Namaste and Welcome to Namaste Yoga. My name is
Surbhi. I am a Yoga Teacher. The goal of my channel is to tell you
all those little tips and tricks that many yoga teachers know but somehow
in class setting they do not get conveyed to the students.
In today's video we are going to dissect Ardha Matsyendrasana. First
I will tell you all the benefits of this asana.
Then we will dissect the asana. I will also tell you
what to do if you are a beginner or your body is too stiff.
And after that I will tell you the precautions or people who should not be
doing the asana. So let's get started. Ardha Matsyendrasana
is a very good spinal twist pose.
Because of the deep twisting motion of this asana,
we really squeeze all the organs inside our abdomen,
which actually massages all our internal organs;
pancreas, spleen, which is why it is very good for people with diabetes. They
should do this asana every single day. It really takes the
toxins out of from our internal organs.
And it is also good for the flexibility of our spine
shoulders and also for neck. This is basically one asana
that really involves the movement of the spine
starting from the cervical all the way to our tailbone or lumbar.
And just like any other asana if you are not doing it
right, you are not reaping any benefit of that asana.
And always always pay attention to your breath how you inhale and how you exhale
is really important in this asana. So let's get started with the dissection.
First sit in Dandasana. Then fold your right leg
and bring it across your left knee. Then fold your left leg.
Your left heel should be right by your hip bone.
This is the first mistake many people make in this asana. Usually people
literally sit on their heel. You should not be
sitting on the heel. Both of your sit bones should be on the
ground. So this is the time to observe your own posture. If
both of your sit bones are not on the ground,
usually what happens is this one comes up. What I want you to do
is; use a blanket and try to put this sit bone, right side,
the right knee is up, the right side on the ground
and put a blanket on your left side so it balances out.
I am going to show this to you from the back so it's easy to understand.
At any given moment we should not be compromising the straightness of
our spine. Because we will be twisting our spine in this
asana, so if it is tilted and we are twisting it
we have more chances to get our spine injured. So first we have to make sure
that our spine is not tilted. If this sit bone
is coming up you are not flexible. Put it down and put a blanket on this
side, just so. So this balances out
both sides of our hips and makes our spine straight.
Once you have that correct then whichever knee is high up
that hand goes back for support. You can keep it close to you. You can keep it far.
That's totally your personal choice. And then the left hand comes
in between thigh and your chest. aAd if you are flexible you can just
hold on to your foot. If you want to take a break
hold on to your knee first, and then your foot.
Now here make sure that you are able to breathe.
So take a deep breath.
If you are breathing properly it means you're going the right way.
So take a deep breath. As you exhale, try twisting your spine and look
back. Then stop, then again check yourself.
Take a deep breath and again exhale and twist more
Because we are twisting our whole abdominal area, if we are not able to
breathe properly then we are injuring ourselves rather than getting the
benefits out of the asana. If you are not able to do this,
you can just hold your knee like that. Or you can just keep it, keep your hand
like that. So, see how flexible you are. But
whichever position you pick make sure your spine is
straight and you can breathe full breaths. That's the right way to check yourself
full breath. So every time you inhale straighten your
spine lift yourself up, and every time you exhale keep your
spine straight and twist. Then again inhale
keep your spine straight, exhale and twist.
And your hand can be either way you like.
Then stay in this position for at least four to five
breaths. And after that take one last inhale,
exhale and very slowly come back. All of your muscles are really stretched
out, you do not want to hurt yourself. Come back and release both of your legs.
I am going to show this to you on the other side, so you can see how both sides
look like. So this time we are going to fold our
left leg. Put it across our right knee
then fold our right knee. Your heel goes right by your hip.
Do not sit on your heel both of the sit bones
should be on the ground. If your left side is lifting up put a blanket
or a pillow on your right side. Make sure your spine is erect.
Then whichever knee is up that hand goes back
to support. And other hand goes through, in between your thigh and your hips.
And based on your flexibility you can either
hold your knee or just keep your hand like that,
or do that. It's totally your choice. Inhale
come in the position, then check yourself are you able to inhale fully. If yes, then
inhale, exhale keep your spine straight and
twist. Again inhale,
exhale twist. Again inhale exhale twist. And this deep
motion of twisting literally makes your spine flexible.
All the way from your neck to your tailbone.
And your abdomen is squeezing, and all the toxins are coming out of
your internal organs. After four to five breaths again one
last inhale, exhale slowly come back.
If you cannot exhale for long again stop. Inhale,
exhale come back, and spread your legs again
in Dandasana.
Take a deep breath, relax. Now what if you are a very beginner
or you are not flexible enough or you have belly fat
that you cannot do this asana. The easiest way to do is:
Just take your right leg put it across your left, you do not have to fold
your left leg. Keep your left leg straight
and do everything else same. Just whichever knee is up
that hand goes back to support. Make sure both of your sit bones are on the ground.
Make sure your spine is straight. You can just hold on to your knee like this.
Deep inhale, exhale and twist. Again inhale, exhale and twist even more.
And stay in this position for four to five breaths.
Once you're coming back, come back on the exhale.
If even this is very hard and your
knee is not coming up. You are putting it across but this is what's happening.
In that case don't even put it across just
keep it on this side, that's it. Make sure both of your sit bones
are on the ground, and you can still do do the same thing.
So build your body up to it slowly by practicing every day and then
you will be able to fully do Ardha Matsyendrasana.
Now for precautions: if you have severe back pain or slip disc
or hernia or you are pregnant please do not do this asana. If you have
any questions or concerns about the sequence that i just showed
you, please write them in the comment box. I would love to answer them. You can also
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this. I wish you all a very Happy and Healthy day.
Namaste.