YOGA
Do the Dolphin Pose
Kamala Venkat recommends the Ardha Pincha Mayurasana (Dolphin Pose) as it is easy to perform and yet has various benefits
Ardha Pincha Mayurasana comes from the Sanskrit words ‘ardha’ (half), ‘pincha’ (feathers) and ‘mayura’ (peacock). When you attempt Ardha Pincha Mayurasana, your body looks like an inverted ‘V.’ In this asana, you have to keep your forearms and toes on the floor, and the rest of your body is raised to make an inverted ‘V’. This asana is also well-known as Dolphin Pose.
Method
• Start this asana by getting down on your knees and hands.
• Slowly keep your forearms on the floor and ensure that your elbows and shoulders are parallel.
• Now raise your spine (back) and buttocks as you tuck in your toes and keep your legs straight.
• Make sure that your shoulder blades are firm and into your ribs. Now release (free) your neck by raising your shoulders away from your ears.
• At that point, take four to six deep breaths. After that, take three long and deep breaths, and hold the position for 30 to 60 seconds.
• After that, walk in towards your arms.
Benefits
• Calms your mind.
• Strengthens your arms and legs.
• Strengthens your bones.
• Stimulates the digestive organs and improves digestion.
• Helps in insomnia, fatigue, back pain, and headache.
• Strengthens and increases the flexibility of the spine, arms, and legs.
• Helps relieve stress and tension in the upper back region and is beneficial for those whose jobs require them to sit for a long time.
Precautions and contraindications
Even though this pose is easy to perform, there are certain precautions that you will need to take.
• People with shoulder and neck injuries should keep their legs bent while practising this pose.
• People with high blood pressure should avoid doing this asana due to inversion, which might put some extra pressure on the heart to circulate the blood.
• Pregnant and menstruating women should refrain from doing this pose.
• Those who have undergone surgery in the abdomen or waist region are advised to refrain from performing this asana because of the active involvement of the core region, which could be harmful.
Mrs. Kamala Venkat is a home maker with a great passion for Yoga. Inspired by Shri Swami Ramdev of Patanjali, she has been practising it with complete dedication for the last 20 years. She is a certified yoga instructor from VYSA (Vivekananda Yog Anusandhan Sansthan)