ashtavakrasana

With age, our mind and body both tend to lose focus and balance. Body of course, slowly will lose its flexibility and strength. This is where practicing yoga helps. It is never too late practice yoga to achieve overall wellness. Start with basic poses and once you understand how to get into pose properly, then with proper guidance you can move to advanced pose. Ashtavakrasana or Eight angle pose is an advanced pose that needs lot of concentration, focus, strength and flexibility. While practicing this pose one can also achieve balance and perseverance. While performing this pose, most yogi’s get frustrated as it is a bit difficult pose. But learning eight angle pose helps us to develop patience and insight with strength and flexibility. – Healthy life

LEVEL : Advanced

Anatomy : Abs, Arms, Feet, Hands, Legs

Pose Type : Arm Balance, Twist

Sanskrit : Ashtavakrasana (AHSH-tak-vah-KRAHS-anah) shata = eight vakra = crooked, bent

 BENEFITS

• Strengthens the inner thighs, triceps, and pectorals
• Tones and stimulates the abdominals organs
• Strengthens the spinal rotators
• Strengthens the forearm, wrist, and hand musculature
• Improves balance

 CONTRAINDICATIONS

• Hip pathologies
• Shoulder pathologies
• Wrist injury
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Avoid straining the elbows and low spine

HOW TO

1. Start in a seated position. Bend your left knee and ground your palms down into your mat with slightly bent elbows. Draw your right knee over your right shoulder as high as possible.
2. Cross your left ankle over the right and press the feet together to bind.
3. Inhale, ground your palms, and bend your elbows—making sure they don’t splay out to the side.
4. On an exhale, begin to draw your body forward and lift your hips, feeling the weight transfer into your hands. Allow your elbows to bend deeper to bring the chest parallel to the floor.
5. Squeeze your thighs together to hug the upper arm, and press through your heels to extend the legs.
6. Stay in Eight-Angle pose for 5-10 slow breaths.
7. To exit the posture, exhale and slowly draw your body back to a sitting position. Gently release your legs. Repeat on the opposite side.

MODIFY OR REPLACE

• If triceps strength is an issue, place a block underneath the bottom hip and outer leg to give you extra lift into the arm balance.
• Practice lifting the hips and transferring weight into the palms.

SEQUENCING TIPS

Before:

• Bhujangasana (Cobra pose)
• Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog)
• Bakasana (Crow pose)
• Parsva Bakasana (Side Crow pose)

After:

• Parighasana (Gate pose)
• Eka Hasta Bhujasana (Elephant’s Trunk pose)

TEACHING CUES

• Keep the upper and lower spine lifted through the crown and firm your abdominals.
• Squeeze the thighs together and press through the feet to extend the legs. Keep the palms active.
• Be careful not to overstretch the shoulder joint by letting your chest sink through the arms.
• Be cautious of your low spine and release if you feel any strain or tension while rotating or lifting.

WATCH OUT FOR

• Wrist, spine, shoulder, or hip pain/ strain
• Chest sinking through the arms
• Elbows splaying to the sides

This article and image is published here with permission from www.beyogi.com