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Plow pose (hatasana)

 

Hatasana is a very nice pose that helps to calm and focus the mind. It does this by the fact that the pose itself stimulates the nerves in the spine and stretches the spine.

Through our life we do not really take care of our back and spine. Stress tends to primarily effect the back and shoulder muscles and gravity is always pulling down on our spine. A pose like this gives the spine the stretch it needs and the stimulation of the spinal nerves help to release so of the tension we accumulate from stress in out daily lives.

A resource for you that is very helpful and I highly recommend is Scientific Keys Vol 1 - The Key Muscles of Hatha Yoga, It is an excellent book that details the muscle and bone alignments for this pose as well as many other postures. It has brought my training to a whole new level. (The ability to visualize what is happening inside the body can really make allot of the more difficult poses easier to do). They have a free first chapter on the site, I encourage you to check it out.

 

How to do this pose .

1. Begin in Shoulderstand.

2. Exhale as you lower your feet toward the floor behind your head. (legs straight but not locked)

3. Flex your feet and place your toes on the floor behind your head.

4. Press your heels away from your body to lengthen your legs.

5. PLace your arms on the floor palms facing down.

6. Extend through your fingertips to lengthen your arms.

7. Hold this position for a minute or so then place your hands back on your back and return to shoulderstand.

 

NOTE: If you find this pose alittle advanced for you, then I suggest that you start in shoulderdstand and practice lowering only one leg, then bring it back up and do the other leg. Practice like this until you feel more comfortable and then try both legs.

Also Use Caution when doing this pose if you have neck or shoulder problems, high blood pressure or heart problems. You SHOULD AVIOD this pose if you are a woman who is menstruating or if you have eye problems like glaucoma

I hope you enjoy this pose, I like it, it is a nice change from shoulderstand for me (which is my favorite pose) while still giving me a similar feeling. I feel very fresh after this pose. I wish you all the best and do not forget to sign up for our RSS feed to the left to be notified of new pages as they come.

 

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