By Atul Vyas
The spine is a unique organ of the body. It is the central support system for your entire body, assisting with nearly all movements, while protecting our spinal cord. So it must be firm enough to support one’s body’s weight while standing, sitting and lying. It also must be flexible and strong enough to anchor our body, helping upper and lower limbs to move smoothly.
The spine is extremely mobile but lack of movement and tightened muscles quickly cause it to stiffen and lose its mobility and elasticity. Its restricted capacity for movement also hampers one in one’s daily activities and increase the risk of injury, if one have minor accident or lose one’s balance.
The postures of classical yoga focus almost exclusively on the spine and include all types of spinal movements. Practicing these movements will increase circulation in spinal nerves. So one starts feeling good and energetic.
According to yoga, the spine is an energy channel of subtle energy (prana) to flow freely through it. So, it needs to be maintained in a healthy, flexible condition and above all it needs to be erect. It is also believed in yoga that youth is directly proportional to the flexibility of the spine.
To prevent backache and other back problems one must keep the spine healthy and flexible.
There are many yogic poses to keep the spine healthy and flexible, one of them is Urdhav Hastottanasana: Up stretched arms posture.
In this pose hands are stretched above the head and bent to the side from the waist.
Technique:
- Stand with feet hips apart
- Now while inhaling raise the arms from the sides up your head
- Straighten your elbows, interlace your fingers and turn your palms to face ceiling
- Exhaling bend to right side and stretch
- Now, while inhaling come to normal position and then again bend while exhaling on your left side
- Now swing the neck with stretched hands alternatively to the right and to the left ten times to start with
Benefits:
- Relieves constipation
- Makes waist slim
- Make chest broad
- Increases height and relieves painful conditions of ribs
- Makes spine very flexible and healthy
Atul Vyas likes to be called a “Yoga Scientist”. He is a celebrity yoga trainer and has trained several top Hollywood and Bollywood stars. He has trained for years under many eminent yoga gurus including his illustrious mother Daya Vyas, the first lady yoga guru of India.
