“Yoga takes you to close to your true nature. Yoga with its techniques helps you to harmonize with nature, Peace is our very nature, and Yoga leads you to inner peace” – Anonymous
In Parvatasana, the body assumes the shape of a mountain, i.e. the two arms join at a point on top. This looks like a mountain peak with a broad base. Therefore this Asana is called Parvatasana
Contraindications: Persons with a hunched back, acute trouble in the spinal column or shoulder pain, stiff knees and stiffness or pain in elbow joints should avoid this practice
Starting Position
- Sit in a comfortable position preferably in Padmasana or Ardh Padmasana, if sitting in Padmasana is difficult due to stiff knees, one can sit in Sukhasana
- Join both the hands as in Namaskar Mudra, keep both the hands near the diaphragm, slightly away from the body, elbows outward and forearms in a line parallel to the ground
- Raise the joined palms slowly along the central vertical line of the body to the middle of the chest keep raising it along the center-line of the body to the level of the lips, the nose, forehead, keep raising the joined palms and let them go above the head
- Now stretch the shoulders upwards, straighten the elbows, keeping the joined hands straight let the upper arms touch the respective ears
- Maintain this upward stretch in such a way that a pleasurable pull is experienced from the hips to the finger tips. This is the final stage of Parvatasana, you can keep your gaze steady, directed straight ahead or you can keep your eyes closed.
- Do not hold your breath when you reach the final stage of the asana, there is an involuntary tendency to hold the breath. Maintain normal breathing throughout; just be aware of your breath. Do Pranadharana*
- Maintain the final posture of Parvatasana for 5-10 breaths and perform 2-4 rounds and after sufficient practice perform 2 rounds of the asana for duration of 1-3 minutes each.
*Pranadharana: is the simplest yet effective method of engaging the mind, making it pointed and preparing it for meditaion. ‘Prana’ means breath and ‘Dharana’ is fixation of mind, hence ‘Pranadharana’ means fixation of the mind over the breath or Breath-awareness.
There are three levels of Pranadharana but for now we will just focus on one thing at a time, concentrate on the first level and try to train our mind to remain on one topic i.e. breath
Level 1 –
Pranadharana Pratham (Fixation of the Mind) is simply counting of the breath cycles, One inhalation and one exhalation is one round, one breath.
Benefits:
1. The Thoracic cage becomes flexible and the breathing capacity is increased.
Because of this, respiratory problems such as asthma, breathlessness, etc. are
kept at bay
2. Parvatasana is a good preparatory practice for pranayama, meditation
3. Because of the stretch on the spinal column, the blood circulation within
the vertebral region improves and therefore, the vitality and functional
efficiency of the nerves coming out of the vertebrae improves considerably
4. Unnatural curvature of the spine and minor displacement of the vertebrae are
corrected
5. Parvatasana is very beneficial for adolescent girls. The stunted development of the bust (and in elderly women the overdevelopment or sagging of the breasts) is corrected by the daily practice of this Asana and the breasts attain a proper tone. Hence this Asana is especially beneficial to women after delivery.
So Friends, Include this Asana in your daily practice and derive maximum benefits from it.
Achieve, Natural Health with Yoga
