Navasana: Modify Your Boat Pose

A powerful core is important to so many points of our each day lives. Tending to our core muscle tissues—the abdominals and again muscle tissues—is core (so to talk) to our yoga asana follow. Yoga’s most iconic stomach strengthener, Boat Pose (Navasana), could be extraordinarily difficult, and sometimes contraindicated for folks simply beginning out in asana follow. For that motive, a modified model of Navasana could be an effective way to wade into core strengthening.

Advantages of Core Strengthening

Listed here are a few of the advantages of strengthening your core:

• Promotes wholesome posture
• Improves steadiness and coordination
• Stabilizes the physique, in order that accidents reminiscent of sprains and strains are much less probably
• Reduces again ache
• Promotes deeper respiration
• Makes on a regular basis actions reminiscent of lifting, rising up from the ground extra easy

After we consider the core, our minds typically go proper to the abdominals. Nevertheless, our again muscle tissues are additionally important gamers in core energy. Whereas Navasana is especially an abdominal-strengthening pose, it additionally has a secondary good thing about strengthening the again muscle tissues as nicely. As well as, as a balancing pose, it helps us construct our balancing expertise.

Why Modify Navasana?

Not like the photograph on the high of this put up, the normal type of Navasana is practiced with straight legs. This model of the pose poses a number of challenges. First, straightening the legs in Navasana requires stretchy hamstrings. A practitioner with tight hamstrings will invariably should flex their lumbar backbone to an excessive. Second, the additional leverage straight legs exert on the physique could cause pressure.

The third problem applies principally to males. The middle of gravity for a feminine physique is decrease than it’s for a male physique. For most ladies, the middle of gravity is within the pelvis; for males it’s within the low again. Because of this the leverage straight legs exert on the physique will make it actually tough for males to seek out stability in Navasana, particularly if it’s coupled with tight hamstrings.

A pair paragraphs in the past, I discussed lumbar spinal flexion (convex curve) in Navasana. Whereas it’s not wholesome to flex the backbone to an excessive in Navasana, just a little little bit of flexion, in order that the lumbar backbone is straight, is okay. Actually, that small little bit of flexion will allow the abdominals to interact a bit greater than if we’re making an attempt to take care of our lumbar (concave) curve. With the intention to keep a concave curve, now we have to steadiness on the entrance edges of our ischial tuberosities (aka “sitting bones”). Have you ever ever tried that? In my expertise, it’s under no circumstances conducive to balancing.

Find out how to Apply Navasana

1. Collect your props: a Yoga Mat is all that’s needed.
2. Begin in a seated place within the middle of your mat.
3. Bend your knees and place the soles of your toes in your mat.
4. Place your palms behind you on the ground in order that your torso leans again at a diagonal.
5. Along with your palms nonetheless on the ground, elevate your legs. Bend your knees in order that your shins are parallel to the ground. Your weight must be in your glutes. Keep away from making an attempt to balancing on the ahead fringe of your ischial tuberosities.
6. Take a breath or two on this place. This pose is usually a useful prelude to working towards Navasana. It engages the abdominals with out producing any again pressure.
7. If you happen to really feel prepared, elevate your arms up and lengthen them straight ahead at shoulder stage. Your palms can face your legs, or face up or down, relying on what feels greatest for you.
8. Take 3 to five, or extra, deep breaths right here.
9. Then launch the pose and relaxation together with your toes on the ground, palms behind you on the ground. Repeat if you happen to like.

About Charlotte Bell

Charlotte Bell found yoga in 1982 and commenced instructing in 1986. Charlotte is the creator of Conscious Yoga, Conscious Life: A Information for On a regular basis Apply and Yoga for Meditators, each printed by Rodmell Press. Her third guide is titled Hip-Wholesome Asana: The Yoga Practitioner’s Information to Defending the Hips and Avoiding SI Joint Ache (Shambhala Publications). She writes a month-to-month column for CATALYST Journal and serves as editor for Yoga U On-line. Charlotte is a founding board member for GreenTREE Yoga, a non-profit that brings yoga to underserved populations. A lifelong musician, Charlotte performs oboe and English horn within the Salt Lake Symphony and people sextet Purple Rock Rondo, whose DVD gained two Emmy awards.