Camel Pose
If you are working on your flexibility and strengthening your back, one of the best poses is the camel pose, which helps in opening the heart. In Sanskrit, it is known as Ustrasana and resembles a camel, which helps in opening your shoulders and boosting overall energy and mood. The pose is one of the styles from Vinyasa yoga and is a basic level pose. It helps in strengthening the back and stretching almost the entire body. It majorly stretches the areas around the abdomen, thorax, thighs, quadriceps, groin, throat, and Psoas major muscle.
It is one of the best stretching poses and helps in opening up all the tension and knots in the body, opening shoulders and pectoral muscles. It also helps in toning the thighs, chest, limbs, and abdomen. It helps in enhancing the circulatory, lymphatic, endocrine, digestive, and respiratory systems. This asana is great as a therapy that makes you feel fresh and better.
How To Do The Pose
It is a basic pose but does take time step by step, preparing for it. With regular practice, it is possible to perfect the pose.
- Kneel down on your mat and place your hand around your hips by placing your thumb on your sacrum. While maintaining this, keep your knees slightly apart and keep your shoulders and knees on the same line.
- Inhale to tighten your belly and reach toward your bone with the help of the tailbone by creating a space between your lower vertebrae. Lift your sternum and allow your rib cage to expand by drawing the elbows towards each other.
- Press the heel of the hands to the heels of your feet and lift your sternum. Keep the chest raised, the spine long and the chin tucked while dropping your hands down to your heels to ensure that there is a proper balance.
- After this, lift your shoulders, allowing the trapezius muscles between the shoulder blades to rise up and support your cervical spine. After this, slowly lower the head and neck and stare at the tip of your nose.
- Inhale and bring your tailbone towards your pubis, and you will feel a stretch at your abdomen area. Bring your chin back towards the chest and the hands to the hips slowly to come back to normal. Make sure you allow your lower belly to take part and support the lower back.
Benefits
- It helps in strengthening the back, open the shoulder and stretch the frontal part of the torso.
- It improves the process of digestion by massaging the internal organs.
- It reduces backaches by stretching and strengthening the back. It enables more spine flexibility.
Contradictions And Mistakes
While performing the pose, make sure that you don’t pinch the shoulders together, or it might increase the shoulder strain. It is best to perform under the supervision of an expert, or else, one might suffer from a back or neck injury. It is recommended to avoid the pose during a blood pressure problem.
How To Perform Perfectly
It is best to perform it on an empty stomach, and early morning is the best time. It might be difficult to reach the feet with the hands and cause back and neck stress. Comfortable clothing, like flexible yoga pants, helps in better performance. Start slowly, and if you are not initially able to reach the toes, use a wooden block for support. Hold it initially for only 15 to 20 seconds.
