Bow pose (dhanurasana in Sanskrit) is a really difficult but satisfying backbend. Its problem lies within the quantity of power required of the physique’s posterior.
Equally formed postures like camel pose and bridge pose are sometimes simpler to entry due to how a lot leverage the physique can exert by urgent down with the limbs. Dhanurasana, however, presents solely the stomach as a contact level.
Due to your physique’s relationship to gravity, the power required for bow pose should come from the glutes, hamstrings, and higher again to elevate your higher and decrease physique off of the ground. With repetition and perseverance, your physique will perceive the best way to transfer into this pose and expertise the advantages of a extra cellular backbone.
Bow Pose (Dhanurasana): Step-by-Step Directions
- Lie face down in your mat, legs hip-width aside, brow resting on stacked arms.
- Press the tops of your ft into the ground and straighten your legs as you tuck your tailbone towards the ground. Observe a delicate elevate beneath your navel.
- Elevate your brow off of your arms and elevate your chest as you concurrently agency your buttocks and the backs of your legs towards the ground.
- Attain each of your arms behind you concurrently, rotating them so your palms face one another, and bend your knees.
- Elevate your chest and legs excessive sufficient you can seize the outsides of your ankles or the tops of your ft.
- Holding your knees hip-width aside, maintain your ankles or ft firmly so the backward resistance of your legs helps to maintain your chest lifted.
- In case your higher again is shifting nicely and also you’re in a position to look upward, give {that a} strive. Keep away from throwing your head again, and work on shifting your shoulder blades down and away out of your ears.
- Maintain for five to 10 deep breaths. You’ll be tempted to return out of the pose by merely letting go of your ft. Moderately than releasing your physique like a slingshot, slowly resist gravity, with the higher and decrease our bodies touchdown on the similar time.
Newbie Suggestions for Doing Bow Pose
Play with shifting your focus from opening your chest by pulling your legs farther again. Then, strive letting your chest transfer down towards the ground a bit to give attention to lifting your legs greater.
Brent Laffoon, teacher in BODi’s Yoga52 collection, says, “There’s worth in doing it each methods. There’s additionally lots to be gained by conserving your weight centered in your stomach and making an attempt to elevate each the legs and the chest evenly.”
How one can Make Bow Pose Simpler
- As a substitute of bending your knees and reaching to your ankles, hold your legs straight and strengthen them by urgent them into the ground and strongly partaking your glutes. This teaches you the best way to help and lengthen your decrease again, moderately than hinging on the lumbar backbone, essentially the most weak and sometimes injured a part of the backbone.
- Working your legs straight, apply numerous arm positions:
- Interlace your arms behind your again and work to elevate your chest up by pulling your arms again (also called sure locust pose).
- Prolong your arms straight behind you, and press your palms strongly down into the ground to elevate the fronts of your shoulders. Transfer your shoulder blades towards one another, spreading your collarbones broad aside.
- To switch the total pose, place a protracted bolster or two folded blankets beneath the tops of your thighs. Beginning off along with your legs already lifted shortens the space wanted to achieve your ft.
How one can Deepen Bow Pose
- Moderately than pushing your self additional into bow pose, strive holding it longer. Then apply popping out of the pose as slowly and gracefully as attainable.
- As soon as coming into and exiting bow pose turns into extra easy, proceed to deepen dhanurasana by lifting your ft and the crown of your head towards one another, creating an excellent greater vertical line.
- Attempt taking the pose to the aspect into parsva dhanurasana, or aspect bow. Sustaining the grip in your ankles, gently rock over fully to 1 aspect. On this very totally different relationship with gravity, really feel the ground beneath your aspect physique and tighten up the pose, tucking your tailbone and opening your chest much more. With even quantities of momentum and management, rock again onto your stomach, take a full cycle of breath, then gently rock to the opposite aspect.
