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30 DYC Day 17 Journey to the Heart
Bow Pose Dhanurasana
This heart-opening backbend stretches your hip flexors and hamstrings (aka the muscles that are shortened and tightened, respectively, from all that sitting) while strengthening your back. It helps improve your posture by opening your chest and shoulders. Bow Pose is energizing and stimulates the adrenal glands that sit above each kidney. It also increases blood flow to your digestive system.
Bow Pose can boost energy and fight fatigue. It may help to build confidence and empowerment. Bow Pose also improves posture and counteracts the effects of sitting for extended periods of time, such as slouching. It may help relieve back pain. It stretches your abdomen, chest, shoulders, front of your hips (hip flexors), and the front of your thighs (quadriceps). Bow Pose strengthens your back muscles, the back of your thighs, and buttocks (glutes).
How to do a bow pose:- Lie on your belly on your mat, with a blanket under your pelvis if needed. Press all of your toes into the floor and then bend your knees, keeping the toes active.
- Grab the outer edges of your ankles with your hands and flex your feet strongly.
- On an inhalation, lift your rib cage and shoulders toward your ears. On an exhalation, lengthen your tailbone and kick your legs back into your hands as you hold on firmly
- From here, lift your head and heart. Gaze forward. Extend through the roof of your mouth and crown of your head. As you do so, always keep strong energy moving from the base of your spine through the crown of your head to help support
- Stay lifted for 5 breaths
This pose can also be done using a strap around the feet if the flexibility isn’t there yet!
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