself a bit, or release down to rest on your forearms.

Women who are pregnant should avoid practicing this pose while on the floor. However they may practice it standing with their palms against a wall. Please avoid this pose in case of back injury, carpal tunnel syndrome and headache. If you have any health concerns, talk with your doctor before practicing pose.

Modifications & Variations: Remember to take it slowly and don’t push your body to achieve a deeper backbend.

If you are experiencing discomfort in your back or neck, only lift your chest as far as you can without causing pain. For those with more back strength, you can deepen the challenge by lifting your palms off the floor one by one, keeping your chest lifted. Keep your hands and arms in the same position as they were on the floor, but raise your hands a few inches off the mat. Maintain the pose for a few breaths. This variation emphasizes lifting with the back muscles, rather than pressing the body away from the mat.

Benefits: Cobra Pose is best known for its ability to increase the flexibility of the spine. It stretches the chest while strengthening the spine and shoulders. When done correctly, it can gradually bring flexibility and strength to the entire spine. It can be a great way to stretch out your spine and chest throughout the day. Bringing more flexibility to your spine will help you to feel more balanced, while opening your chest and heart will energize and rejuvenate you throughout the day.

An energizing backbend, Cobra pose reduces stress and fatigue. It also helps to open the lungs, which is therapeutic for asthma. This pose also stimulates the abdominal organs, improving digestion. It also firms and tones the shoulders, abdomen, and buttocks, and helps to ease the pain of sciatica. The male and female reproductive system improves. Irregular menstrual cycle problems are rectified too. This pose also helps in awakening Kundalini — the divine cosmic energy that brings forth self-realization.

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 like.

Final Position: Now enter into Natural Standing Posture and relax your body.

SEATED FORWARD BEND POSE (Paschimottanasana)

 

Seated Forward Bend Pose (Paschimottanasana) gives the whole support to your body‚ a good stretch, from your calves to your spine.

Method: Here’s how to do Seated Forward Bend:

Step 1: Sit on the floor with your legs straight in front of you. Press actively through your heels. Bring your arms straight out to the sides and up over your head, reaching toward the ceiling. Inhale and draw your spine up long.

Step 2: As you exhale, begin to move forward, hinging at your hips. Fold forward hinging from the hips as you exhale. Do not fold deeper than you can with a straight back.

Step 3: Keep length in the front of the body, moving from your belly, through your ribcage, chest, and then your forehead towards your legs.

Step 4: Let your arms slide down along the floor. Reach the hands to the toes, feet or ankles. If your hands reach your feet, wrap your first two fingers and thumbs around your big toes. Bend your elbows, keep them lifting away from the floor out to the sides and keep your shoulders away from the ears. Keep your knees aligned and do not allow them to turn out. Keep your back straight for as long as you can in the pose. This will help you get full breaths.

Step 5: Stay in the pose. To come out, first lift the torso away from the thighs. Slowly roll up the spine back. Then inhale and lift the torso up by pulling the tailbone down and into the pelvis.

Special Tips: Emphasize the perfection of technique. Let it be performed just after Sit up Crunches to get more flexibility and stamina.

Avoid this pose if you have an injury to your arms, hips, ankles, or shoulders. Don't force yourself in this pose. If you are too stiff to get much bend, just do what you can without pain. Because this pose compresses the abdomen, it may not be comfortable on a full stomach.

Variations and Modifications:  If you have the flexibility, reach the hands in front of the foot. You have the option to hold the outer edges of your feet in this pose. If you have difficulty reaching all the way to your toes, position a strap around your feet and grasp it with both hands. You may also bend your knees enough so you can reach your feet with your hands. If you can easily grab the soles of your feet, try taking a stone behind your feet and holding that instead.

Benefits: Seated forward pose provides a deep stretch for entire back side of body from the heels to the neck. It stimulates internal organs. It calms the nervous system and emotions as well as stimulates the reproductive and urinary systems. This pose stretches these areas and helps open up your hips. This stretch is excellent for runners who tend to have tight hamstrings.

It is also considered to be a calming pose. It is said that this pose can help relieve stress and even improve your mood. It calms the mind, prepares you for meditation.

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 so on.

Final Position: Now enter into Natural Standing Posture and relax your body.

 

SHOULDER STAND POSE (Sarvangasana)

 

Shoulder Stand Pose (Sarvangasana) has a favourable effect on entire body.

Method: Shoulder Stand Pose is safer and easier to perform. Here’s how to do Shoulder Stand Pose:

Step 1: Lie spine on the mat, feet together and hands resting besides the body. Keep the mind calm, body relaxed and take in a full breath. Exhaling, raise high the legs together enough to make a right angle with the body. Keep the legs straight in knees with toes pointing to the sky. Keep the knees straight and the body above the hip-joint on the ground undisturbed.

Step 2: At this stage, still exhaling, raise the arms and hold the waist and push the body up as far as possible. Put all the body weight on the arms and rest on the elbows, with the legs thrown upwards.

Step 3: When this position is firmly secured, by careful management, make an attempt to shift the hands slowly towards the waist, with the fingers extended to the back of the hip-bones and the thumbs pressed lightly on both sides of the navel.

Step 4: Set the chin in the jugular notch and place the full weight upon the shoulders, the neck and the back of the head. Complete the above steps in 4 seconds, while exhaling. Inhaling, raise the back and the legs up into a vertical position, placing the hands on the upper back for support.

Step 5: Try to keep the body in a straight line from the chest to the tips of the toes. The chin should rest against the chest, creating the chin lock. Make sure that the trunk is raised enough vertically so that the chin can comfortably rest against the chest. Fix the eyesight on the toes and maintaining the pose, continue normal breathing. Maintain this pose as long as convenient, breathe normally slow, rhythmic and natural.

Step 6: Return to starting position: slowly bend the knees and then gently lower the hips towards the mat, supported by the hands in 4 seconds, while inhaling. Release the hands from the back and assume the starting position. Take a few deep breaths and then rest a while, breath normally.

Special Tips: Emphasize the perfection of technique. Let it be performed just after Leg Raise Crunches exercise to get more flexibility and stamina.

For all head-low postures, great care should be taken to avoid any possible strain or jerks. Unguided and hurried attempt to perform pose may lead to undue pressure upon the heart, the respiratory organs and the brain, thus, causing giddiness or feeling of discomfort and enlargement of the calibre of the blood vessels in the head.

It should not be performed by people suffering from high blood pressure, heart conditions or brain diseases. It should be avoided during menstruation and pregnancy. It should be avoided if suffering from a much enlarged thyroid, enlarged spleen or liver as well as slipped disc, headache and weak blood vessels in the eyes.

Variations: For some beginners it may be difficult to raise the legs straight. If so then one can bend the knees a little while taking the position and then straighten out the legs. Some can take help of the wall to raise the legs. If there is tension in the back or neck then the feet can be slightly tilted over the head.

It's common in this pose for learners to press only the index finger sides of the hands against the back. Be sure to spread both palms wide against your back torso. Push in and up against the back ribs, especially with the ring fingers and pinkies. Periodically take your hands away from the back, press the shoulder blades in, and return your hands to the back a little closer to the head than they were before.

Benefits: The pranic flow is harmonized, increasing energy and having a positive effect on all the body systems. Improved efficiency of the organs of the body leads to youthfulness and anti-ageing effects.

It improves the function of the thyroid, parathyroid and pituitary gland due to the increased oxygen in blood. All of the other endocrine glands are regulated by the pituitary gland and so the overall function of the endocrine system is improved. This results in the improved functioning of all other systems of the body and the reduction of emotional and mental stress. It exerts wholesome effects of gravity-pressure on the various organs of the body above the waist including the vital endocrine glands. It stimulates the thyroid and prostate glands and abdominal organs. It balances the parathyroid glands which ensure regeneration and normal development of the bones. Due to the effect this pose has on the hormonal system, particularly the thyroid, it balances the circulatory, digestive, reproductive and nervous system. It normalizes body weight due to its effect on the thyroid. The thymus gland is stimulated which boosts the immune system.

Stagnant blood from the lower regions of the body, i.e. legs and abdomen‚ is drained to the heart thereby improving the supply of fresh blood to these parts and the whole circulatory system. Blood supply to the head area i.e. brain, eyes, ears, nose and throat, is improved thereby improving their functioning. Therefore all of the pelvic and abdominal area circulation, ear, throat and nose ailments are improved.

Toxins in the respiratory system are drained thereby improving the respiratory system. The lung capacity is increased as the diaphragm, which is the muscle of respiration, has to work against gravity in this pose, this helps in the abdominal respiration and is therefore helpful in the treatment of asthma.

Due to the increased blood flow to the head, the mind is tranquilized; stress and psychological disturbances are removed. It helps to stabilise the moods and make the mind peaceful. It calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild depression. It makes mind attentive contributing to self-confidence and self-reliance.

It is beneficial for women regarding the reproductive system. There is fresh blood to the pelvic region as the stagnant blood is flushed from the organs and therefore increased efficiency of the reproductive organs. It strengthens the uterine ligaments as the gravity acting on the ligaments in this pose is in the opposite direction. It improves the functioning of the ovaries. Besides, it also helps relieve the symptoms of menopause.

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 so on.

Final Position: Now enter into Natural Standing Posture and relax your body.

 

STANDING FORWARD BEND POSE (Uttanasana)

Standing Forward Bend Pose (Uttanasana) will soothe your mind. It is a calming posture that lengthens the hamstrings and activates the inner legs.

Method: This pose stretches the back of the body entirely. You must prepare for it, so always remember to warm up before you get into this asana. Here are steps to follow:

Step 1: Stand erect and rest your hands on your hips. Inhale as you raise your arms. Exhale and bend forward from the hip joints rather than the waist. As you descend draw the front torso out of the groins and open the space between the pubis and top sternum.

Step 2: Keeping your knees straight, place your fingertips or palms on the floor beside your feet, or touch the back of your ankles with your palms. Let your hands rest on the ground, next to your feet. Let your chest float over your feet. Widen the space between your chest bone and pubis. Turn your thighs inward, and root yourself into your heels. This will allow better alignment.

Step 3: Let your head hang from the root of the neck, which is deep in the upper back, between the shoulder blades. Bring your weight a little bit forward into the balls of your feet so that your hips stay over your ankles.

Step 4: To exit the pose, return your hands to your hips and slowly lift up, keeping the length in the front and back of your torso. Don't roll the spine to come up. Instead bring your hands back onto your hips and reaffirm the length of the front torso. Then press your tailbone down and into the pelvis and come up on an inhalation with a long front torso. Slowly stand up.

Special Tips: Emphasize the perfection of technique. Let it be performed just after Spot Jumping exercise to get more flexibility and stamina.

You must make sure to keep your stomach and bowels empty before you practice this asana. Have your meals at least more than two hours before you do the asana so that your food get digested and there is enough energy for you to expand during the practice.

Modifications and Variations: You may need to modify this pose if it is uncomfortable or difficult at first. Once you have mastered the usual form, set a new goal and work to master a harder technique. As a beginner, it might be hard to increase the stretch. To make it easier, gently bend your knees, and imagine the sacrum sinking deep into the back part of the pelvis. Now, decrease the distance between your tailbone and the pubis. As you feel the resistance, push the top part of your thighs back and press your heels down. Straighten your knees. But be sure you don’t lock your knees when you straighten them.

After bending forward, slide the index and middle fingers of each hand in between the big toe and second toe of each foot. Then curl the fingers under the bottom and around the big toe and wrap your thumb around your fingers. With an inhalation straighten your arms and lift your front torso away from your thighs, making your back as concave as possible. Hold for a few breaths, then exhale and lengthen down and forward, bending your elbows out to the sides.

Benefits: Traditionally, Standing Forward Bend Pose is said to help relieve insomnia. It not only heals but also rejuvenates your body. In this pose, your head is below the heart, and this allows for blood circulation in your head instead of your feet, giving your cells a rush of energizing oxygen. It eases symptoms of menopause, asthma, high blood pressure, infertility, headaches, and insomnia. Take a look at what more this amazing pose can do for you!

It is regarded as a relaxing and stress-relieving pose. It calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild hopelessness. It calms the mind and balances the nervous system. It reduces anxiety, depression and fatigue. It relieves headache and restlessness.

It relieves tension in the spine, neck, and back. It keeps your spine strong and flexible. It can relieve tension in the lower back when practised with bent knees. It stretches the back of the legs, the hips and spine. It also strengthens the legs, thighs and knees. It not only activates the abdominal muscles but it also stimulates the kidneys, liver and spleen.

It stretches and lengthens the hamstrings, hips and calves. It is common to have tight hamstrings if you run or play a sport that involves lots of running.

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 so forth.

Final Position: Now enter into Natural Standing Posture and relax your body.