Dandasana meaning
Dandasana (Staff Pose) is a sitting yoga pose and acts as a precursor for many sitting, standing, prone and supine yoga poses. If one sees the anatomy of this pose, it reveals that dandasana plays an important role for body alignment.
I have discussed the significance of Dandasana with one of the yoga expert of the Art of Living, Bengaluru wherein he has mentioned that following the procedure of this yoga pose step by step helps in many ways viz. strengthen the back, good for shoulders and arms, give an alignment to your knees and ankles. Besides these, the yoga teacher also highlighted that how Dandasana plays an important role for the practice of other yoga poses. Here, we will discuss Dandasana simple steps, benefits, precautions and contraindications.
Dandasana facts
- Dandasana is a Sanskrit word, in English, it is called Staff Pose.
- It is pronounced as ‘dun-DAHS-anna’.
- Pose type: Seated yogasana
- Targets: Lower and upper body. Hamstrings, calves
- It is comprises of two words ‘danda’ means stick and asana means ‘yoga pose’.
- The word Dandasana used first in Sritattvanidhi.
- Level: Beginner
- Anatomy: It is good for the muscles viz. lower back, hips and pelvic.
Dandasana benefits
- It gives the body a proper alignment.
- Stretching is experienced at chest, shoulder and back regions.
- It improves posture, especially the back portion of the body.
- It is beneficial for spine health.
- It is good for your legs, knees and ankles.
- Gives adequate stretching to hamstrings and calves.
Dandasana procedures step by step
- Sit on a flat surface by extending your leg forward.
- Keep your arms straight besides your hips.
- Keep your legs straight and stretched, having small gap between your heels.
- Make sure that your spine is vertically stretched upwards.
- Keep your palms on the ground and try to give a suitable alignment to your upper body and legs.
- This is Dandasna.
- Do normal breathing and maintain the pose as long as you can.
Beginner’s tips
- The beginner’s experience issues while practicing the yoga pose as the thighs and hips are directly in touch with the ground, which are generally lacking with the beginners.
- They should use towel or blanket under their thighs or hips.
- To keep the legs on the ground, stretch your toes outward by pushing your heels little bit back.
Dandasana variation
- If one wanted to practice it perfectly, better to sit in support of the wall.
- If there are problems with hips or thighs, one can keep blanket below it.
- In case of pain in the knees, folded blanket should be used.
- If your hand doesn’t reach to the ground, use blocks.
- If somebody finds difficult in straightening of legs, perform it with little bit folded legs.
Preparatory poses
- Vajrasana
- Tadasana
- Parvatasana
- Padmasana
Counter poses
- Supt Vajrasana
- Stick yoga pose
- Ustrasana
Dandasana precautions
- Legs shouldn’t be rotated outward.
- It shouldn’t be performed fast.
- Do some warm up exercise before practicing this yoga pose.
Dandasana contraindications
- Back injury
- Knee pain
- Wrist injury
- Surgery
- High blood pressure
- Severe weakness
