Urdhva Mukha Svanasana is an ancient yoga pose and is currently performed as a stretching exercise around the world. It is a part of the yoga postures performed in Surya Namaskar and its yoga action closely resembles that of Bhujangasana yoga posture. Urdhvamukha Svanasana is beneficial for the muscles present in the spine, neck, shoulders and many other parts. In this, the practitioner places half the body weight on the arms, thereby exercising the muscles. Urdhvamukha Svanasana is known in English as “Upward Facing Dog”.
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Benefits of vertical breathing:
If the upward facing breathing yoga posture is done with the right technique and taking care of special things, then many health benefits can be given from it –
1. Strengthens the spinal cord
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana is considered to be a very beneficial yoga posture for the spine. This strengthens the muscles around the bones of the spine and starts supporting them.
2. Make the shoulders strong with the vertical breathing pose
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana is such a yoga posture, in which the weight of some part of the body is placed on the hands and shoulders. This strengthens the muscles of the shoulders and reduces the risk of pain and sprains.
3. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana is helpful in removing back pain
For those people who often complain of back pain, vertical breathing can be very beneficial.
4. Upward facing breathing keeps the mood good
By doing Urdhva Mukha Svanasana regularly and with the right technique, the mental symptoms start reducing, due to which the mood also remains good.
However, the health benefits to be gained from Urdhva Mukha Svanasana completely depend on the method of yoga asana and your health condition.
Steps to do Upward Facing Dog:
If you are going to practice vertical breathing posture for the first time, then following steps may help you to make this yoga posture –
- First of all, lay a mat on a flat ground and lie down on it on your stomach.
- During this the upper part of the toes should be touching the ground.
- Bend the elbows of both the arms and keep the palm near the armpit
- Now taking deep, lift the front part of the body on the help of palms
- In such a situation, the whole part above the knee should be raised from the ground.
- Now slowly start lifting the knees in the air and let the weight come on the toes
- In this way, all the weight of the body falls on the top of your palms and toes.
- During this, try to look towards the sky by turning the neck upwards.
You can do this yoga kriya for the duration as per your capacity and then gradually come back to normal state. If you have any questions related to this, then contact a good yoga instructor.
Precautions during Upward Facing Dog
The upward facing breathing exercise is usually done under the supervision of a yoga instructor and during this it is necessary to take the following precautions –
- start doing yoga slowly
- don’t let your knees stay on the ground
- keep both hands parallel
- practice yoga on flat ground
- Do not eat or drink anything just before starting yoga
When not to do Upward Facing Dog
There are some health conditions during which a doctor’s permission should be taken before practising vertical breathing exercises –
- severe injury or pain in any part of the body
- headache or dizziness
- heart or respiratory disease
- pregnancy or menstruation
