Vakrasana is the Sanskrit name for ‘ spine twist pose’. Vakrasana is a combination of two words, vakra meaning ‘Twist’ and asana meaning ‘yoga posture’. Vakrasana is a simplified form of Ardha matsyendrasana. Sanskrit’s name for both of these yoga poses is diffrenet but in English, they both are called twist pose In some areas Ardhamatsyendrasana is called half spinal twist pose. For people that can’t perform or practice Ardhamatsyendrasana, Vakrasana would serve as a good alternative as well as a good progressive exercise to many other stretches.
Among many easy twist poses, vakrasana is one of them. Even though vakrasana is a beginner yoga pose still it does provide adequate stretch in your lower spine as well as in the abdomen region.
Doing yoga daily can have a good effect on your health such as improved digestion, improved cardiovascular health, increased flexibility, etc. Vakrasana is said to stimulate the pancreas making it a good yoga posture for people suffering from diabetes, This yoga pose also helps in the secretion of digestive fluids that help tackle digestive issues hence improving our digestive system. All these benefits make it worth adding vakrasana to your routine.
How to do Vakrasana?
- You can use a yoga mat or you can even do it on the ground, I prefer a yoga mat.
- Now sit down with your legs fully extended and your hand placed beside your thighs or hips.
- Now bring back your left leg in a way that your left foot is placed next to the right leg’s knee.
- Inhale and raise your shoulder and keep your spine in a straight line.
- Now slowly exhale and twist to your left side.
- As you’re twisting, try to grab your left leg ankle with your right hand.
- When you’re doing that your right-hand elbow would be touching your left leg’s knee.
- Place your left hand behind your back, keeping the palm on the floor. It would provide the support that would help you to keep your spine straight.
- Now try looking backward by twisting your head towards the left side.
- Hold this position for at least 6 to 8 seconds.
- Now repeat this same method for the other side.
Make sure that the final positioning of each stage should be held while keeping your breathing natural. Try to hold that twist hold position for as long as you’re comfortable.
Try to keep movement in your region to the minimum which will help you reap the benefit of this yoga asana to the fullest. Don’t try to put unnecessary strain onto your spine by twisting it more than you can handle. The muscle region such as the spine, arm, shoulder, and abdominal would be get benefitted from this asana.
If you’re a person who is suffering from health problems such as slipped disc, shoulder or hip injury, knee pain, back pain, or had surgery in the abdominal region and for women who are more than 2 to 3 months pregnant should avoid doing this asana.
People with big bellies may find it hard to place a hand on the other side of the knee so I would suggest keeping their hand on the knee and gradually working toward increasing their flexibility so they can do this asana with proper form.
7 Vakrasana health benefits
Spine and back nerves – Practisisng Vakrasana daily will have a good health effect on your spine and nerve region. The twisting pose of this asana will provide great extension and compression on your spine and back nerve and in turn, will improve their health.
Back pain – Extension and compression of the spine also provide massage to your muscle situated in the back region that enables your muscles to heal and it will reduce your back pain. Daily movement such as forward bending or backward bending becomes easier.
Flexibility – Vakrasana is one of the best poses when it comes to dealing with stiffness in your back region. Regular practice of this asana will improve flexibility so it’s a great addition to work out for people that want to improve the flexibility of their body.
Lung purification – A regular twist that comes with this asana helps the body to remove bad blood from the back region and circulate it back to the lung and heart for purification of that bad blood. This increases the capability of the lung for the purification of blood.
Helps with Diabetes – This asana helps you stimulate the pancreas and the signal of beta cells of the pancreas to secrete more insulin. Secretion of insulin helps in blood sugar entering the body’s cells so it can be stored as energy (1). Insulin also signals the liver to store blood sugar for later.
Improves Urinary system health – Vakrasana ensures the proper flow of oxygen, blood, and other nutrients to the urinary system, and that in turn promotes urinary system health and helps us prevent UTIs.
Improves digestive system – The twist and turn involved in vakrasana promotes our digestive system to release more digestive fluids that in turn enhances our digestive process. It also aids in combating constipation.
Final words
Vakrasana is an easy and beginner yoga asana with lots of health benefits. It’s also a great post-workout stretching exercise that can be done at home just make sure to keep your breathing and form in check to get the most out of the asana. Do not push yourself, twist your spine as per your flexibility.