How to Practise:
- Sit on a mat with legs stretched out, thighs, knees, ankles and feet together.
- Back and neck erect, rest on your buttock bones.
- Bend your right knee and place the sole and heel of your right feet flat on the floor
- Wrap your right arm around the outside of right leg, and clasp right hand or wrist behind your back with left hand (beginners can hold towel with both palms as a prop, if hands don’t meet)
- Exhale and bend forward to touch nose on left knee without lifting your pelvis up
- Make sure that your sitting bones are firmly grounded
- Focus your gaze towards left knee
- Hold the pose for 20-30 secs
- Release the arms stretching both legs forward
- Repeat with other leg to complete a cycle
- Repeat 3-4 cycles
Benefits:
- Stimulates the internal abdominal organs
- It activates the digestion process and cleanses the organs
- Therapeutic for constipation
- Improves core strength
- Helps to remove excess weight around abdomen
- Calms the nervous system thus releases stress
- This posture boosts the flow of energy across the body
- Makes spine flexible and strong
- Strengthens thighs and tones the calf muscles
- Eases stiffness and stretches hamstrings
- Stretches the inner groins
- Strengthens back and neck muscles
- Opens and relaxes middle and upper back muscles
- Helps in deep stretching and thus opening of lower body
- Strengthens fingers & shoulders
Caution: Proceed gently and listen to your body; if at any time you feel discomfort come out of posture and resume after you feel comfortable. This posture should not be performed by people suffering from diarrhoea.