Stretches the chest and lungs. Upward Bow (Wheel) Pose

Need an energy boost? Urdhva Dhanurasana can help—and strengthen your arms, legs, abdomen, and spine in the process.

Upward Bow (Wheel) Pose: Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1

Lie supine on the floor. Bend your knees and set your feet on the floor, heels as close to the sitting bones as possible. Bend your elbows and spread your palms on the floor beside your head, forearms relatively perpendicular to the floor, fingers pointing toward your shoulders.

Step 2

Pressing your inner feet actively into the floor, exhale and push your tailbone up toward the pubis, firming (but not hardening) the buttocks, and lift the buttocks off the floor. Keep your thighs and inner feet parallel. Take 2 or 3 breaths. Then firmly press the inner hands into the floor and your shoulder blades against the back and lift up onto the crown of your head. Keep your arms parallel. Take 2 or 3 breaths.

Step 3

Press your feet and hands into the floor, tailbone and shoulder blades against your back, and with an exhalation, lift your head off the floor and straighten your arms. Turn the upper thighs slightly inward and firm the outer thighs. Narrow the hip points and lengthen the tailbone toward the backs of the knees, lifting the pubis toward the navel.

Step 4

Turn the upper arms outward but keep the weight on the bases of the index fingers. Spread the shoulder blades across the back and let the head hang, or lift it slightly to look down at the floor.

Step 5

Stay in the pose anywhere from 5 to 10 seconds or more, breathing easily. Repeat anywhere from 3 to 10 times.

Modifications and Props

Often the armpits and/or groins are tight and restrict full movement into this pose. You can support either your hands or feet on a pair of blocks to help yourself realize the full backbend. Be sure to brace the blocks against a wall, and if you like, cover them with a sticky mat to keep the hands or feet from slipping.

Benefits

Stretches the chest and lungs
Strengthens the arms and wrists, legs, buttocks, abdomen, and spine
Stimulates the thyroid and pituitary
Increases energy and counteracts depression
Therapeutic for asthma, back pain, infertility, and osteoporosis

이 블로그의 인기 게시물

Strengthens the wrists, arms, and abdomen. Scale Pose

Strengthen your wrists, arms, and abs, hanging in the balance of Tolasana. Scale Pose: Step-by-Step Instructions Step 1 Perform Padmasana (Lotus Pose). Place the palms on the floor beside the hips. Step 2 Exhale, push the hands against the floor, contract the abdominal muscles, and lift the legs and buttocks away from the floor. Step 3 Hold suspended for 10 to 15 seconds. Then lower your legs and buttocks on an exhalation, change the cross of the legs, and repeat for the same length of time. Modifications and Props With the hands on the floor, it's often difficult to lift the legs away from the floor. Use a block under each hand to increase the length of the arms and assist the lift of the legs. Benefits Strengthens the wrists, arms, and abdomen Modifications and Props With the hands on the floor, it's often difficult to lift the legs away from the floor. Use a block under each hand to increase the length of the ...

자세한 내용 보기

Yoga exercise for stress. Wide-Legged Forward Bend

Open wide into Prasarita Padottanasana I to increase flexibility by leaps and bounds. Wide-Legged Forward Bend: Step-by-Step Instructions Step 1 Stand in Tadasana (Mountain Pose), facing one of the long edges of your sticky mat, then step or lightly hop your feet apart anywhere from 3 to 4 1/2 feet (depending on your height: taller people should step wider). Rest your hands on your hips. Make sure your inner feet are parallel to each other. Lift your inner arches by drawing up on the inner ankles, and press the outer edges of your feet and ball of the big toe firmly into the floor. Engage the thigh muscles by drawing them up. Inhale and lift your chest, making the front torso slightly longer than the back. Step 2 Exhale and, maintaining the length of the front torso, lean the torso forward from the hip joints. As your torso approaches parallel to the floor, press your fingertips onto the floor directly below your shoulders. Extend your elbows fully. Your l...

자세한 내용 보기

Stretches and stimulates the muscles of the belly and front of the neck. Fish Pose

It is said that if you perform the fish pose in water, you will be able to float like a fish. Fish Pose: Step-by-Step Instructions Step 1 Lie on your back on the floor with your knees bent, feet on the floor. Inhale, lift your pelvis slightly off the floor, and slide your hands, palms down, below your buttocks. Then rest your buttocks on the backs of your hands (and don’t lift them off your hands as you perform this pose). Be sure to tuck your forearms and elbows up close to the sides of your torso. Step 2 Inhale and press your forearms and elbows firmly against the floor. Next press your scapulas into your back and, with an inhale, lift your upper torso and head away from the floor. Then release your head back onto the floor. Depending on how high you arch your back and lift your chest, either the back of your head or its crown will rest on the floor. There should be a minimal amount of weight on your head to avoid crunching your neck. (For more about this, ...

자세한 내용 보기

Yoga Alone Blog

이 블로그 검색