DHANUR ASANA / BOW POSE

Dhanur Asana or Bow Pose is one of the finest Asana to activate lymph glands, mobilize the fat around waist line, hips and thighs, bring flexibility to the spine and massage all the internal abdominal organs to perform this pose.

Duration 10 seconds to 1 minute

Procedure

• Fold both the legs one by one and catch hold of the respective ankles with the hands, keeping the forehead on floor.
• Slowly lift & contract the shoulders back.
• Lift your head up, knee & thigh off the floor, heels away from the hips & toes pointing up.
• Open up the body to the maximum you can.
• Look up all the time.
• To release the pose, bring the knees and thighs together, heels close to the hip, forehead down to the floor.
• Bring the ankles together one by one.
• Finally, release the ankles one by one & stretch the legs straight down.
• The same pose can be transformed into Rocking Bow by pushing the body up and down on the abdomen and into to Rolling Bow by rolling from side to side without keeping the knees and thighs on the floor looking up, turning your head towards the leg up in air.
• Beginners or people with comparatively less flexible bodies can perform the variation called Ardha Dhanur Asana.
• Stretch both the arms forward.
• Fold only one leg, catching hold of the ankle with the same or the opposite hand.
• Slowly lift the whole body off the floor.
• Balance on navel and open up the folded leg.
• Keep heels away from the hips.
• To relax the pose,  release the grip of the ankle.
• Keep the knee & thigh on the floor.
• Relax for a while after performing this Asana.

Benefits

Body

• Give full anterior stretch to the body from chin to knee.
• Opens up the rib cage to the maximum, increase the lung capacity.
• Allows lymphatic drainage by activating lymph glands & nodes.
• Increases the immunity & resistance of the body to withstand abnormal conditions.
• Brings good flexibility to the ligament & spinal cord by making it supple, elastic & flexible.
• Reduces cervical tension, thoracic, lumbar & sacral tensions.
• Tones the respiratory, digestive, excretory, endocrine, exocrine & reproductive system.
• Remove the unwanted fat from the body.
• Channelize the heart vessels & lungs.

Mental

• Channels the nerve current to entire spinal cord & brain boosting up the thinking process, clarity of thoughts, enhancing memory, decreasing tension & distressing.

Pranic

• Directs the flow of prana from all over the body to Manipur chakra/ solar plexus.
• Activates all the 6 Chakras of the body as you roll & rock in this pose.

Contraindication

• Indigestion, high Blood Pressure, weak or stiff shoulder joints & spine, stone in kidneys & gall bladder, bypass surgery.

Variations

• Roll from side to side without keeping the knee & thigh on floor.
• Rock up and down massaging the abdomen length wise.
• Ardha Dhanur Asana - Fold & hold one leg at a time and lifting the whole body of the floor.
• Ardha Dhanur Asana while lying on the sides.

Helps in

• Weak digestion, flabby abdomen, hip & thigh weak immunity & poor resistance of body, hypo activity of abdominal organs, diabetes, prolapsed abdomen, menstrual disorders.

Key Points

• Try to lift your knees & thighs higher then your chest cavity.
• Hold the leg from the ankle making a firm grip to avoid hurting self.
• Do not move your neck on either side while in pose.
• Do not overstretch your thighs, shoulders or abdomen & overstrain your spine.
• Beginners may first start with Ardha dhanur Asana/ half bow pose.