Method
Step 1: Lie down on your back, adjust your lower back by pushing your hips and tailbone towards your heels so that lower back is resting on the floor without any gap or arch formation.
Step 2: Bend both the knees; place both the thighs on your chest; press your hips downward; be in the posture for few seconds and raise your head off the floor; you are trying to rest your forehead or touch your nose to your knee; hold the posture for few seconds; rest your head down on the floor; hold the posture for half a minute to 1 minute and relax.
Step 3: Alternatively, you can also keep your heels together while getting your knees apart and thereby pressing your knees down
Step 4: Lie down on your back; adjust your lower back by sliding your hips and tailbone down towards your heels so that lower back is firmly resting on the floor without any gap or arch.
Step 5: Inhale and raise your right leg up to 60 degree (use your core muscles to raise your right leg up); keep your right leg stretched and while maintaining the stretch, bend your right knee and place your right thigh on the right side of your chest; hug your right leg with both the hands; try to hold your elbows with the opposite hands; keep your left leg straight and stretched, left hamstrings pressed against the floor with your left heel sliding out and left toes flexing in.
Step 6: You may also choose to keep your left leg straight on the floor while keeping a bolster below your left knee; hold for half a minute or as per your comfort with normal breathing; release and repeat the same sequence with your left leg.
Note : In case of discomfort at back, bend your left knee, place your left foot on the floor and then raise your right leg up
Benefits
- Massages your lower back and gives relief to lower back pain.
- Improves digestion; helps dealing with gastric problems
Contraindications
- Pregnant woman should not practice Ardha Pawanmuktasana.
- People suffering with piles or hernia should perform this asana only in supervision and consultation with a yoga expert.