Dhanurasana – Bow Yoga Posture

Start by lying with the belly on the floor, bend the knees towards the back and hold the ankles with your hands.
Inhale and lift the torso and legs upward at the same time. Breathe normally and hold this posture for about 30 seconds. To come out release the ankles and rest in the child pose.

This pose can cause some strain on the knees and spine, so it should be practiced carefully.  Due to the pressure applied on the spine this pose can lead to ruptured disks, so any poses that have a strong backward extension of the spine should be carried out using the back muscles and should not be forced. Also extend the spine from the hip bones to the head before moving into the pose. Avoid the bow posture if you have lower back injuries. A good alternative to the bow pose is the locust pose.

The bow pose helps to strengthen the back muscles, improve posture and stretches the abdomen, chest, shoulders, ankles, thighs and hips.

Hatha Yoga Postures: Sanskrit – English

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Tags: bow posture, dhanurasana

This entry was posted on Monday, March 9th, 2009 at 9:08 pm and is filed under Yoga. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.