CHAKRASANA & BENEFITS-Circle Pose

C H A K R A S A N A

(Circle Pose)

Many acrobats demonstrate this asana in the streets. It resembles a circle. Hence the significant name ‘chakrasana’. In fact, it resembles more a bow than a circle. Young boys can do it very easily because their spine is very elastic. When the bones become rigid and ossified in advanced years, bending of the spine becomes difficult.

Technique:

Stand up. Raise the hands above the head. Slowly bend towards the back making a curve of the body. When the hands come to your hip level at the back. Slowly bend your legs at the knee. This will help you to bend further and to touch the ground with your hands. Do not be in a hurry. Do it slowly by adjusting balance. Otherwise you will have a fall. Practice this asana on a thick folded blanket. In the beginning, you can do it by the side of a wall or you can ask your friend to catch hold of your hips firmly, and then bend.

There is another way of doing this which is suitable for old people. There is no danger of falling at all. Lie down on the back. Keep the soles of the feet on the ground. The palms must be kept by the side of your head and the elbows above. Now bring your heels near to your hips on the ground and raise your body up, thus making a curve of your spine. By continuous practice one can render the spine very elastic. Elasticity of spines means everlasting youth. A man with a rigid spine can form a semicircle at the outset. In course of time all the rigid parts will become elastic. You can catch hold of the heels with the hands when you do this asana. If you find it difficult to hold this posture for a long time, repeat it a couple of times, with a short rest in between. When you raise yourself in this asana the body will be light. You will get exhilaration of spirit at once. You will be ready for active work. If there is any pain in the neck and shoulders after the practice of sarvangasana do this immediately for a few minutes. It will relieve the pain, as it bends the neck backwards and thus it is a counter-pose to sarvangasana.

Benefits:

He who practices this will have perfect control of his body. He will be agile and nimble. He can turn out more work in a short space of time,and all the parts of the body will be benefited by it. All the other benefits of bhujangasana, salabhasana and dhanurasana are derived from this asana.