Physical Education · Ch 3 — Yoga as Preventive Measure for Lifestyle Disease
Urdhvahastottansana
3.3.2
Urdhvahastottansana
The name of this asana comes from the Sanskrit urdhva, meaning upward, and hasta, meaning hands. In English it is called the upward-salute or upward-hands pose; here it is practised with a side bend to stretch and open the chest.
Figure 3.18Drawing of a standing person bending sideways with both arms stretched overhead and the fingers interlocked - Urdhvahastottansana (upward-hands side bend).
Drawn by us to help you understand the concept clearly, and verified to make sure it's accurate. For exams, practice from your NCERT textbook's own diagram.
A front-view drawing of a person standing with the feet flat and both arms stretched straight overhead, fingers interlocked, bending the whole upper body to one side in a deep lateral stretch - the upward-ha …
Technique
- Stand upright in the overhead-stretch pose with the fingers interlocked.
- Breathing in, stretch the hands high while keeping the feet flat on the floor.
- Breathing out, slowly bend to one side (left or right). Pause for a few seconds at the limit of the bend.
- Straighten up slowly while breathing in.
- Slowly bend to the opposite side while breathing out, and hold for a few seconds.
- Straighten up slowly while inhaling.
Breath Awareness
- Inhale when stretching up.
- Exhale during the side stretch and when returning to the upright position.
Benefits
- Back pain: gives a good stretch to the muscles, especially the finer muscles of the back, and regular practice helps overcome back pain.
- Spinal health: improves the alignment and curvature of the spine.
- Weight loss: helps slim the waist and remove fat from the hips through the stretch in that region.
- Asthma control: provides a stretch to the chest region that increases the intake capacity of the lungs, improving lung health and giving relief from asthma.
- Constipation relief: aids proper movement of the alimentary canal - stomach and intestines - relieving constipation.
- Abdominal-side fat: one of the best poses for burning fat from the sides of the abdomen because of the extra stretch there.
- Nerve health: the toe-to-finger stretch, maintained with the breath, improves the efficiency of the nerves.
- Strengthening of the legs: good for the health of the toes, feet, ankles, knees and buttocks.
- Sciatica: practised under expert supervision, it can greatly reduce sciatica pain.
Contraindications
- Should be avoided during pregnancy. …