Yoga Pose:
Kukkutasana
Important Note
Take special precautions while doing any asana. If you are learning yoga, then take the advice of a knowledgeable person. Do not put any kind of force in the event of pain or unable to do so. Keep in mind that you will be able to succeed only with constant practice.
Brief Introduction Of The Kukkutasana
- Kukkutasana or Cockerel Pose is a Yoga Asana that is supposed to make your body take the shape of a rooster. This is among the oldest poses in Hatha Yoga.
- It is intended to make the body stronger and not for meditation purposes. This is not a sitting pose, and is actually a combination of sitting pose and arm balancing.
- In the ultimate position in Kukkutasana, you have sit as in the Kukkutasana and balance yourself on arms similar to the Crow Pose.
How To Do The Kukkutasana?
You need to have powerful coordination of the muscles in your hand-wrist, triceps and core area. Thus, this is an advanced Yoga pose and is among the difficult poses for all beginners. These are the steps that you need to follow in order to perform Kukkutasana in a safe and effective way:
- First, you have to sit in Padmasana.
- Start with cross-legged sitting, as the Padamasana demands. Roll out the calf muscles and the thighs, so as to ensure that a space exists in between them.
- Place the hands in between calves and thighs.
- Push the fingers and next, slowly take up the hands to the level of the elbows in the space that exists between the calf and the thighs.
- Put the hands firmly, adjacent to each other. Make sure that both thumbs touch each other and the fingers are pointed to the forward direction.
- Breathe out, and elevate your body from the floor.
- Firmly push the hands on the floor surface. Breathe out and elevate the body from your butts. Try to use all the strength of your core and arm muscles, in order to balance your body in a proper way.
- Check the back and hands, which need to be erect. Now breathe in a normal way.
- Now release the position and take some rest. Change the way you cross the legs.
- After you hold the posture for some breaths, take some rest, relaxing on the floor. Then release your hands and change the way you cross the legs in the Padamasana posture. Change the crossing, putting the leg below above now, and repeat the pose.
Benefits Of The Kukkutasana
There are different benefits of performing the pose, Kukkutasana:
- The regular practice of this pose puts the knee joints, ankle, shoulder and wrist under pressure, and can make them stronger. When you perform this pose regularly, it can promote smooth blood circulation and can also tone and strengthen the muscles concerned.
- When you perform Padmasana in kukkutasana, it can make the lower back, upper thigh and hips more mobile, as it leads to the stretching of the muscles therein. Thus, with regular practice, you can be more flexible in those areas.
- You need a lot of focus as well as strength as you try to balance your body on the hands. This is among the best yoga postures that can improve your concentration levels. It can gift you better coordination between the brain, eye muscle and ear that are involved in balancing the body. It can ultimately help boost your concentration levels.
- As you perform this pose, your abdominal area comes under pressure. This can help massage the digestive organ, and can stimulate and increase the production of digestive juices and enzymes. Your body is able to assimilate and digest in an efficient manner.
- Those who practice this asana can stimulate their body, which can lead to an increase in the level of the neurochemical known as the endorphins that can make you feel good and ease your pain sensations. You can enjoy better sleep and also experience a decrease in anxiety and stress levels.
- This pose can also improve the metabolism, and help generate your body heat. It can burn the additional fat in your belly area and increase perspiration in that region all through the time of practice. It can also lower the risks of suffering from diabetes.
- When you practice this asana in an appropriate manner, it can help activate your Mooladhara chakra. This can let you experience more growth, vigor and vitality. It can also reduce needless physical desires and laziness for you.
- It can also massage the abdominal area and can stimulate the adrenal glands that can control the symptoms of poor immunity, hypertension and metabolism, among others.
- When you get your body in the shape of a rooster, or a male chicken – which signifies virility – you can improve your vigor. As you practice this asana, you can focus your sexual energy and get it redirected even more for boosting the virility of your body.
Precautions To Be Taken While Doing The Kukkutasana
When you perform Kukkutasana, it is important to follow a few precautions:
- Avoid practicing this asana if you happen to be suffering from knee injuries, enlarged spleen, gastric ulcers, prolapse, hernia, back pain, lung or heart problems or high blood pressure.
- If you are in your menstruation cycle or are pregnant, you need to avoid this Yoga pose.
- Do not practice this asana if you are suffering from a weak or injured shoulder, elbow or wrist.
- Put thin folded blankets over the thighs if you do not have a proper grip of legs while in Padmasana or the Cross-Legged pose.
- In case you fear that you might lose balance as you are off the ground, put a bolster before your body so that it can cushion the effects of the fall and keep you safe from hitting the ground hard. Else, you might get injured as you perform Kukkutasana.
Conclusion
- Kukkutasana is a great pose to perform for overall health and for the immense benefits that it can offer to the body.
- You can find this pose commonly in yoga sequences like Hip opening yoga sequence, Core yoga sequence, Iyengar yoga sequence and Ashtanga Primary Series Sequence.
- If you need to make yourself stronger, it can be a good idea to perform this pose regularly.
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