Please meet Sara Wolf. She is Mind Body Flow Yoga’s featured student for this month’s newsletter. Sara has a beautiful yoga practice and was generous in sharing it with us, as she demonstrates Camel Pose (Ustrasana).
What’s This Pose About?
This is a backward bending pose. The resulting shape is a deep opening through the front side body, opening up the chest, heart, and rib cage, as the head drops back and the stomach, hips, and thighs press forward. Watch Sara enter into this asana from Mountain Pose (Tadasana). She will exit the pose and land back in Mountain Pose (Tadasana) as well.
https://mindbodyflowyoga.wistia.com/medias/3d1dvqqmiw?embedType=iframe&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=640
Here are a few things to keep in mind, if you decide to try this pose, or if you have already started to experiment and play around with it.
Tips
- Stand on your knees with your knees and feet hip-width distance apart
- Keep the tops of your feet (all ten toe nails) rooted into the mat (you can keep the toes tucked under, only if you easily grab hold of your heels, while maintaining the alignment and integrity of the posture)
- Bring the palms of your hands to rest at your low back
- Engage your core the whole time
- Bring your shoulder blades down your back and your elbows to hug in towards your mid-back
- Continuously keep pressing your stomach, hips, and thighs forward
- Drop your head back slightly, to bring your eye gaze to the ceiling
- Hold for 5 – 10 deep breaths in and out through the nose
Benefits
- Stretches your neck, chest, abdomen, thighs, hip flexors (psoas), groins, and ankles.
- Strengthens your back muscles, gluteal muscles, and arm muscles (triceps).
- Massages and stimulates your organs and abdomen.
Caution
- You should not attempt Camel Pose if you have high blood pressure or chronic migraines. You should also not attempt Camel Pose if you’re suffering from insomnia. Enlist the help of an experienced instructor with Camel Pose if this is your first time trying it
Have you tried this pose before? What has been your experience?
