Reclining Hero Pose, Variation - Natural Health News

Sanskrit Name: Supta Virasana

Good for: Arthritis, asthma, diarrhea, feet, head, infertility, gas, insomnia, respiration, varicose veins, sciatica etc.

Benefits

Stretches the abdomen, thighs and deep hip flexors (psoas), knees, and ankles
Provides strength to the arches
Provides comfort to the tired legs
Developsand enhances digestion
Helps dismisses the symptoms of menstrual pain

Guidelines

Perform Virasana
Exhale and lower your back torso toward the floor
First lean onto your hands, then your forearms and elbows
Once you are on your elbows, place your hands on the back of the pelvis and release your lower back and upper buttocks by spreading the flesh down toward the tailbone
Then finish reclining, either onto the floor or a support blanket or bolster
If your front ribs jut up sharply toward the ceiling, it’s a sign of tight groins, which pulls your front pelvis toward your knees and causes your belly and lower back to tense
Use your hands to press your front ribs down slightly
Lift your pubis toward your navel
This should lengthen your lower back and lower it towards the floor
Raise yourself onto a higher support if it doesn’t lengthen your lower back
Lay your arms and hands on the floor, angled about 45 degrees from the sides of your torso, palms up
Sink the heads of the thighbones deep into the back of the hip sockets
It’s alright to lift your knees a little away from the floor to help soften your groins; in fact, you can raise your knees a few inches on a thickly folded blanket
You can also allow a little bit of space between your knees as long as your thighs remain parallel to each other
Do not, however, allow the knees to splay apart wider than your hips because this will cause strain on the hips and lower back
To begin, stay in this pose for 30 seconds to 1 minute
Gradually extend your stay to 5 minutes
To come out, press your forearms against the floor and come onto your hands
Then use your hands to lift your torso into Virasana
As you come up, lead with your sternum, not your head or chin
Come out of Virasana in the recommended manner

Good to know

In case of any serious back, knee, or ankle problems, avoid this pose or take help from an experienced instructor
If youare not able to recline fully on the floor, set a bolster or one or more folded blankets behind yourself to fully support your spine and head
Choose as much height as you require to make the position rationally at ease
In order to provide relief to the groins you should lay some weight transversely to the creases of top thighs where they join the front pelvis

Start this pose with a weight of 10 pounds and gradually increase it to 30 pounds once you have learned enough

By : Natural Health News