Do you weigh slightly heavier on the weighing scale? The Paschimottanasana yoga pose can be of great help in improving your mental and physical health. It is effective in shedding belly fat and powerful in fighting obesity by promoting better digestion and appetite management. So, if you want to maintain a healthy weight and take the right steps toward wellness, this posture will be a great pick for you.
Did You Know?
The word Paschimottanasana is made of three Sanskrit words. We will get the following words if we decode the name.
- Paschima (West or the back of your body)
- Uttana (Stretching at an intense level)
- Asana (Posture or pose)
This Asana is also known as “Intense Dorsal Stretch” or “Seated Forward Bend.”
Do you want to know more about the benefits and variations of this Yoga pose? Here’s a guide for you.
Benefits Of Paschimottanasana On Physical Health
Paschimottanasana promotes the stretching of the hamstrings. Thus, it helps the hamstrings open up and makes your body more flexible. Further, this Asana makes sure that the muscles in your hamstrings are stronger and less prone to injuries. So, overall, it’s a great exercise to improve your body’s fitness level.
In addition, with a better fitness level and ease of movement, you will feel more confident as a person.
Paschimottanasana has many other benefits for your physical health. Let’s explore all of them.
Paschimottanasana Helps Shed Belly Fat
While practicing Paschimottanasana, you need to suck your belly in. Further, you need to bend forward in this condition.
Thus, this posture will target your belly fat and help you reduce a few inches quickly with regular sessions. Further, if you follow a healthy diet along with practicing this Asana, you will get more effective results.
Reduces Menstrual Discomfort
This pose ensures proper blood circulation in the pelvic region. With improved blood flow in the pelvic region, it alleviates the discomfort of menstruating and menopausal women.
Further, as you need to bend forward in this Asana, you will find quick relief from menstrual cramps and discomfort. While practicing this Asana during your menstrual period, you must keep a soft pillow in your lap.
Paschimottanasana also helps you overcome fatigue during menstruation.
Improves Posture Of Your Body
This Asana involves stretching your entire spine. As a result, with this Asana, your spine becomes more flexible, and you see an improvement in your posture.
Your spine health and maintaining a good posture are important to avoid gastrointestinal issues and abdominal dysfunction.
Helps In Diabetes Management
This Asana will also help you to manage diabetes and maintain a healthy blood sugar level. It is effective for diabetes management in two ways.
- It lessens the bodily stress.
- Further, this Asana boosts the functionalities of the pancreas and other abdominal organs. The pancreas is responsible for the production of insulin and managing the blood glucose level.
Improves Your Digestive System
Paschimottanasana promotes better digestion. As a result, it helps to reduce problems like dyspepsia and constipation.
Further, by promoting better digestion and bowel movement, it makes the process of weight loss easier for you.
Fights Infertility
You already know that Paschimottanasana can improve blood circulation in your pelvic region. Are you experiencing a drop in your libido lately, or are you struggling with infertility issues?
This Asana can improve your sexual desire and fight issues like infertility and impotence. It is also helpful to improve your physical condition after childbirth.
Great For People With Hypertension
Paschimottanasana involves controlled breathing and body movements. Thus, it exerts a calming effect on your body and mind. As a result, it is a great exercise for people who want to manage hypertension.
Offers Relief In Hamstrings Pain
Poor body posture and a sedentary lifestyle are common reasons why most of us have pain in our hamstrings. Paschimottanasana helps to alleviate this pain, and it is also effective in getting rid of tightness in the hamstrings.
Stretches Shoulders And Your Back
In this Asana, you get to stretch your spine and back. So, if you feel tightness and aches in your shoulders and neck lately, this exercise will be of great help to you.
Tones The Internal Organs Of Your Body
If you want to enjoy overall great health, you need to make sure that your kidneys, pancreas, liver, and intestines are functioning properly.
Paschimottanasana keeps all these organs healthy and boosts your body’s metabolism. So, maintaining a healthy body and healthy weight will be much easier for you with this Yoga pose.
Paschimottanasana Benefits On Mental Health
Do you have difficulty sleeping, or do you feel very stressed these days? You can practice this Asana to get rid of these issues and many other mental health problems. Let’s explore!
Makes The Nervous System Calm
Each time you practice this Asana, you will feel more rejuvenated and refreshed. This feeling of rejuvenation comes because the Asana exerts a calming impact on your brain and nervous system. Also, it stimulates your body’s parasympathetic nervous system to promote relaxation.
So, you have a calmer mind and better clarity about managing different situations. Further, with a calmer mind, you learn to respond to things happening around you better. So, you react less and respond according to the need of the hour.
In addition, with a calmer mind, your problem-solving abilities are improved. As a result, you get to develop a growth mentality, keeping the inhibitions aside.
Helps Fight Stress And Mild Depression
Paschimottanasana is effective in syncing your pranic energies. So, practicing this Asana will help you fight stress and mild depression.
If you want to get rid of stress by practicing this Asana immediately, you must keep the pillow below your hipbone or trunk.
Improves Sleep
Paschimottanasana helps you to sleep better in many ways.
- It improves the blood circulation in your brain.
- This Asana has a calming effect on your brain and the entire nervous system.
- It aids the lower energy centers in your body to induce better sleep.
Perform this Asana before bedtime regularly to get rid of sleeping difficulties.
Paschimottanasana And Chakra Activation
If you practice Paschimottanasana on a regular basis, you will experience a remarkable improvement in your energy level. Your energy level shoots up because this Asana activates your Manipura chakra or the solar plexus chakra. This chakra is responsible for regulating your digestive fire.
Further, this Asana, by activating this solar plexus on Manipura Chakra, can help you fight many physical conditions like:
- Heartburn
- Liver, colon, or pancreas problems
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Ulcers
- Indigestion or dyspepsiaa
- Bleeding or sensitive gum
- Eating disorders
Further, if you consider the benefits of Manipura Chakra activation, you will experience a sea of changes in your mental health and overall personality. Know the details in the upcoming section.
Can Paschimottanasana Help Me Become A Better Version Of Myself?
Yes, Paschimottanasana can help you become a better version of yourself by bringing some positive changes in your personality. Sometimes, you may experience that you cannot control anything in your life. In such situations, practicing Paschimottanasana can help you become more self-sufficient, confident, and independent as a person.
As a result, you will be able to push yourself into leadership positions or emerge as an assertive person. Let’s delve a little deeper into how the activation of Maipura chakra through Paschimottanasana can bring positive changes in your life.
Promotes Self Discovery
We spend all our life in quest of knowing who we are. If you practice Paschimottanasana and your solar plexus chakra gets activated, you get to know your true self. It also helps you identify the true purpose of your life.
Empowers You
With the understanding of your true self, you feel more empowered as a person. You get to know about the potential energy you have and how that can be used to achieve great things in your life.
Further, an empowered person is responsible for their thoughts, words, and actions. In a way, it is the process of becoming the master of your own life and shaping it the way you want.
Boosts Your Willpower
Once you take control of your life and you know about the things you need to know, you become more focused. Also, your willpower to achieve the desired keeps you persistent in your energy.
In addition, you become more self-disciplined as a person. So, there are overall improvements in your mental, physical, and spiritual health.
Boosts Your Confidence Level
Do you want to improve the way you see yourself? You can practice Paschimottanasana, which activates your solar plexus chakra. With the activation of this chakra, you will experience a boost in your confidence level.
Makes You More Action-Oriented
Many of us have brilliant thoughts about the things we want to do in our lives. However, we fail to execute those ideas most of the time. A lack of planning or unorganized ideas are the main reasons behind failed executions.
When your solar plexus chakra is activated, you become more proactive as a person. So, you put it all in transforming your ideas into action.
Some Yoga Paschimottanasana Variations You Must Know
Do you want to know how to practice Paschimottanasana? You can have a look at the video below.
However, certain variations in the pose can help you to make the practice of this Asana easier for you.
Use A Bolster Make The Exercise Easier For You
Are you feeling a strain in your torso while practicing this Asana? You can use a bolster and place it on your thighs to get rid of this problem. Using a bolster will help you remain in this position for long hours.
Use A Yoga Strap Along The Balls Of Your Feet To Put Less Pressure On Your Hamstrings
If you are feeling tightness in your hamstrings, you can use a yoga strap along the balls of your feet. By using the strap, you can reduce the amount of pressure exerted on the hamstrings.
Use A Blanket If Your Back Is Getting Hunched During The Exercise
Does your back get hunched while you are doing Paschimottanasana? It’s time to use a blanket and offer proper support to your pelvis. You need to place the blanket under your hips.
Initially, you can face some discomfort, and there can be strains causing problems in your exercise regime. However, once you start practicing this Asana on a regular basis and you recognize the problem areas, you get to know about the variations or modifications you need to make with time.
Further, while planning the variations or modifications of the pose, you must consult your trainer first.
Can Everyone Practice Paschimottanasana?
Paschimottanasana is a safe exercise, and almost everyone can practice it irrespective of their expertise level. However, you must avoid practicing this exercise when you have the following health conditions.
Stomach Ulcers And Diarrhea
While practicing Paschimottanasana, you will feel a lot of pressure in your abdominal muscles. So, if you have diarrhea or stomach ulcer, you must not practice this exercise at that time.
At the same time, if you have undergone any kind of abdominal surgery lately, you must not try this pose as it can put pressure on your abdominal stitches and cause wound or bleeding.
Pregnant Women
Paschimottanasana is not for pregnant women, as this exercise puts a lot of pressure on the lower abdomen.
Cardiac And Respiratory Problems
If you have cardiac or respiratory problems, you must avoid practicing this Asana on a regular basis. Especially patients suffering from asthma should not try this.
If you feel sharp pain or tightness in your hamstrings at any point while practicing this exercise, you should immediately stop. Moreover, if you have a medical history of any chronic disease, do not forget to share the same with your trainer and consult your doctor before joining the training sessions.
Final Words
Paschimottanasana is a Yoga pose that can help you manage weight, lose belly fat, and improve your metabolism. So, if you are struggling with weight management, this can be an effective exercise for you. Further, it helps to manage diabetes and hypertension.
It even helps to keep your nervous system calm, promoting relaxation and rejuvenation. So, for a healthy body and a sound mind, start practicing Paschimottanasana today.
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