The below mentioned steps needs to be followed in order to perform the mentioned asana or the yoga pose
Start by lying down on your spine on the floor
Bend your knees and position the soles of the feet wide apart by keeping it lose to the hip
Keep the elbows in a bending position and keep your hands close to your head on the floor with wide opened palms and the fingers should point in the direction of the shoulders
The shoulders should be pushed down on the floor which would trigger a feeling of opening as well lifting of the chest to some extent and the tail bone should be taken in. Then the inner feet needs to be further pushed down
Inhale and raise the hips towards the roof and try to stay until you take you take one or two breaths
Inhale and just after exhaling tow in the feet towards yourself, position the shoulders slowly and vigorously down on the floor in order to pin your shoulder blades on the backside
Pull in your armpits and compress into the hands for the purpose of raising up your body, on top of the crown of your head or just head straight up towards the roof by stretching your arms to the maximum possible extent
Once you have lifted your body, the inner portion of the thighs should turn in, the tailbone should stretch, the upper arms should revolve outwards, the upper back should twist and you can allow your head to suspend or raise the head to some extent in order to look down on the floor.
In order to come out of the pose, exhale and then lower your body towards the floor with your head up towards the roof and your chin pulled to your chest
You should stay in the poses for maximum 5 to 10 breaths and can replicate it around 3 to 10 times
The main anatomical focus of this pose is on the spine. This pose of yoga, work towards enhancing the flexibility of the spine along with strengthening the upper back, thighs, wrists, spine and arms. It helps in stimulating the human nervous system and as a result augments the energy level.
The Urdhva Dhanurasana is considered to be a great remedy for fighting depression. The therapeutic benefit of this pose is for depression, asthma, infertility, back pain, low energy and osteoporosis. This asana is also regarded as a beneficial tool for the reason of attaining focus as well as clarity. It promotes the development or rather triggers the activities related to the nervous system and the heart thus, enhancing the energy level and ensuring proper functioning of the human body. This asana is known to involve a demanding posture and it is believed that these kinds of challenging positions help to balance the mind. This asana is considered to be immensely advantageous for people suffering from asthma, back pain and depression.
This particular asana includes several benefits and few of them have been mentioned below:
It helps to strengthen and stretch the vertebrate, which as a result enhances elasticity of the spine. This pose specifically helps to make the required gap in one's spine in order to keep healthy and young along with standing tall
This pose helps in strengthening the wrists, legs, chest, arms, shoulders and the abdomen thus, ensuring toned muscles
It helps in opening up the heart and enhancing the functioning of the lungs. This asana is even influential in pumping augmented quantities of oxygen into one's rib cage which indisputably enhances respiration. Thus, owing to such benefits it is considered to be an ideal solution for people suffering from asthma
It improves one's nervous system and enhances the secretion of hormones that helps to keep the body in perfect health. The hormonal stability which is supposed to be an effect of this asana is believed to greatly help in terms of fertility
It helps in checking accumulation of fat in the slanted areas of one's body and helps in slimming
It enhances the elasticity of hips
It helps in fighting stress, anxiety and depression along with energizing one mentally as well as physically
It trims down the chance related to commencement of osteoporosis
It helps in harmonizing the human body functions with one another
It helps in reducing back pain to a certain extent
Inspite of the several benefits of this mentioned asana, there are believed to be certain contraindications when this should be avoided. High blood pressure, carpal tunnel syndrome, back injuries and wrist problems are the conditions in which this asana or pose needs to be avoided. It is therefore, advisable to perform the asana under the supervision of an expert.
The Urdva Dhanurasana is considered to be a challenging posture which is mastered by performing it in phases. It is suggested that prior to attempting this asana, one should initially practice the basic yoga poses as it helps in opening up the body.
Variation of the pose can be attained through two ways. First, by lifting one leg upwards towards the ceiling and then, coming to the pose from there. Second, is by standing up straight from this pose instead of lying back on the floor.
A couple of blocks can be used to add some variation to this pose in order to support the hands and the feet which aids in allowing stretching the back to the maximum. The blocks must be supported against the wall and covered with a mat to prevent slipping.
A partner can help in increasing the strength of the shoulder. The partner should stand in front of the head while one is performing this pose. The partner should try to bring his/her hand around the torso covering the shoulder and encourage the person performing the yoga to broaden the shoulder.
Preparatory poses helps in attaining the required flexibility needed for this asana. Some of the preparatory poses include Virasana, Bhujangaasana, Setu Bandha Sarvangasana and Urdhva Mukha Svanasana.
Follow up poses helps in relaxing the body and mind. The follow up poses for this asana are Ardha Matsyendrasana and Supta Padangusthasana.
Once in this pose attempt should be made to raise the heels and tailbone upwards. Next, the feet must be brought towards the hand and then the body must again come down to the floor. This should be repeated to enhance the backbend depth.