Dhanurasana

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Dhanurasana
Dhanurasana

Dhanurasana ( Sanskrit : धनुरासन, IAST : dhanurāsana), in German: bow , is a classic yoga exercise and part of the Rishikesh series . The Sanskrit name is formed from the words dhanus "arch" and āsana "seat" or more generally translated "posture". The physical image is reminiscent of a tense arch.

Preliminary remark

The older scriptures of yoga, read without later added comments, allow a leeway of interpretation for the practice of Dhanurasana. In the Hathapradipika (written in the 14th century) the verse for the bow is: "Pulling the big toes up to the ears with the hands, making the bend of a bow is called dhanurasana" (I, 25). The Gherandasamhita (probably from the 17th century) says: “You stretch your two legs on the floor, straight like a stick, grasp your feet with your hands and bend your body like an arch, this is what the yogis do as dhanurasana or called the bow posture ”(II, 18).

Akarna Dhanurasana, Swami Vishnudevananda calls this pose "bow and arrow"
Akarna Dhanurasana, Swami Vishnudevananda calls this pose "bow and arrow"

Neither document clearly states whether the posture is formed from the sitting position or from the prone position. Both starting positions are possible and each lead to different positions:

Akarna Dhanurasana ( akarna means "to the ear") begins in the sitting position. Alternately, one foot is brought to the ear. This asana should only be mentioned in passing, because the article is dedicated to the classic arch that begins in the prone position.

Physical execution

BKS Iyengar lets the whole body lie down with the stomach on the floor, then stretch the arms back and grasp the bent legs at the respective ankles. The legs and the chest are now lifted off the floor by pulling the arms. "The arms and hands work as a bowstring to tense the body like a curved bow." In the end position, the ribs and pelvic bones no longer have contact with the floor, only the stomach rests on it.

Also according to the instructions of Swami Sivananda , the hands pull the feet up, not with a violent jerk, but steadily. “Forearms and upper arms must be kept straight and taut. If you also stretch your legs well (knees tightly closed!), You can lift your upper body. "

The instructions of Swami Vishnudevananda , a disciple of Sivananda, are basically identical.

The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center also follows this execution with active pulling force of the arms and also lets the head point upwards: "Bend backwards and look up."

In Ashtanga (Vinyasa) yoga , the upper body is raised more than the legs. The chest is opened wide. The arms are almost in a horizontal, horizontal line.

André van Lysebeth writes in the introduction that the bow combines "an incomparable effect with a simplicity that does not mean lightness." He recommends that after taking the starting position and grasping the ankles with your hands and fingers, working your legs upwards "alone" to let. "This happens through a very strong contraction of the thigh and calf muscles, which lifts the shoulders and arches the back." The arms remain passive during the exercise.

The instructions for the arch in the style of Bikram Yoga describe the different muscles that have to be used to lift the legs off the floor. In practice, imagine that you are pressing your stomach, buttocks and lower back towards the floor. "At the same time you press the tops of your feet up and against your hands [...]." This would reveal which muscles are needed to lift the thighs.

From the prone position, after grabbing the ankles with his hands, Heinz Grill first lets the legs move upwards into tension with a well-coordinated, consciously made impulse. Second is the upper body. "Persistently, concentrate your legs from your back as far up as you can and still pay attention to a relaxed neck and a somewhat loosened shoulder girdle."

Guiding attention in the exercise

André van Lysebeth suggests paying attention to relaxation of the back during the static phase.

Swami Kriyananda , disciple of Yogi Paramhansa Yogananda , recommends paying attention to the central axis of the spine and thinking of the following affirmation: "I am calling back my dispersed energies to recharge the spine."

Attention can also be directed to the spiritual significance of the exercise:

Mental meaning of the exercise

“The arc is the position of the targeted activity. Just as an arch, with its trembling tension, is the instrument for the implementation of a goal in a waiting intention, so human life is an expression of an active will that concentrates, taking into account the environment, is well coordinated and seeks a precisely measured direction. "

Reports on healing effects

Erling Petersen states that the position is good for people “who sit at their desks a lot or drive a car, because it counteracts the forward-leaning and hunched posture. Dhanurasana stimulates the heart and blood circulation , invigorates the back nerves and gives the internal organs a deep massage. "

André van Lysebeth mentions that after the execution there is a “happy mood and a feeling of liberation” because the nervous system of the spine was stimulated, especially the sympathetic nervous system , whose ganglion chain lines the spine. Dhanurasana also has a stimulating effect on the digestive tract and the associated glands. The kidneys would benefit tremendously as they have good blood flow and remove toxins much more easily.

Variations

The swing arch

From the static end position, the bow can be converted into a dynamic movement by rocking back and forth in the position.

Parsva Dhanurasana

In an arch you roll to the left or right side and otherwise remain in the execution of the asana. Parsva means "on the side".

Purna Dhanurasana

Purna Dhanurasana, performing with the feet to the head
Purna Dhanurasana, performing with the feet to the head

With your hands you grasp the toes or the instep and strive for a steady growth upwards from the spine to the highest possible point or bring the feet into contact with the head . Translated, Purna means “whole”. BKS Iyengar calls this position Padangushtha Dhanurasana. Padangushtha is made up of the Sanskrit words pāda "foot" and angushtha "thumb".

Web links

Commons : Dhanurasana  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Search results "dhanus". In: spokensanskrit.org . Retrieved April 29, 2020 .
  2. ↑ "Asana" search results. In: spokensanskrit.org . Retrieved April 29, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Hathapradipika . Hamsah-Verlag, ISBN 3-923713-35-5 , pp. 19 .
  4. ↑ Gheranda Samhita, Sanskrit-English . Sri Satguru Publications, SSP Edition, Delhi 1979, pp. 15 .
  5. ^ BKS Iyengar: Light on Yoga . 7th edition. Nikol Verlag, 2017, ISBN 978-3-86820-175-8 , pp. 90 f .
  6. ↑ Swami Sivananda: Hatha Yoga . 2nd Edition. Heinrich Schwab Verlag, Gelnhausen, p. 39 f .
  7. ↑ a b Sivananda Yoga Center (ed.): Yoga for all stages of life . 11th edition. Gräfe and Unzer Verlag, 1997, ISBN 3-7742-6200-4 , p. 54 f .
  8. ↑ Dhanurasana. Retrieved February 29, 2020 .
  9. ^ A b c d e André van Lysebeth: Yoga for people of today . Mosaik Verlag, TB issue no.1690, ISBN 3-442-16164-9 , p. 211 ff .
  10. ↑ Bikram Choudhury & Bonnie Jones Reynolds: Bikram Yoga, Das Praxisbuch . 1st edition. Lotos Verlag, TB, 2005, ISBN 3-7787-8179-0 , p. 144 ff .
  11. ↑ a b Heinz Grill: The Soul Dimension of Yoga . 5th expanded edition. Lammers-Koll-Verlag, 2018, ISBN 978-3-941995-48-2 , pp. 166 ff .
  12. ↑ Jayadev Jaerschky: Yoga des Yogananda, Classical Texts and Exercises for Today . 1st edition. Verlag Via Nova, 2019, ISBN 978-3-86616-442-0 , p. 111 f .
  13. ↑ Erling Petersen: The yoga exercise book . 4th edition. Heyne Ratgeber 08/9299, ISBN 3-453-04104-6 , p. 156 f .
  14. ^ BKS Iyengar: Light on Yoga . 7th edition. Nikol Verlag, 2017, ISBN 978-3-86820-175-8 , pp. 91 f .
  15. ^ BKS Iyengar: Light on Yoga . 7th edition. Nikol Verlag, 2017, ISBN 978-3-86820-175-8 , pp. 366 ff .