The ancient practice of yoga has become the exercise du jour these days, especially during the pandemic everyone has turned to age old remedies and practices to cultivate immunity and a healthy lifestyle. Everyone from A-list celebs to you and us are getting onto the yoga bandwagon — and for good reason. Practicing yoga has serious health benefits beyond flexibility and balance. Studies have indicated that yoga helps in combatting stress and certain illnesses too!
Fluid yoga flows and poses look lovely on Instagram too! But are you all familiar with the Trikonasana and the Uttana Shishosana? We guess not!
To help everyone from yoga newbies to experienced practitioners, we have Melanie Gordon, a certified yoga instructor, to help put together a definitive guide to yoga poses – a sort of a cheat sheet to mastering the common poses you’re likely to encounter in most classes.
Bow pose – Dhanurasanana.
Feeling at peace with yourself is one of life’s great joys and the way we should all aspire to live our lives. With yoga postures and the help of a change in breathing, we can bring many changes to our everyday lives. Bow pose or Dhanurasana is one such pose that helps with flexibility and toning the abdominal organs. This lovely pose is found in many yoga studios all over the world and is still popular today.
Bow poses begins by laying face down on the yoga mat with the forehead touching the floor, gently fold the legs towards the body with the hands outstretched to grasp the corresponding ankles. Don’t worry if you cannot reach the ankles. You can always use a belt to tread over your feet to help pull the feet towards you. The knees should be wide apart for ease. Bow pose requires a shorter intake of breath before lifting the head and neck and keeping the arms straight as if recreating the strings of a bow. Pulling the legs towards the body and lifting the neck and head also, so it is possible to balance on the abdomen, even though the stomach is pressed into the mat, try 5 to 6 long breaths here and try to keep the pose for 20 seconds before releasing. You may find once you have reached the pinacol of the pose, a natural rocking will occur as you inhale and exhale.
This fantastic little physical boost is partially suitable for the pancreas and can help manage diabetes. However, as with all yoga poses, there are caveats, and people with high blood pressure, stomach hernia, and stomach ulcers should not attempt this pose. If feeling unsure about Bow pose, build up slowly with Lotus or Crescent Moon.
Helping to achieve well-being no matter what stage of life you are at with the help of yoga is a little physical boost to help you feel better and nurture your ongoing goals for harmony and contentment in life.