Tiger pose
Sanskrit: Vyaghrasana
Tiger Pose simulates the stretch a tiger makes when it wakes up. It is a super delicious spinal lengthener and backbend. Use this posture to stretch out your entire front body, from your ankles all the way through your thighs, abdomen, chest, and up to your throat.
Benefits
- Strengthens the muscles in the arms: As this pose brings the body to all fours, your knees and your palms, the entire body weight falls on them. Though it is important to distribute the weight of the body evenly, yet for beginners, the entire weight falls on the arms. This further improves the muscle strength around the elbows, wrists and shoulders.
- Strengthens the knees and the thighs: As the hip weight falls on the thighs and the knees, tightening the muscles around the knees and the thighs during the practice of this pose will also improve the muscle strength. Leaving it loose, one would have lesser control on the body and hence not remain stable. Therefore it is essential to work on keeping these muscles pulled in tight. Repeated pulling in of the muscles with make them strong and one could hold on to the posture, Vyaghrasana for longer duration.
- Opens the hips and brings about balance and flexibility: Vyaghrasana or the Tiger Pose, with all the attention at the lower abdomen and lower back, helps to open the hips to a great extent. Opening of the hips refers to the clearing off any stiffness around the hips. And while the practice should be done equally with both the legs, it will also balance the hip joint. A good balanced hip joint takes care of the inner alignment of the same and also improves the flexibility of the muscles around the hip.
- Excess fat burns and tones the hips and thighs: The tightening of the gluteus during the practice of this pose along with the tightening of the thigh muscles ensures the excess fat to be removed and burned out. Hence the toning of the thighs and the hips also happens.
- Digestive system improves and the muscles get toned: The main focus during the practice of Vyaghrasana should be at the core. While the muscles at the core need to be pulled in along with the belly to get a great looking posture, the internal organs around these muscles begin to function completely, improving the digestive system. Along with the improving of the digestive system, the abdominal muscles gets toned up helping on proper abdominal health.
- Relieves stress around the lower back: The main benefit one derives from practice of Vyaghrasana, is the expansion and contraction of the lower back muscles, while the belly is pulled in deep making the breathing slow and steady. The steady movement of the muscles around the lower back, reduces the stiffness and relieves one from any kind of lower back pain or tightness.
- Tones the spinal nerves: While the breathing expands and contracts the entire muscles around the spine, the nerves get enough prana to help healing and keeping the nerves fit. These nerves also relaxes the sciatic nerves and reduces any symptoms and pains related to sciatica.
- Reproductive organs get toned: The deep movement and expansion of the lower abdominal muscles, towards the side of the abdomen, which gets the maximum stretch as the leg is raised, gets toned with this deep stretch. This stretch works on tightening the muscles around the vagina too, making it a great pose to be practiced by women after childbirth.
- A great chest opener: With variations of this pose, Tiger Pose, the stretch can become a wonderful chest opener, by raising the neck upwards while still holding on to the balance. Opening of the chest works well for healing allergy related to asthma.
- Great on the joints: The pressure at the hips, knees, ankles, shoulders, elbows, wrists and neck helps in working on the movement of the joints. Thus it awakens the body and keeps these joints flexible and fit.
Cautions and Contradictions
The practice of this pose can be harmful or can cause more pain if one is suffering from severe sciatica, or in the case of slipped disc, or injury at the knees, hips, wrists or shoulders. Pregnant women should take complete guidance and support with the practice of this pose.
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