“Danda” means “Stick”. Danda Asana aims at giving the right posture to the backbone. You sit up with legs stretched & joined together and hands by the side of body to have a good body posture.

Duration: 10 seconds to 1 minute.

Procedure

• Sit straight with both legs stretched.
• Keep your hands either crossed or by the sides or on the knees with palms down.
• Keep the legs together.
• Balance the weight of the body on both hips.
• Keep the chin parallel to the floor and shoulders relaxed.

Benefits

Body

• Posture correction.
• Tones up the abdominal & thigh muscles.
• Massages & tones the reproductive & excretory system.
• Works on the pelvic region & strengthens the hip joints.
• Tones up the prolapsed abdomen & prolapsed uterus.

Mind

• Improves balance.
• Makes the mental faculties alert.

Pranic

• Activates the Samaan Vaayu & maintains Vyayan Vaayu & Apana Vaayu.
• Checks the loss of prana through excretory & reproductive organs by balancing the Apana Vaayu.
• Pushes prana in Sushmana, through natural Moolbandh I.e. anal lock.
• Activates the Mooladhara Chakra & Swadishthana Chakra which gives a sense of balance & security to the performer.
  

Contraindications

• Favorable to all.
  
  

Variations:

• Sitting on chair by lifting the legs straight up against gravity & staying there. Keep the legs together by pressing the sides of thighs with hands.
• Sitting by the back support with wall to keep spine straight.

Key points

• Spinal cord in not buried under the seat muscles.
• Thighs, knees, ankle & big toe together.
• Back is not hunched, shoulder should be relaxed.
• Weight is on the hip bone & not on muscles.