Method
Step 1: Assume Sashankasana (Child Pose); come on your fours; arms are in line with your shoulders; tuck your toes, slightly move your body weight at the back by shifting it on the heel of the palm and pushing your hips at the back and raise your knees off the floor.
Step 2: Come on your toes; heels are off the floor and to the ceiling; legs are tall (not bending at the knee), arms are tall; lengthen the arch of your feet;
Step 3: Maintain the stretch; gradually start opening the back of the knees by making your legs straight. Your heels are off the floor and pointing towards the ceiling; knees are straight and raised up; your quadriceps are raised up; slowly and gradually start pushing your heels down on the floor by keeping the back of the legs completely stretched. Your toes are parallel to the floor and heels a little away from each other so that the heels are in line with your little toe. Keep pressing the outer edges of the heels firmly on the floor.
Step 4: Push the end of the palms; stretch your arms and lengthen it as much as possible; lengthen your armpit; press your chest in towards your thighs, tuck your tummy in towards your pelvic, thighs are rolling in; keep raising your hips up pointed to the ceiling.
Each and every part of your body is stretched except the throat muscles; hold the posture with normal breathing and look at your toes.
Benefits
- Cramps in calf and thigh muscles: It relieves cramp in the calf and thigh muscles, brings elasticity to the leg and back muscles and also tones the abdominal organ.
- Plantar Fascia & Achilles Tendon: Pressing the heels on the floor helps release the stiffness from the calf muscles which in turn, helps deal with the issues like Achilles Tendon and the Plantar Fascia.
- Carries the benefits of Sirshasana: Being a semi inversion posture in nature, Adhomukha Shvanasana increases blood flow to the head and thereby, brings lot of benefits of Shirshasana – rejuvenating brain cells, improving the memory, giving good massage to the facial muscles as well as increasing the blood flow in the scalp thereby improving hair texture etc.
- Feet Related: Relieves pain in the heels; strengthens ankles, stretches the arch, helps in case of flat feet etc.
- Spinal massage: Lengthens the spinal region and thereby rejuvenates the intervertebral disc in between the vertebrae. Lengthening of the spine helps aid in height increase.
- Arm strengthening: Stretches and strengthens the arms and the shoulders. Relieves the arthritis of the shoulder join.
- Gluteal Opening: This posture is a great stretch for opening of the gluteal muscles. It relieves the pain and stiffness of the legs caused due to sciatica. With this posture, we see the lengthening effect on diaphragm, hamstrings, gastrocnemius, soleus and gluteus maximus. Latissimus dorsi is also lengthened.
Contraindication
- Avoid in case of wrist injury & shoulder injury