Asana

Yoga Asanas for Digestion

Hastottanasana

Hastottanasana is made of three words: hasta, uttana and asana. Hasta means ‘arms’; uttana means ‘stretch up’ and asana means ‘posture’. In this posture, the arms are stretched upwards, hence, it is called Hastottanasana.

Formation:

Stand erect on the ground, keep both feet together
Slowly inhaling, raise both arms over the head and join your palms
Exhale, release your arms sideways to Samasthithi

Breathing Methodology

Softly inhale while raising your arms up and exhale bringing them down

Benefits:–

It stretches the muscles of the ribs
It reduces pain in neck, shoulders and arms
It is beneficial for increasing the height of growing children
It increases the flexibility of colons

Word of Advice

Go slow if you have injured your shoulder

Malasana

Malasanais also known as the garland pose, squat pose is an asana.

Formation:

Stand in Samasthithi with your feet apart, distance of your shoulders
Lower yourself to squat position gently
Separate your thighs slightly wider than your torso. Exhaling, lean your torso to fit it snugly between your thighs.
Keep your feet flat on the ground and join you palms together

Benefits:–

Opens your hips and groin
Stretches your ankles, lower hamstrings, back and neck
Tones your abdominals
Aids in digestion
Strengthens your metabolism

Word of Advice

Go slow if you have injured your knees

Vajrasana – Thunderbolt pose

Formation of the Posture

Begin by standing straight with your arms by the sides of your body
Lean forward and slowly drop your knees on your mat
Place your pelvis on your heels and point your toes outward
Here, your thighs should press your calf muscles
Keep your heels slightly apart from each other
Place your palms on your knees facing upward
Straighten your back and look forward
Hold this asana for a while

Breathing Methodology

Softly inhale and exhale

Benefits

This asana aids digestion. This is the only asana which can be practiced right after having food.
The calf muscles are also sometimes known as the second heart of the body because our mobility is determined by the strength in your calf muscles. Vajrasana mobilizes and massages your calf muscles
Asana relaxes and strengthens feet, ankle, and knee caps.
Ankles are flexed
Lubricates knee caps
Good posture for meditation and/or pranayam

Word of Advice

A person suffering from knee joint pain, Arthritis or any knee injury should avoid this asana

Paschimottanasana – Seated forward bend

Formation of the Posture

Begin with Dandasana
Ensure that your knees are slightly bent while your legs are stretched out forward
Extend your arms upward and keep your spine erect
Exhale and empty your stomach of air
With the exhale, bend forward at the hip and place your upper body on your lower body
Lower your arms and grip your big toes with your fingers
Try to touch your knees with your nose
Hold the posture for 10 seconds

Breathing Methodology

Inhale while you lift your arms up.
Exhale while you bend forward.

Navigating back from the posture

Release the grip of your toes and bring your upper body back to erect position.
Place palms on the floor beside your thighs into Dandasana
Bend both knees and bring your feet toward your pelvis to form Sukhaasan

Benefits

It acts as a stress reliever
Reduces fatty deposits in the abdomen
Removes anxiety, anger and irritability
Calms the mind
Stretches the spine and brings flexibility
Good for constipation and digestive disorder
Useful for increasing height in young practitioners by stretching of the spine
Tones the abdominal pelvic organs
Balance the menstrual cycles
This asana is recommended especially for women after delivery

Word of advice

Pregnant women should refrain from practicing
Practitioners suffering from slip disc sciatica or asthma should avoid
Ulcer patients should avoid practicing this aasana

Savithri asana

Formation of the posture

Begin with Samsthithi. Stretch your arms outward begin to bend your knees
Bend your upper body and place your arms on the floor to support your body as you lower your knees and place them on the floor
With your body weight supported by your lower legs and knees, keep your upper body perpendicular to the floor
Stretch your arms up to the sky with palms hovering shoulder distance from and facing each other
Face forward
Your arms, spine, hips and thighs should be in one straight line

Breathing Methodology

Inhale as you raise your arms up.

Navigating back from the posture

Bring your arms back beside your body
Lower your pelvis and place it on your heels in Vajrasana with your palms beside your body on the floor
With your palms, push off the floor and stand in Samasthithi

Benefits

Improves sense of balance
Knees are strengthened

Word of Advice

Practitioners suffering from knee issues should refrain from performing this asana

BaddhaMalasana – Full Squat Pose

Formation of the Posture

Begin by standing straight with your arms by the sides of your body
Bend your knees, lower your pelvis and place it over your heels
Ensure that your feet remain flat on the floor
Lift your right arm up and wrap in around your right knee, turning the arm from inside
Lock your right palm with your left
Spine remains erect
Repeat on other side

Breathing Methodology

Exhale as you squat down

Navigating back from the posture

Place your palms down by the sides of your body
Extend your legs forward and relax in Dandasana

Benefits

Increases flexibility in hip
Stimulates nervous system
Strengthens thighs ankles, knees, shoulders, arms and neck when held for long
Mobilizes and lubricates ankles and knee joints

Word of Advice

Go slow if you have injured your knees