Purpose: Open the heart, Create Calm
Level:
Beginner
Benefits:
- Strengthens the spine
- Stretches chest and lungs, shoulders, and abdomen
- Firms the buttocks
- Improves menstrual irregularities
- Elevates mood
- Stimulates abdominal organs
- Helps relieve stress and fatigue
- Opens the heart and lungs
Soothes sciatica - Therapeutic for asthma
Cautions:
- Back injury
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Pregnancy
Strike the Pose:
- Lie stomach-down flat on the floor with your legs straight back, toes pointed and pressed firmly on the floor.
- Plant your hands on the floor under your shoulders and tuck your elbows in towards your body.
- As you inhale, straighten your arms, lifting your chest off the floor as high as you can while keeping your hips and legs on the floor. Press your hips down but don’t tighten your butt.
- Pull your shoulder blades back and puff out your chest but don’t push it forward. Make sure the bend in your back is distributed evenly throughout the spine and not concentrated in any specific area.
- Breathe easily while holding the pose for 15 to 30 seconds. On exhale, release the pose back to the floor.
Variations:
Avoid doing this pose on the floor if you are stiff or pregnant. Instead, secure a chair against a wall, place your hands on the front edge of the seat and balls of the feet on the floor to do the pose.
Don’t overbend your back. Keep your elbows bent until you have practiced enough to do the pose with your arms fully extended.
