Yoga Pose:
Malasana
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 Malasana
- Both modern yoga and haltha yoga include Malasana as a part of their exercise regime. In simpler terms it is a squatting exercise to help your different body parts. It is also commonly known as the garland pose or squat in colloquial terms and as Malasana in Sanskrit.
- It is advised that you can use preparatory poses or asanas such as Baddha Konasana, Upavistha Konasana, and Virasana. There are also follow-up poses such as Uttanasana, Adho Mukha Svanasana, and Bhujangasana. Find the details below to perfect Malasana.
How To Do The Malasana?
- As a beginner you might want to use support and props to avoid the asana being not too painful. You can slowly but steadily lower these as time goes by. Despite this process taking a while to do Malasana without support would be ideal to ensure pain prevention.
- It also ensures mobility when you begin doing it long-term. By using the supporting process, you are able to wean yourself properly without tasking your body too much. Below are the steps you can follow to ensure you are doing Malasana the right way.
- Spread your feet up to the width of a regular mat and you would have to come into a squat position by gently bending your knees. This process is supposed to be done slowly so as to not hurt yourself or suffer pain when doing it as a beginner. (Beginners might experience their toes moving towards the outside. However, as you practice the pose you would begin to keep your feet parallel to each other.)
- Get into the prayer position by bending your elbow with your palms together and while your arms are inside of your knees. You can also refer to this position as Anjali Mudra in yoga terms.
- Position your hands to the center part of your heart. To begin with your sternum should be touching your thumbs of both hands. This might require some bit of practice before you are able to achieve this. For some people it is easier while for others it might take a while to master it.
- You should now proceed to push or press your thighs into your upper arms. Likewise, you should be able to do the same for your upper arms and press them towards your thighs.
- Your butt should keep moving as close to the floor as possible while your spinal cord or spine remains straight. Keeping your spinal cord straight is very important with Malasana. Try to keep your shoulders away from both your ears in a relaxed position.
- Up to 5 breaths are recommended for beginners while you can increase it as time goes by. If you are not able to take 5 you can even begin with 3 and then increase the number of breaths. You can choose to be in the pose of Malasana for anywhere between 30 seconds to 1 minute as suggested by experts.
- You might ideally want to come out of this position by straightening your legs or by moving into a different position known as the forward fold. This completely depends on your convenience and there are no hard and fast rules for the same.
- People choose to practice from steps 1 to 7 up to 3 times as it helps them get warmed up with relative ease. You may also choose to try out different poses if you with to depending on the ease at which you get into Malasana and out of it.
- One has to understand that following these steps one at a time would be very important to prevent injuries. It would also increase the comfort factor in practicing Malasana and ensure that you do not suffer with pain when you begin this asana.
Benefits Of The Malasana
There are many benefits that come along with practicing Malasana. We look at some of the best benefits that you can enjoy with this asana apart from the regular benefits that yoga asanas have.
- You can have your groin, ankles, thighs, hips, and torso stretched.
- Your abdominal muscles are also toned well when you practice Malasana.
- Improves and regulates your sex drive as the flow of blood to the pelvis is increased to a great deal.
- If you do not have the ability to focus and concentrate for long hours you can choose to practice Malasana.
- Regular practice of Malasana can also help you with better balance of the body.
- This asana is also helpful to increase your ability to digest by working on the overall metabolism of your body.
- Malasana also provides the person with a calming effect and is said to have other spiritual effects.
Precautions To Be Taken While Doing The Malasana
Like most asanas you can also find certain things that are known as precautions when it comes to practicing Malasana. You may be in a better state of mind and body if you do a little bit of warm up before you begin to practice Malasana. Other main precautions are:
- Always practice Malasana with an empty stomach. Do not practice this asana immediately after your meal.
- Try to keep your heel above the ground if possible. If not always ensure that you do not put too much pressure on the heel by any means.
- If you had a previous injury in your hips, back, or knees you are best advised not to practice this asana. Even if you are suffering from pain in these areas you should not try to practice this asana at all.
Conclusion
- It is irrelevant of whatever yoga asana that you choose to practice or try. It may always be advised to consult your physician before you take Malasana. Moreover, taking instructions from a yoga instructor, guru, or a teacher is also a good option.
- Women who are pregnant should also consult their gynaecologist before they choose to practice this asana. You can always take instructions on the preparatory poses and the follow-up poses from the internet to ensure that you do Malasana the right way.
Share This Page On...