Asana 7 - Ardha Halasana (Semi-plow pose)

Technique: (Uttana padasana)

Ø  Lie on the back, feet together all the way to the heels. Breathe in.

Ø  Breathing out, pull the legs up to 45 degrees.

Ø  Hold in place for a few seconds (start with 3 counts and increase to 6).

Ø  Breathing in, bring the legs back to the ground slowly. 

Ø  Relax. Breathe normally. Repeat from 3 to 10 times

Technique: Arda Halasana

Ø  Perform Uttana padasana, except, and take the legs to 90 degrees.

Ø There is no need to hold the legs in position for longer than 1-2 seconds, enough to reach equilibrium.

Ø    Repeat 3 to 10 times

Ø To lose weight around the abdomen, perform the exercise rapidly without allowing the legs to touch the ground. Repeat 6 to 10 times.

Ø  Those with cardiac problems should do this exercise carefully. Those with lumbar (lower back) problems and hernia should avoid this exercise.

Benefits:

Ø  The spinal nerves, nerve roots, and sympathetic nerves get toned up. The lumbar area becomes supple and elastic.

Ø  The action of stretching and pulling tones and strengthens the abdominal and lower back muscles.

Ø  The action of holding the legs in place, apart from exercising the above muscles, also creates intra-abdominal pressure. This results in strengthening of abdominal muscles and reduction of fat.

Ø  The leg lifting action pulls the buttocks together, toning up the rectal muscles and sphincter.

Ø  This exercise is good for curing obesity, diabetes, constipation and other abdominal concerns. Very good for maintaining the strength of various muscles in the lower back

Ø  When breathing out, the abdominal walls push the digestive viscera down, setting up peristalsis. Very good asana for treating constipation and other ailments of the lower digestive tract.

Some noteworthy points:

Ø  Keep the knees straight and rigid. During raising of the legs, this ensures greater pressure on the lower abdominal muscles, inside thigh (gracilis and adductor longus), knee muscles, especially quadriceps and hamstring muscles.

Ø  Keep the knees and ankles together. This ensures symmetry in the movement of the legs and ensures a balanced pressure on the lower bac muscles (left and right of the spine).

Ø  Performing both uttana padasana and ardha halasana slowly, brings other benefits such as increased intra-abdominal pressure inducing peristalsis, reduction in adipose tissue and tightening the symmetry of the abdominal viscera.