Adho Mukha Svanasana is a Sanskrit word possessing a literal meaning Adhas-“Down”, Mukha- “Face”, Svana-“Dog”, and Asana- “Posture”. So, this downwards-facing dog posture is an inversion asana often practiced as a primary and widely accepted Yoga posture and a part of Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation).
The Downward Facing Dog Pose Seems in most styles of yoga as either a strengthening, the downward dog pose is one of the widely identified yoga poses and this form of asana is even depicted in film, literature, and promotion, the title of novels and television series “Downward Dog“.
Instruction For Adho Mukha Svanasana
Follow this Guidance to do Adho Mukha Svanasana.
- Come to the floor with hands slightly ahead of your shoulders and knees below the hips. Spread your palm, index fingers parallel or slightly curved out and toes turn under.
- With a deep sigh, slightly bending your knees lift them away from the floor. Lengthen your tailbone away from your pelvis and lightly towards the pubis. Lift the sitting bones towards the ceiling and from your inner ankles move the inner legs up in the grain.
- Blowing your breath, push the top thigh back and heels stretched onto the floor. Without locking order your knees and roll the thighs inward and the front of the pelvis should be narrowed.
- Firming your outer arms, press the bases of the pointer finger on the floor and lift your inner arms from the wrist to the top of the shoulders. Firm your shoulder blades upon the back and widen them to draw towards the tailbone. Remember to keep your head on the upper arm.
- Stay in this posture for a couple of minutes and slowly bend your knees to the floor with an exhalation.
Precaution for Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing-Dog pose)
Although downward-facing seems to be a simple pose to perform there are a number of places where this can go wrong. One of the most frequent mistakes discovered is people put a lot of pressure on their hands which can further lead to unusual complications like wrist pain.
So, we should be concerned to have evenly distributed weight across both hands and legs. Someone who has wrist problems, arthritis, with weak back muscles requires to be careful enough. They can kindly bend their knees while still keeping their back straight. They can even propel a towel under their wrist to make themselves comfortable.
However, this asana should be evaded by people suffering from uncontrolled high blood pressure, weak eye capillaries, or any kind of inflammation of the eyes or ears. It is prudent not to be performed by women during their late pregnancy.
Benefits of Adho Mukha Svanasana
Downward-facing Dog asana is a common strengthening and stretching exercise that comes up with a variety of benefits for the body.
- It helps to stretch and decongest the spinal cord and improves the flow of energy and nervous function between the body and brain.
- It helps in increasing the chest and strengthens the lungs for better respiratory function.
- Apart from the elimination of waste from the excretory system, it even helps in eliminating toxins from the mouth, eyes, ears, and nose.
- Improves the excretory system and maintains internal; chemical homeostasis. Even helpful for constipation and urine obstruction.
- Improve the circulation of blood and lymph systems. This improves the nourishment and revitalization of the cells and clears toxic and waste products out from the body.
Summary
The downward dog pose serves everyone, from the initial beginners to the regular practitioners. It might be tough to perform during the beginning but this will be your favorite relaxation pose afterward. The downward dog pose is one of the internationally recognized yoga poses.
