Author: Yogacharya Dhakaram

7 Easy Steps to Do Vriksasana and the Benefits Provided by this Asana

In the recent times, yoga has become one of the best modes of workout for people throughout the world. While yoga can help burn fat, it is not primarily used for losing weight, since the fat burning properties of yoga are quite limited and slow. So, why is yoga such a big deal then? One of the biggest silent killers in the recent times is stress. Stress can lead to some of the worst types of diseases and can, in fact, affect all the organs in your body. From ulcers to kidney damage, stress is one of the deadliest types of silent killers that we end up ignoring on a daily basis.

Effects of stress

To help you get an idea about the true effects of stress on modern society, it was found in a recent research that average high school students in today’s day and age have more anxiety than mental patients in the 1970’s. From studies to social media criticism and body image related issues, stress can stem from multiple sources and we don’t really do that much about it. With most students getting lesser and lesser sleep, stress can take years off your lives. Yoga is one of the best ways to get rid of stress from your mind and heal your body from the effects of stress.

How can yoga help?

Yoga’s breathing practices increase oxygen intake, relax the body, and combined with meditation, improve sleep. Stretches release stress-related aches and pains, keeping the body revitalized. A healthy diet, sleep, and yoga can help manage stress and improve quality of life.

With over hundreds of yoga poses to choose from, the Tree pose, or Vriksasana can be one of the best poses that can help you to improve balance, aids in stretching of some of the major muscle groups in the body as well as can help you to correct some common problems like flat feet and sciatica.
Here are the steps that you need to follow to do the Vrksasana.

⦁ Stand with your feet slightly apart, your back straight and your arms on your sides with fingers pointed, or the Tadasana. From this neutral pose, gently shift your weight on the left foot, while keeping it firmly placed on the floor and bend the right knee. Now slowly reach down using your right hand and take a hold of your right ankle.

⦁ Bring your right foot up and place the sole of your right foot against the side of your inner left thigh and if possible, you can press the right heel to reach the inner sides of your left groin with your toes pointing downwards to the floor. The centre of gravity of your pelvis should be straight over the left foot.

⦁ Now rest your hand on the top rim of your pelvis, making sure that your pelvis is in the neutral position and the top rim is parallel to the floor.

⦁ Now, try to lengthen your tailbone towards the floor and firmly press the sole of your right foot against your left thigh and counter it with resistance from the outer part of the left leg. Now, on to the hands.

⦁ Press your hands together in the Anjali Mudra, or in a Namaste, with your palms touching each other, and stretch them to be centered directly above your head. The body should be balanced by aligning your Centre of gravity in a straight line.

⦁ Now fix your gaze onto any point roughly 4-5 feet away from you.

⦁ Hold this position for anywhere between 30 seconds to a full minute, then step back into Tadasana while exhaling deeply and then repeat with the legs reversed.

This is a level 1 yoga pose, which means that it is not really that difficult to do and doesn’t really take too much effort to perfect. While the regime is quite easy to do and does not really take a lot of twists and turns that can lead to you getting a sprained muscle or any type of an injury, there are a few cautionary measures you should take before attempting it. Avoid this pose if you have headache or low blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure, do not raise your arms overhead.
If you feel imbalanced during this pose, there are a couple of steps that you can use. The first step is to do a number of deep inhalation and exhalations to improve your concentration. For first-timers, use a wall for back support to avoid unsteadiness. If your leg slips, fix it with folded sticky mat. For a challenge, try with closed eyes to improve concentration.

Benefits

⦁ Vriksasana can help you to strengthen the spine and in the process, improve your balance and aids in improving your poise.

⦁ It helps in improving nerve and muscle co-ordination.

⦁ It can help to tone your leg muscles and can strengthen the tendons and the ligaments in your leg.

⦁ It can make your knees stronger and loosen up your hip joints.

⦁ This pose can also help to strengthen your shoulder, eyes and inner ears.

⦁ It is extremely effective in providing relief from sciatica and flat feet.

⦁ This can help to build patience, making you flexible and sturdy at the same time.

⦁ It can help you to deepen the thorax

⦁ It can help to boost your concentration and sharpen your mental faculties and therefore, is recommended for students.

Vriksasana is an easy yoga pose for beginners that offers numerous benefits. It can improve posture, concentration, alleviate leg pain, and reduce stress levels for a longer and happier life.

With our daily schedules running out of hand, there is an utter need to find balance within us. The misbalance between our physical, emotional, and mental activities causes us to go through many problems. And the way the world is progressing and people are becoming sick and ill of unknown ailments and diseases becomes an important part of our life to look after ourselves and take care of our body and soul correctly. Then how do we find a perfect way to balance all the chaos when we still are late for our work? Yoga is the answer to all our problems. Yoga keeps us balanced in our otherwise chaotic life. As far as doctors are concerned, they have been coming up with natural treatments and guiding people to adopt a yogic lifestyle.

To guide you through the yoga exercises, there are a lot of poses to learn. One such important pose is the Hastapadasana or the Forward Bend Pose.

What is Hastapadasana or ‘The Forward Bend Pose’?

“Hasta”: Hand, “Pada”: Foot, “Asana”: Pose; Hence the name Hastapadasana or the Forward Bend Pose. It is one of the twelve basic yoga poses and is highly recommended to all people who practice yoga to do it daily. It helps cure many health problems, gives you flexibility and strength, and brings your concentration level.

What are the benefits of Hastapadasana or the Forward Bend Pose?

The benefits of doing Yoga are numerous, but with different poses focusing on different aspects of your body, it becomes necessary to know about its possible effects and which areas they work on. With a little knowledge of the working of poses, one can customize their workout according to their body type and the healing they need. The benefit of Hastapadasana is magical and wondrous; they can be listed here.

• It gives the body a nice shape.
• It helps in stretching the body muscles
• It makes your hands, legs, and chest stronger
• It makes your blood circulate through streams and brings a glow
• Fights belly diseases
• It Burns that extra fat around your belly
• Stimulates the blood circulation in hands and feet
• Prevents from loss of hair
• It makes the backbone flexible
• It helps you balance your body
• It makes you handle your own body weight

What should you know before doing the pose or Asana?

Yoga is an art that purifies the mind and soul and also works on making you, fitter. It is no magic trick that will make changes in a day or two. Yoga requires constant dedication and concentration to achieve results. Yoga is a lifestyle you need to adopt where you choose a healthy life accompanied by healthy eating and living habits. Hastapadasana will make you stretch your body muscles, and if you have never done this kind of pose, it may also make you feel tired or breathe heavily. It is advised to complete the asana with concentration and calmness.

Who should do Hastapadasana or Forward Bend Pose?

Hastapadasana is recommended for all yoga practicing people. It is one of the basic twelve yoga poses, so no matter if you are a beginner or advanced yoga practitioner, this pose is for you. Hastapadasana also cures stomach ailments and helps reduce fat around the belly. So it is recommended that overweight people have issues like constipation, diarrhea, acidity, gastric, or women who face problems during menstrual.

How to do the Hastapadasana or The Forward Bend Pose?

1. Hastapadasana is a standing pose and is best done when you are out in the open. Follow the steps!
2. Stand straight with both your legs touching each other.
3. Take a deep breath and raise your hands overhead while inhaling.
4. Slowly start exhaling and bending your body forward so that your back stretches and your head descends forward.
5. Hold your ankle with your hand, and do not bend your knees.
6. Hold on to this position for as long as you can
7. Slowly start inhaling again and lifting back your body to the straight position.
8. Keep your hands down.

Do the repetitions and do it slowly.

How should you breathe while doing the Hastapadasana?

Breathing should be calm and content. You should take deep breaths, and while performing the asana or the pose, you should inhale or exhale very slowly. Inhaling and exhaling give strength to the lungs and make you calmer. At your holding position, you should hold your breaths too for a better result.

Precautions

Yoga needs care, concentration, and calmness. It needs to be followed with the dedication to achieve results. Hastapadasana is not advised for people suffering from:

1. Cardiac problems
2. Spinal problems
3. Hernia
4. Vertigo
5. Hypertension
6. Serious back pain
7. Breathing problems

There are some basic precautions you should take, and they are:

1. Wear proper clothes that let you breathe and allow you to stretch and practice poses.
2. Do it on the ground, park, or a yoga mat
3. Do not overdo the poses
4. Learn yoga before practicing
5. Schedule your yoga time

Yoga, as a form of exercise, is one of the oldest and most popular. It is surrounded by mysticism and doctors from all over the world have acknowledged its health and psychological benefits. Yoga is a difficult art form, and has a number of steps and instructions that must be followed, or else you will end up doing more harm to your body than good.

One of the more difficult poses is called Utthita Parsvakonasana, or simply the Extended Side Pose. It is considered as a follow up to the Virabhadrasana II pose, also known as the Warrior pose.

What is Utthita Parsvakonasana?

It is a form of asana or a yoga pose that consist of two parts. The entire name, in Sanskrit word, comes from utthita, which means “extended”, parsva which means “side “, kona which means “angle”, and finally, the word asana which means a particular posture.

How to do the Utthita Parsvakonasana?

The Utthita Parsvakonasana is a powerful and beneficial pose, but it needs to be done in the right manner for the best results. Below is a step by step guide as to how to get the perfect Utthita Parsvakonasana pose:

• Step 1: Since it is a follow up pose per se, you should start with the Tadasana. When you exhale, gradually move your feet almost 4 feet apart from each other and stand with your hands extended out, parallel to the floor with the palms facing the floor.
• Step 2: Turn out both of your feet to the right, almost at 90 degrees so that both of your heels are aligned. Now slowly turn the right thigh outwards so as to align the centre of the kneecap is in line with the centre of the right ankle. As you slowly roll your right hip outwards, you have to bend your back to the left.
• Step 3: Very slowly anchor the heel of your left feet to the floor firmly, and lift the inner left thigh muscles into the pelvis. As you do this, slowly exhale through your nose and bend your right knee, so as to put your right thigh perpendicular to the floor.
• Step 4: Make sure that your shoulder blades are firm. Now extend your left hand upwards and turn it so that your palm is facing your head. Try to reach this arm over the back of your ear, while the palm is still facing the floor.
• Step 5: Stretch the left section of your body, from the toes to the tip of your fingers as much as you can. Then slowly turn your head to the left and release your shoulder, trying to stretch your right side as much as possible without hurting yourself.
• Step 6: Remember to keep breathing, and attempt to align your upper torso as close as possible with your right thigh. Attempt to place your palm flat on the floor, and stick your thigh against the inside of your right arm. If you have balance problems, then push in your buttocks to focus on your centre of gravity.
• Step 7: Inhale slowly and with delicate movements, exert pressure on both heels so that you can push your torso upwards and reach your arms out. Once you reach your original position, you can follow the same instructions for the left side of your body and hold the pose for at least one minute.

What problems do beginners face and how to modify them?

• Beginners usually have problems planting their heels firmly on the floor. The best way is to first use the support of a wall and gradually learning to do it, so that you can place your feet firmly on the floor.
• Flexibility may be a problem. It is suggested that you stretch first, so that your body does not remain as stiff and also so that you can avoid post-asana muscle pain and cramps.

Can you make any modifications to this asana?

Every asana depends on the comfort level of a person, so yes, you can make a few modifications to make things a little easier on your body:

• Instead of doing it alone, you can take help from a partner during the initial steps.
• You can also use props to hold your position so that you can find your centre of gravity and not fall down.
• You can perform the Utthita Parsvakonasana by placing your lower arm in front of your bent thigh.

Who should try the Utthita Parsvakonasana?

Basically, it is advised that people from any age group can try the Utthita Parsvakonasana because it has a number of health benefits, and it is even better if you try it from an early age. However, it is particularly helpful for individuals who are suffering from any of the following problems:

• Constant headaches or migraines
• Infertility problems
• Menstrual cramps or unnatural menstrual pain
• Constipation, indigestion or gastric ulcer

What are the health benefits of Utthita Parsvakonasana?

Like most asana poses, it helps the body in more than just one way. The Utthita Parsvakonasana:

• It improves blood circulation in the organs of the lower abdomen, which improves digestion and prevents other stomach problems.
• Since it improves blood flow to the lower section of the body, it helps decrease menstrual cramps and pain.
• This pose involves the twisting of the spine, which helps reduce the tension in the spine and the knots in the lower back of the shoulder.
• The Utthita Parsvakonasana helps strengthen the muscles of the calves, ankles as well as the thighs.
• The lung capacity as well as functioning of the heart is improved, leading to a healthier heart, since it involves the twisting of the upper half of the body.
• This asana helps improve your overall posture, which in turn, prevents breathing problems, which come with old age.
• Lastly, it helps improve your stamina, strength as well as ability to focus and concentrate.

Who cannot do the Utthita Parsvakonasana?

As such, there are no rules dictating that anyone with any disorder or physical problem should not do the Utthita Parsvakonasana, but it is advised that people with the following problems exercise precautions and consult with a professional before trying it out by themselves:

• People who have a case of chronic insomnia.
• People who have constant high blood pressure or hypertension.
• Individuals who suffer from spondylitis or any other neck problems.
• People suffering from osteoporosis of bone degeneration issues.