Adho Mukha Svanasana – Poses, Benefits & How To Do It.

How to Perform Adho Mukha Svanasana(Steps)

Video on How to do Adho Mukha Svanasana

• Come on your hands and knees, with your wrists under your shoulders and your knees under your hips
• Lift your hips and straighten your legs by curling your toes under and pushing back through your hands
• Ground down from the forearms to the fingertips by spreading your fingers
• Rotate your upper arms outwards to expand the collarbones
• Allow your head to hang and your shoulder blades to move away from your ears and toward your hips
• Engage your quads to remove the weight of your body off your arms. This motion contributes significantly to making this a resting stance
• Rotate your thighs inward, lowering your heels to the floor
• Make sure you have formed a plank position, and the distance between the hands and feet should be the same
• To get the heels on the floor in Down Dog, do not step the feet toward the hands
• Exhale and bend your knees to release, then return to your hands and knees

In yoga, the focus should not be only on mastering the pose. No pose gives its full benefits if breathing is ignored.

In Adho Mukha Svanasana, you inhale while going into the pose and exhale completely once in the pose. Rhythmic breathing is practiced in this pose.

With deep inhalation taking your mind to the lower spine, feel the expansion of the spine and lower back.

As you exhale, feel the contraction of the spine and reach the floor with your head, thus working on the shoulders and elbows.

With every exhalation try harder to reach for the floor with your head.

Beginner’s Tips For Adho Mukha Svanasana

• To protect your wrists, make sure the first finger’s knuckle is firmly pressed down
• Return your weight to your hips
• If you are hypermobile, keep a micro-bend in your arms to avoid locking your elbows
• Check if your shoulders are hunched up; if so, nod and shake your head to keep the base of your neck relaxed

Adho Mukha Svanasana Safety Measures

You should avoid doing this pose if you have a wrist injury or carpal tunnel syndrome. Pregnant women in their last trimester should also avoid doing this pose.

People should also avoid it if they have high blood pressure, heart illness, vertigo, or a slipped disc in their spine.

Conclusion: The Adho Mukha Svanasana is an easy and beneficial yoga pose that has many benefits. Staying active with yoga and eating a balanced diet can help you stay healthy over the long term.

Adho Mukha Svanasana FAQ’s

1- For how long we should do Adho Mukha Svanasana?

Beginners can try for a period of up to 30 minutes. While with experience and daily practice, One can stay in Adho Mukha Svanasana for a time period of 1-3 minutes at a stretch.

2- Who should not do Adho Mukha Svanasana?

You should avoid doing this pose if you have a wrist injury or carpal tunnel syndrome. Pregnant women in their last trimester should also avoid doing this pose.
People should also avoid it if they have high blood pressure, heart illness, vertigo, or a slipped disc in their spine.

3- What are the benefits of Adho Mukha Svanasana?

The downward dog posture helps in strengthening your core muscles. It promotes blood flow to your brain. This asana also strengthens your arms and legs. Improves your body’s posture. Since these days we are usually working from home setup, we tend to live a deskbound lifestyle. Improves your body’s equilibrium and to a large extent creates flexibility all through your body.

4 – Why it is called Downward Dog Pose?

It is called Downward Dog Pose because of the way we do it and the final posture of this asana represent the way a dog stretches when getting up.

5- What breathing takes place during Adho Mukha Svanasana?