Dhanurasana - Bow Pose - For Beginners

Once into this position you sometimes have the uncomfortable feeling that someone is going to come along, stuff an apple into your mouth, and start turning you on a spin. Indeed, the first few days some people can do nothing more for twenty seconds than lie there, clinging to their feet and looking helpless. (Which is at least better than the occasional person who can´t even reach the feet).

But not discouraged. You have hordes of company. This is the position that presents the most problems in the most people. It is where everyone´s inflexibility really shows, and where we seem to have the most difficult getting the messages from the brain to the muscles.

It´s a fairly easy to lift the torso - indeed, in this trussed position the torso could hardly be anything but raised. It´s those legs that sometimes refuse to budge off the floor, no matter how you kick backward or try to lift them.

To overcome that problem, first make sure that you have a good firm grip on your feet, then center your attention on the small of the back and your buttocks and forget that you are supposed to lift the torso and legs. Instead, imagine that you are going to push your abdomen, buttocks, and lower back right down trough the floor. To do this you must make the muscles tight like rocks. Now push downward. More. Simultaneously press up and back against your hands with the tops of your feet just as hard as you can. Up. Push. Hard!

Your torso, by now, will be well lifted and you should be feeling the first stirrings of lift in your thighs and will recognize the muscles you need to lift them - not in the legs but in the buttocks, lower back and abdomen.

As an added tip, once you do get the legs up off the towel, become aware of how stiffly you are holding your shoulders. Let the arms putt the shoulder blades backward. You might even have to force the shoulders back the first few times to get the fell of it. But releasing the shoulders - and rolling your body weight forward on the abdomen - will allow everything to get higher, farther, and increase the stretch and benefit.

The Bow Pose combines the difficulties of the Cobra, Locust, Full Locust, Standing Bow Pulling and Balancing Stick. But you are also combining all those wonderful benefits, which should make your rest sweeter.

If you can´t go the full 20 counts the first few days, hold it for ten counts to begin and add 2 counts each day. A raw beginner´s lack of endurance, bad cramping, high blood pressure and real complaints as from a trick knee are, however, the only permissible excuses for quitting short of 20 counts. Besides the Bow Pose is pretty once you get it. Doesn´t that make you feel better?

Benefits

The Bow improves the functioning of the large and small intestines, the liver, kidneys and spleen. In helps straighten rounded spines, relieves backaches, and improves pigeon chest by opening the rib cage, permitting maximum expansion of lungs and increased oxygen intake. The Bow also revitalizes all spinal nerves by increasing circulation to the spine. It improves digestion and strengthens abdominal muscles, upper arms, thighs and hips.

Read more about this poses benefits, pictures, video and tips from HERE

Drawings and info from "Bikram´s Beginning Yoga Class " Book, 1978.