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Yogic Postures: Lying Prone & Supine Poses
Bhujangasana or Cobra Pose:
How to: Lie prone on the seat with the legs extended & kept close to each other & soles pointing upwards. Place the Pelvis & knees on ground. Touch the forehead to the ground & keep hands near the chest by bending elbows, the palms resting flat on the ground. Gradually raise the head with a backward tilt. When the head sufficiently extended backwards, try to raise the chest from the ground, by contracting the muscles of the back, retaining all the time the backward tilt of the head. To attain a complete spinal arch raise the portion of the trunk above the navel by putting pressure on the hands & gradually widening the angle of forearms, with the elbows more & more, contracting at the same time the muscles of the back. The limit of the curvature can be, when a drag will felt near the sacroiliac joints.
Inhalation & retention of breath is beneficial while arching the different segments of the spine.
Duration: Maintain full pose for few seconds. Slowly, increase duration up to 2-3 minutes or more if possible by constant practice.
Benefits of Bhujangasana or Cobra Pose: The main importance of this pose lies in the curving of the spine backwards. Tone of the back muscles & circulation improves. Spine becomes more supple & elastic. Exercises Cranial nerves. This enables them to maintain their tone & activity for a long time. It stretches the muscles of the abdomen. This pose widens thoracic cavity to help full expansion of the lungs during inspiration.
How to: Lie prone on the seat with the legs extended & kept close to each other & soles pointing upwards. Place the Pelvis & knees on ground. Touch the forehead to the ground & keep hands near the chest by bending elbows, the palms resting flat on the ground. Gradually raise the head with a backward tilt. When the head sufficiently extended backwards, try to raise the chest from the ground, by contracting the muscles of the back, retaining all the time the backward tilt of the head. To attain a complete spinal arch raise the portion of the trunk above the navel by putting pressure on the hands & gradually widening the angle of forearms, with the elbows more & more, contracting at the same time the muscles of the back. The limit of the curvature can be, when a drag will felt near the sacroiliac joints.
Inhalation & retention of breath is beneficial while arching the different segments of the spine.
Duration: Maintain full pose for few seconds. Slowly, increase duration up to 2-3 minutes or more if possible by constant practice.
Benefits of Bhujangasana or Cobra Pose: The main importance of this pose lies in the curving of the spine backwards. Tone of the back muscles & circulation improves. Spine becomes more supple & elastic. Exercises Cranial nerves. This enables them to maintain their tone & activity for a long time. It stretches the muscles of the abdomen. This pose widens thoracic cavity to help full expansion of the lungs during inspiration.
Dhanurasana or Bow Pose:
How to: Lie prone on the seat; bend the legs on to the thighs, keeping the knee close to each other. Grasp the ankles with the extended hands. Keep the mouth close to the ground. Now try to raise the head, the trunk and the knees from the ground maintaining an upward pull on the ankles by means of the hands, until a definite backward arch of spine will form & the weight of the body rests on the abdomen. Breathe normally.
Duration: Stay in the pose for few seconds initially. With daily practice, increase the time up to 2 minutes.
Benefits of Dhanurasana or Bow Pose: Simultaneous raising of the trunk & the thighs backwards stretches the abdominal muscles, which helps to reduce abdominal fat. A spine, back & shoulder muscle becomes more elastic. This pose increases capacity of the thorax & the consequent decrease of pressure within it allow the lungs to expand fully thus presenting a larger area for the absorption of oxygen with each inspiration.
Benefits of Dhanurasana or Bow Pose: Simultaneous raising of the trunk & the thighs backwards stretches the abdominal muscles, which helps to reduce abdominal fat. A spine, back & shoulder muscle becomes more elastic. This pose increases capacity of the thorax & the consequent decrease of pressure within it allow the lungs to expand fully thus presenting a larger area for the absorption of oxygen with each inspiration.
Halasana or Plough Pose:
How to:
Practice this asana in three stages.
- Stretching &curving of the lumber spine: Lie supine on a seat with legs close to each other & the hands resting on the grounds with palms downwards; raise the legs gradually until they assume a vertical position, forming a right angle with the ground, all the time keeping the hands extended by the side. Then with a swinging action throw up the legs, raise the hips & the lower part of the trunk & simultaneously bend the legs & carry them forwards towards the head, endeavoring to make the toes touch the ground. Remain in this position for 4-5 seconds. At first, it is helpful to support with the hands the lower part of the trunk when raised. This will help to carry legs forward.
- Stretching & curving the dorsal spine: In this stage, push the toes still further from the head until the lower part of the thighs is brought to opposite the forehead.
- The hands which were in a passive condition are now clasped over the top of the head with a certain amount of pressure & simultaneously stretch the toes forwards to their furthest limit which is manifested by the chin pressing on the chest to produce a chin-lock & squeezing the venous blood from out of the thyroid gland.
Duration: Stay in the pose for 15-30 seconds. With daily practice, increase the time up to 2-3 minutes.
Benefits of Halasana or Plough Pose: This pose is helpful for the cure of dyspepsia & constipation. As it increases the secretion of all the glands in the abdomen, it may prove invaluable for the cure of certain types of diabetes.
The completed pose of Halasana or plough pose resembles a plough. This pose has the advantage of making the vertebral column, with its many joints; move on different segments of the arch during the various stages of the pose.
It makes spine supple, elastic & exercises all the muscles of the body, particularly the accessory muscles of the back & the muscles of the abdomen.
The later are powerfully contracted to keep the abdominal viscera well tucked up in the hollow of the diaphragm.
With the stretching of the vertebral column the spinal cord located inside it & also the nerves issuing from it are stretched, thus improving their tone & incidentally also the muscles into which they ramify.
The stretching of the spinal cord exerts an indirect pull on the sympathetic cords, which lie on both sides of the spine in the abdomen & connecting with the spinal cord by nervous strands. Stimulation of the sympathetic system tones up the involuntary organs of the body.
Halasana or plough pose is designed to tone the spinal cord as to make it fit to receive and retain the subtle unconscious impressions. Incidentally, besides doing this, helps maintain the health of the body due to improved circulation, toning up of the nerves & muscles & by a proper regulation of the metabolic activity.
Matsyasana or Fish Pose:
How to: Sit in padmasana, lie supine without releasing the foot-lock, which remains vertical. With support of the elbows try to arch the spine. At the same time bend the head backwards to ultimately rest the body on its vertex at one end & on the buttock the other; simultaneously with the arching of body, the thighs with the foot-lock should be extended so as to rest on the ground and fixed firmly there.
Practice this asana after Sarvangasana or Shoulder-stand pose.
Duration: Remain in this pose for 15-30 seconds initially. With daily practice, increase the time up to 2-3 minutes.
Benefits of Matsyasana or Fish Pose: Cleanses & revives the body parts left unexercised by the shoulder-stand pose.
In order to drain back the venous blood from the face, skull & the brain by the force of gravity one has to put the head so far back as to touch the ground with its vertex. This is not possible without bridging the body to a certain position.
In Matsyasana or fish pose, the bridging of only the upper part of the trunk is to help the vertex of the head to rest on the ground, at the same time keeping the pelvis fixed.
With assumed low position of the head, the venous blood in the face, the skull & the brain is carried to the most dependent part of the head & so is drawn into the right side of the heart by aspiratory action of the thorax & not by gravitation as in the case of Sarvangasana.
This draining of the blood excites the heart to increase its force of contraction & incidentally also the number of beats; these send a richer supply of oxygenated blood to the face, the brain & the pituitary body located at the base of the brain & the pineal body in the middle of it. This enhanced oxygenation tones up the brain & increases the secretions of the two endocrine glands mentioned above.
Another advantage of this pose is that it opens larynx as much as possible making deep breathing possible. The Matsyasana or Fish Pose, develops the muscles of the back, waist & neck.
How to: Sit in padmasana, lie supine without releasing the foot-lock, which remains vertical. With support of the elbows try to arch the spine. At the same time bend the head backwards to ultimately rest the body on its vertex at one end & on the buttock the other; simultaneously with the arching of body, the thighs with the foot-lock should be extended so as to rest on the ground and fixed firmly there.
Practice this asana after Sarvangasana or Shoulder-stand pose.
Duration: Remain in this pose for 15-30 seconds initially. With daily practice, increase the time up to 2-3 minutes.
Benefits of Matsyasana or Fish Pose: Cleanses & revives the body parts left unexercised by the shoulder-stand pose.
In order to drain back the venous blood from the face, skull & the brain by the force of gravity one has to put the head so far back as to touch the ground with its vertex. This is not possible without bridging the body to a certain position.
In Matsyasana or fish pose, the bridging of only the upper part of the trunk is to help the vertex of the head to rest on the ground, at the same time keeping the pelvis fixed.
With assumed low position of the head, the venous blood in the face, the skull & the brain is carried to the most dependent part of the head & so is drawn into the right side of the heart by aspiratory action of the thorax & not by gravitation as in the case of Sarvangasana.
This draining of the blood excites the heart to increase its force of contraction & incidentally also the number of beats; these send a richer supply of oxygenated blood to the face, the brain & the pituitary body located at the base of the brain & the pineal body in the middle of it. This enhanced oxygenation tones up the brain & increases the secretions of the two endocrine glands mentioned above.
Another advantage of this pose is that it opens larynx as much as possible making deep breathing possible. The Matsyasana or Fish Pose, develops the muscles of the back, waist & neck.
Shavasana or Corpse pose:
How to: Lie flat on the back with the hands & legs fully extended. Keep the feet apart by about 9- 10 inches with the toe directed outwards. This position helps relax the muscles of the lower extremities. Keep the hands close to the body with the palms pointing upward.
Turn the face sideways by rotating the head on its own axis. This will help to relax the muscles of the neck. Keep the eyes closed & the body motionless.
The relaxation of the trunk muscles is dependent on correct breathing. The muscles of the thorax & the abdomen normally begin to relax during the expiration & maximum relaxation reached during the period occurring between the respiratory cycles.
Next effort is devitalizing the muscles. To achieve this, nerves supplying the muscles must be made non-impressionable to both, the afferent (in-going) & efferent (out-going) stimuli. To begin with, try to devitalize the lower extremities, then the upper extremities, neck, face & lastly the trunk.
Duration: Retain this position for 7-10 minutes
Do this at the end of yoga session or any other exercise. Practice this pose daily after you come from your daily work.
Benefits of Shavasana or Corpse pose:
This pose if rightly practiced, is extremely refreshing after any kind of exertion & is very soothing to the nerves. Reduces high blood pressure & cures neurasthenia.
How to: Lie flat on the back with the hands & legs fully extended. Keep the feet apart by about 9- 10 inches with the toe directed outwards. This position helps relax the muscles of the lower extremities. Keep the hands close to the body with the palms pointing upward.
Turn the face sideways by rotating the head on its own axis. This will help to relax the muscles of the neck. Keep the eyes closed & the body motionless.
The relaxation of the trunk muscles is dependent on correct breathing. The muscles of the thorax & the abdomen normally begin to relax during the expiration & maximum relaxation reached during the period occurring between the respiratory cycles.
Next effort is devitalizing the muscles. To achieve this, nerves supplying the muscles must be made non-impressionable to both, the afferent (in-going) & efferent (out-going) stimuli. To begin with, try to devitalize the lower extremities, then the upper extremities, neck, face & lastly the trunk.
Duration: Retain this position for 7-10 minutes
Do this at the end of yoga session or any other exercise. Practice this pose daily after you come from your daily work.
Benefits of Shavasana or Corpse pose:
This pose if rightly practiced, is extremely refreshing after any kind of exertion & is very soothing to the nerves. Reduces high blood pressure & cures neurasthenia.