If you are thinking of adding more asanas to your yoga practice to get more flexibility and strength, you should try Ardha Bhekasana. This asana is a beginner-level asana that provides strength and makes your body more flexible, which makes it one of the best asanas to be added to your daily yoga practice. It is best for students, runners, swimmers, and also for working individuals doing a desk job. In this blog post, we will dive deep into the introduction of Ardha Bhekasana, its benefits, easy steps, and contraindications. Let’s start our practice.
What is Ardha Bhekasana?
Ardha Bhekasana, also known as Half Frog Pose, is a beginner-level yoga asana that provides an excellent stretch to your hip and back & also strengthens your hips, feet, chest, knees, and back. It is a Sanskrit word where Ardha means Half, Bheka in Sanskrit stands for Toad or Frog, and asana stands for pose or posture. Ardha Bhekasana is a heart-opening asana that can be added to your daily yoga routine. This asana is most beneficial for students, runners, swimmers, and corporate workers as well.
Benefits of Ardha Bhekasana
Half Frog Pose offers a lot of benefits for both your body and mind. Let’s deep dive into the benefits it provides:
- Stretches and strengthens your thigh muscles, spines, shoulders, throat, back, chest, abdomen and hip flexors.
- Makes your lower back flexible and helps you perform advanced asanas like Bhekasana and Dhanurasana.
- Beneficial for runners, swimmers and cyclists.
- Helpful in reducing the risk of breast cancer, asthma, and insomnia.
- Regulates blood pressure and aids in addressing digestion-related issues.
- Open up your chest and shoulder and stimulate energy.
- Benefits the quads and gives you a back extension.
How To Perform Ardha Bhekasana?
Ardha Bhekasana is an easy variation for Bhekasana, and we will now explain how to practice this pose easily. To perform this asana:
- Firstly, you need to lie down on the floor on your belly and keep your feet apart at a hip-width distance. Now, breathe slowly for a few moments.
- Come on your forearms and lift your chest slightly up off the mat.
- From here, move your right forearm in to provide support to your upper body.
- Then, bend your left leg and try to hold your right foot using your palms in such a way that your fingers are pointing toward the ankle.
- Once you grab your left food, try to push your leg towards the ground
- Exhale and take the heels closer to the mat. You will notice that your heel is coming beside your hip.
- Inhale, relax and then exhale. Go more deeper into the pose.
- Maintain the position for a few breaths.
- Release the pose slowly and get back to the original position.
- Remember to repeat the pose from the other side as well.
Ardha Bhekasana Contraindications To Note
When you practice the Half Frog Pose, it’s essential to note some contraindications to avoid injuries. Let’s explore the key contraindications that you can keep in mind before getting into the pose:
- This asana is not safe for individuals with neck, back, shoulder, hips or knee injuries.
- Half Frog Pose is not recommended for people who have arthritis.
- If you have migraine issues, you should avoid performing this asana.
- Individuals with Insomnia issues are recommended to try Sukhasana instead.
- People with recent back or waist surgeries should refrain from performing Ardha Bhekasana.
- Do not perform this posture in case of blood pressure issues.
- If you are suffering from a hernia, please avoid this asana.
Key Takeaways
We hope to provide all the insights about this beginner-level yoga pose. You can always rely on Yogaasan for a more detailed step-by-step guide on a lot of other asanas. If you are facing any issues or difficulty performing Ardha Bhekasana, you can use support, which will make the pose more accessible to practice. However, you should always keep the precautions mentioned above in mind to avoid serious injuries. Keep practicing daily and get a healthy body and mind.
