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‘Sarpa ’ means snake. Sarpasana mimics the posture of a snake. It is one of the asanas falling under the basic category of backward bending postures preparing us for further advanced backbends.
Organising the Pose:-
- Lie down, prone on the mat with your hands straight by your side, legs together and forehead on the floor.
- Interlock your fingers and place your hands on your hips. Place the chin on the floor.
- Take a deep breath in and start lifting the torso up from the floor with first the head and then the rest. The legs are firm while being straight and contracted.
- Push the hands further back and raise the arms as high as is comfortable. Imagine the arms are being pulled from behind.
- Raise the body as high as possible without straining. Squeeze the shoulder blades together looking ahead. Hold for as long as is possible.
- Slowly return to the starting position and relax the body.
DO:
- Inhale deeply and slowly in the starting position before raising the torso.
- Retain the breath while rising in the final position and exhale on lowering.
DON’T:
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- Strain the neck and shoulder areas.
- Practice this pose if you have any heart conditions or high blood pressure.
BENEFITS:
- Massages all the abdominal organs.
- Strengthens chest and shoulders.
- Strengthens the lungs and the heart.
- Increases spine flexibility, prevents slip disk, indigestion, diarrhoea, diabetes, acidity and wind troubles.
This pose is a great preparatory posture for bhujangasana. In addition it helps to correct the posture, particularly rounded shoulders and has a great strengthening effect on the back muscles.
Namaste!
Neelanjana Bharadwaj- Yoga Expert
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