Noukasana - The Boar pose

The Naukasana posture has been named after the shape it takes - that of a boat.  Here is a step by step procedure to practice Naukasana.

How to do Boat Pose (Naukasana)

1. First lie down  on your back with your feet together and arms beside your body.
   
2. Now take a deep breath in and as you exhale, lift your chest and feet off the ground, stretching your arms towards your feet.  Your eyes, fingers and toes should be in a line.
3. Feel the tension in your navel area as the abdominal muscles contract.
   
4. Keep breathing deeply and easily while maintaining the pose.
   
5. As you exhale, come back to the ground slowly and relax.
   

Benefits of Boat Pose (Naukasana)

Naukasana improves the functioning of the lungs, is useful in treating disturbed navel and relieves body stiffness and back pain. It also reduces excess fat from the abdomen. It improves digestion and relieves constipation. Hernia and Ulcer patients should not do this asana. 

Precautions

• Do not practice this yoga pose if you have low blood pressure, severe headache, migraine, or if you have suffered from some chronic diseases or spinal disorders in the recent past
  
• Women should avoid doing Boat pose (Naukasana) during pregnancy and during the first two days of the menstrual cycle.
  
  

Here is a video showing how to practice Naukasana

 

Pavana Muktasana - Practice and Benefits

The Pavana Muktasana is also called as Wind Removing Pose.   Pavanamuktasana is a yoga pose in which the body is positioned in a supine position. Everyone, regardless of whether he or she is a beginner or advanced practitioner, can practice this pose. The Pavanamuktasana (Wind Removing Pose) massages the organs of the abdomen and also eases tension that occurs in the area of the belly and lower back.

It is beneficial to cure gas problems and poor digestion. Regular practice of  Pawanmuktasana help to stimulate bowel movement which is very necessary for removing waste material.  Here is the step by step procedure to perform Pavanamuktasana.

How to practice Pavanamuktasana

•  Lie flat on your back and keep the legs straight and relax.  Breath deeply and rhythmically.
• Inhale slowly and lift the legs and bend the knee.  bring upwards to the chest till your thigh touches the stomach
• Hug your knees in place and lock your fingers
• Now try to touch the knee with the nose tip.  This may be difficult at the beginning but with practice, it is possible. Hold this position for 20 to 30 seconds.  It can be extended to 1 minute as per your capacity.
• Now exhale slowly and come back to the original position ( Shavasana).
• Practice 3 to 5 cycles per day

 Precaution :   People who have undergone an operation on belly or suffering from hernia and piles etc. should perform this asana after consulting some Yoga expert.  Pregnant women should not practice this asana.

Benefits of Pavanamuktasana

Here are some of the benefits of practicing Pavanamuktasana.

• This asana cures acidity problems, indigestion and constipation.
• Pavanamuktasana is very good for the abdominal organs
• Regular practice of this asana cures gastric problems
• This asana is very helpful for people suffering from arthritis pain, heart problems, waist pain and acidity.
• This asana gives flat stomach.  So every one can practice this asana for flat stomach
• This asana strengthens the digestive system, purifies impure air, helps in diabetes, high blood pressure.

Here is a video showing how to practice Pavanamuktasana.

How to practice Hasthashirasana

Hasthashirasana  also called as Hand to Head pose is very easy to practice.   The Hasthashirasana is very useful for fighting the effects of arthritis.  The arthritis patients can be benefited by moving their joints in a slow and controlled manner. Hasthashirasana which is very useful Yoga pose for Arthritis helps to improve blood circulation in the joints and removes waste products and toxins.  But arthritis patients experience pain while practicing movements of their joints. 

How to practice Hasthashirasana

• Sit comfortably in Vajrasana first.  
• Now in Vajrasana, bend forward in waist and place both the elbows on the ground 6 to 8 inches apart and ahead of knees with palms supporting the head.  
• Relax  all the muscles in this posture and continue normal breathing.
• You can see the posture in the picture shown at the right.

Januhastasana - Knee to Hand Posture

HereJanuhastasana  is one of the yoga asana which can be practiced  if you want to improve concentration and also improve blood circulation to the waist and lower portion of your body.

The meaning of the word 'Janu' means the knee   and 'Hasta' means Hand.   In the Januhastasana pose, the hand is placed just beside the knee hence the name.  In this asana,  the body is stretched like a string of a bow when pulled at the time or archery.

Step by step to practice Januhastasana

• First sit down on the ground with legs bent at the knees and folded backwards and soles upturned and toes touching the floor.
• Now as in Vajrasana pose,  place both the palms on the ground ahead of the knees touching each other.
• Push the neck backwards, chest outwards and waist downwards.
• Now relax your entire body with normal breathing.
• Continue normal breathing

Caution : The people with stiff joints should avoid practicing Januhastasana.  You should practice this asana only when the joints have free movement.

Benefits of Januhastasana

• Januhastasana is very useful for treating joint pains
• Hypertension and Gout can be cured by practicing Januhastasana
• The Januhastasana improves blood circulation to the waist and lower portion of your body
• The januhastasana is very much useful for meditation and for improving concentration

Here is a video showing how to practice Januhastasana.

 

How to practice Paschimottanasana

The meaning of  "Paschima" in Sanskrit is West Direction while "Uttana" means concentrated stretch.  The Paschimottanasana is very easy Asana to do but it is a difficult one  to practice.   Here are some of the steps to perform Paschimottanasana for getting the full benefits of this asana.   The back part of the body gets fully stretched while doing this asana, so this asana is also called as "Back Stretching Pose".

The Asana looks to be very simple but it is the most difficult of the asanas to perform.

Step by step procedure to perform paschimottanasana

• First sit on the floor with your buttocks supported on a folded blanket and stretch your legs forward in front of you.  Point both feet straight up towards ceiling.
• Make sure that you are sitting straight up and with your spine straight.  
• Now inhale, and stretch your arms up over your head.  By following the direction of your hands, lengthen the entire spine upwards at the same time.
• Now exhale and bend forward from the hips by keeping the spine as elongated as possible and reach towards your feet with your hands as you come down.
• Try to reach your feet with your hands.  The ideal position is to wrap your index fingers around the big toes, with the thumbs resting on tops of big toes.
• If you are not able to reach your feet, then you can let your hands fall comfortably on top of the thighs or alongside the legs on the floor or where ever they are comfortable.
• In this posture, avoid lot of curvature in middle part of your spine.  It is best to keep the back more straight, and bend from hip area.
• Once you are in position, you can gently pull the feet or legs with the arms, stretching the head more towards the feet and giving additional stretch to the spine and backs of legs.
• As you hold this posture, relax yourself as much as possible. With each exhale let your breath do the work - The abdomen should fall closer towards the thighs, the chest toward the knees and the head towards the feet.
• You can hold this asana for 30 seconds in the begining and slowly increase the time upto 5 minutes.

Benefits of Paschimottanasana

There are lot of benefits of Paschimottanasana.   The elasticity of the spine is increased with this asana.  This asana removes sliggishness and tones up the kidneys and obdomen.  Promotes better digestion.  Here are some of the benefits listed.

• Stretches the spine, shoulders.
• Reduces obesity, and increases appetite.
• Very useful asana for increasing height
• Stimulates the liver, kidneys, ovaries and uterus
• Reduces headache and anxiety and reduces fatigue.
• Very good asaasana na for high blood pressure.

Note :   The persons suffering from back problems, Asthma and Diarrhea should avoid practicing the paschimottanasana.  If any surgery is done, then also avaoid this asana.

Here is a video showing how to perform Paschimottanasana.

How to Practice Vajrasana

What is Vajrasana?

Vajrasana also called as Thunderbolt pose is the only asana which can be practiced immediately after food also.  To practice all  the other asanas, there should be a gap of at least 3 hours after food.  Like Padmasana, Vajrasana is also an Asana for meditation.  You can sit comfortably for a longer period in the Vajrasana.


The Vajrasana makes your body exceptionally strong and healthy.  Vajra means thunderbolt in Sanskrit.  Now let us see how to practice Vajrasana.  

How to practice Vajrasana

In order to practice Vajrasana, sit on your knees.  Take your foot backwards and touch the thumbs of your feet each other and sit right on your feet.  You should keep your spine straight and place your hands on the knee.  The breathing should be normal during the Vajrasana. Concentrate on the Agna chakra which is between the eyes.  See the steps to perform Vajrasana below.

• Fold your left leg in the knee and place the toe on the floor
• Fold right leg in the knee and place the toe on the floor and now join both the toes
• Sit on the pit formed by the parted heels
• Place the palms on the knees.

You can practice Vajrasana 15 minutes after food in order to increase digestive power and curing all digestive disorders.  Vajrasana can be practiced preferably after a meal because it will cure all indigestion and acidity problems in the stomach.  Your back pain also gets removed by vajrasana.  Vajrasana also makes your body and mind alert and strong.   If you practice vajrasana regularly, high blood pressure also gets corrected.   Vajrasana is an excellent yoga pose which boosts up the blood supply and refreshes the mind and thoughts.  If you practice vahrasana regularly,  it controls blood pressure and diabetes and other ailments related to stomach problems.  

Benefits of vajrasana

• Cures stomach and digestive disorders
• Can be practiced any time of the day
• Controls high blood pressure and diabetes
• Leg pain due to arthiritis can be removed
• Vajrasana cures urinary disorders and reduced back pain too
• Practicing vajrasana for 5 to 7 minutes is equivalent to a long walking exercise

Here is a sample video which shows how to practice Vajrasana

How to practice Sharangata Mudra?

What is Sharangata Mudra?

 We already studied about how to practice Padmasana in my earlier article.  Now let us see what is Sharangata Mudra or the forward bending.

The position of the body in Sharangata mudra gives a feeling of submission to the Almighty God. Sharangata Mudra is one of the best yoga asanas for controlling Hypertension.  The desire of submitting to the almighty God is the main theme of this Yoga Asana.

How to practice Sharangata Mudra

You should sit  in Padmasana position before performing this asana.  Here are the steps to perform Sharangata Mudra.

•  Inhale and raise your hands upwards from sides and the join the palms.
• Now exhale and bend the waist so that the forehead touches the floor
• Again inhale and raise the arms, neck and the trunk and straighten the waist.  Keep the hands outstretched above the head.
•  Now start exhaling and bring both hands down from the sides to attain Dhyan Mudra.

The hands should be kept as outstretched as possible in this asana.  The knees should rest on the follor and spine should be kept straight in Sharangata Mudra.  The forehead should be at the farthest point from the crossed legs when you bend forward.  While stretching the hands, the arms should touch the years.

One should be in this asana for at least one and half minute or two minutes to obtain the desired results.

How to practice Padmasana?

What is  Padmasana or the Lotus Pose

 The Padmasana or the Lotus pose is on of the important and most familiar poses of all yoga poses. The Padmasana or the Lotus Pose has gained its name from Sanskrit word Padma which means Lotus because the legs look like blooming lotus in this pose.  The Padmasana provides a firm pose on which to sit for meditation.   Hence the padmasana is best suited for Pranayam, Meditation and concentration. 

How to practice Padmasana?

 In order to practice padmasana, follow the step by step instructions given below.

• First sit with legs extended forward in front of you.
• Now take the left foot and bring it up on to the right thigh with the soles of the foot upturned.
• Now take the right foot and bring it up over the left leg so that it can be placed similarly on the left thigh.
• Take hold of both feet and ease them so that you can be in a balanced symmetrical position.
• The head, neck and spine should always be straight in Padmasana.
• Now place the hands on the knees with the fingers depicting the holy sign as in Jnana mudra.  
• Close the eyes and concentrate on normal breathing.  
• Sit in the Padmasana pose as long as you can.

 

Benefits of  Padmasana

 Here is a list of some of the benefits of practicing Padmasana

• Padmasana destroys all diseases and awakens your kundalini energy ( the dormant spiritual energy)
• Calms the brain and mind
• Keeps the spine straight
• Helps to develop good posture
• Helps knee joints and ligaments to be flexible
• Stimulates the spine, abdomen and bladder

Please do not practice padmasana if you have knee or ankle injury.   Here is a video of how to practice Padmasana.