Navasana outline
Navasana is a Sanskrit word which means boat pose or boat yoga. This asana can be done both lying on the back as well as stomach. Doing boat pose is quite simple. One can learn it easily by following its technique step by step. It has many variations like Paripurna navasana, Ardha navasana, and Ekapadanavasana. It is also known as Naukasana. The practice of navasana provides adequate stretching to the entire body from head to toes. It has many health benefits like weight loss, diabetes, making abs, curing naval problems, preventing diseases of the pancreas, liver, kidney, and gastric juices.
Navasana step by step-How to do boat pose
- Lying down on your back.
- Straight your legs and brings your arms towards your knee.
- Now inhale and raise both your legs and upper parts of the body at 30 degrees.
- Maintain the pose as long as one can
- Do inhaling and exhaling normally.
- Exhale, and brings yourself to the original position.
- This is one round. One may do 3 to 5 rounds or as per one’s convenience.
Variations of navasana
- Follow the above steps.
- But while raising your legs and upper parts of the body, it makes sure that your palms come out your knees.
- It will happen when both parts of the body are raises at 60 degrees or above of it.
- Here the body looks like as V-shaped.
Boat pose lying on stomach
- Lie down on your stomach.
- Brings your arms before your head.
- Minimize the gap between your legs and arms.
- Inhale raises your body at 30 degrees.
- Maintain the pose as long as you can.
- Do normal breathing.
- Exhale; bring your body down slowly.
Navasana benefits
- Abdominal muscles: Navasana gives suitable stretch to the abdominal muscles thus toned the abdominal body part.
- Lower back: If you want to make your lower back stronger, this is one of the best bets to practice.
- Strengthen the nerves: It makes the nerves and entire nervous system stronger by making appropriate stretch to the entire body.
- Stress reliever: Practicing the asana helps to relieve stress.
- Improves digestion: It helps to secrete gastric juices and ensure proper peristaltic movement thus good for digestion and the digestive system.
- Lower abdominal organs: It is one of the unique yoga poses which is good for the health of lower abdominal organs like the kidney, intestines, and prostate gland.
- Belly fat: The yoga pose is good to burn belly fat and one of the easy asana to make abs.
- Waist: It is helpful in making the waist slim and beautiful and good to reduce fat around the waist.
- Endocrine glands: Due to suitable stretching, it is good for the functioning of endocrine glands like adrenals, pancreas, thyroid, testes, and ovaries.
- Navel displacement: This is quite an effective yoga pose for navel related problems, especially in the management of navel displacement.
- Diabetes: The variation, especially the advanced navasana is beneficial in the prevention of diabetes.
- Improves blood circulation: The asana is good to burn fatty layer from the inner layer of arteries and veins, thus good for smooth blood circulation.
- Lethargy: It removes toxins from the body and makes the body active and energetic.
Navasana precautions
In the following conditions, navasana should be avoided or one should consult an expert before practicing it.
- Hernia
- Spinal injuries
- Blood pressure
- Asthma
- Heart patients
- Pregnancy
- Hip joint pain
- Migraine
- Diarrhea
- Heart problems
- Insomnia
- Neck injury
Navasana preparatory poses
- Tadasana
- Stick pose (Yastikasana)
- Uttanpadasana at and 30o and 60o
- Uttanpadasana with alternate legs.
Navasana follow-up poses
- Stick pose (Yastikasana)
- Shalabhasana
- Shalabhasana variations
- Halasana
