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Restorative yoga poses and hatha yoga stretches

English name: Bow Pose
Sanskrit name: Dhanurasana

Difficulty level: Basic

Technique

1. Lie flat on your stomach, chin on the floor with your arms by your sides and your legs straight together.
2. With the knees apart, bend your legs at the knee bringing the feet towards your buttocks.
3. Grasp your ankles from the outside with your arms straight, rolling your shoulder blades back and together to open your chest.
4. Breathe in deeply.
5. Exhale as you lift your feet up and away from your buttocks. The action should lift your thighs and upper body off the floor so that only your lower abdomen or, if possible, your pelvis supports your entire body weight.
6. Keep your back, arms and shoulders relaxed only your leg muscles are active to hold the position and your neck active to raise your head to look forward or upwards.
7. If you are able, once in the final position you can move your thighs, knees and feet together to further open the chest and intensify the back stretch.
8. The opening of our chest will cause your breathing to be rapid, breathe normally as you hold the position for 20 seconds to 1 minute.
9. Slowly lower your legs back towards your buttocks, release your ankles back down to the floor and take 2 deep energising breaths.

Breathing

• Inhale to energise.
• Exhale as you lift into the pose.
• Breathe normally in the final position.
• Exhale as you relax back to the ground.

Benefits

• Digestive system abdominal organs – The asana massages the abdominal organs and muscles including the kidneys, liver and pancreas. Helps to relieve constipation and improve liver function.
• Respiratory – The opening of the chest helps to strengthen the diaphragm and build lung capacity.
• Anatomical – Dhanurasana helps to align vertebrae and discs in the spine and stretches back ligaments, muscles and nerves for the treatment of slipped disks and relief from back pain. Dhanurasana is effective in straightening upper spine hunches.

Counter Pose

• Any forward bending pose