CHENNAI: Shashankasan or the rabbit pose has different modifications to suit everyone and is the counter asana to the headstand
STEPS: From the Vajrasan sitting posture, simply bend forward folding your torso over your thighs and resting your forehead on the floor. Next, bring your arms back with the hands close to the feet. The shoulders and upper arms will collapse downward and palms will be facing up.
Everyone can’t do this because of back pain, knee pain or a heavy abdomen that can get in the way. For the knees, a simple solution is to keep a folded towel between the lower thigh and the calf muscle-over time this will open the knee joint.
CONTRAINDICATION
If you have chronic knee pain do not sit for long in this pose, as you must first be able to sit in Vajrasan.
Let’s look at a few modifications so that this pose can become accessible to everyone. We are starting with the easiest modification- going from simple to complex:
Modification 1: Fold your elbows and prop your chin on your hands. Look forward and relax as you stay in the pose. Your torso is away from your thighs yet your back is being stretched here.
We’ll look at more modifications next week.
BENEFITS
This pose gently relaxes the neck, back and shoulders. It is a good massage for the internal organs in the chest and abdomen as well as the thighs and calves. It stretches the shoulder blades, buttocks and knees. This is a counter pose for Shirshasan,the headstand.
(Anshu Vyas Seetharaman is a yoga and fitness trainer at Sri Aurobindo Society, Bengaluru)