Yoga is ancient, but the craze for it has been newly created by the age of fitness where every single individual now embraces different techniques in making their body a desirable one. In this endless struggle for trends and styles, the rampant health issues have also taken their toll on every individual and that is why yoga has been a household name for the last couple of years and more. Usually slow and collected, Yoga can be performed within the confines of your room suiting your comfort, time and ability. In this article, we talk about just one of the branches of Yoga, commonly known as Jathara Parivartanasana. Even though the name may give you an impression that it’s a fierce pose, it necessarily isn’t.
The first Asana introduced to the beginners of Yoga is the Jathara Parivartanasana, popularly known as the Abdominal Twist Pose. This asana is especially targeted at toning the hips, upper thighs and the abdomen and its sides. By regularly practicing this asana, the spine will eventually become flexible. The word Jathara Parivartanasana has been sourced from Sanskrit where Jathara means “abdomen” while Parivarta means “circulated or looped,” and Asana means “posture.” A yoga pose is said to be most effective when it can bring maximum benefit to your body with minimum risk, and Jathara Parivartanasana does just that.
Jathara Parivartanasana (Revolved Abdomen Pose):
First of all, to be able to do this pose effectively, you would need to have a solid core and should be very precise with the movement. This particular pose should be practiced either in the presence of certified yoga teacher or with some credible help as the posture needs legs leverage and that might cause imbalance in the neck, spine, lower back or the hips, if not performed properly. There are chances that you may end up with a steady hamstring pull, a sprain condition. So, we should maintain extreme care while practicing this yoga posture. There are mainly two commonly practiced versions of Jathara Parivrtiti, and in both of them, we try to keep both the knees bent and together, or else we keep one knee bent and another leg straight. In this version of the pose, Jathara Parivartanasana works excellent for rotating the spine and stretching the muscles of the lower back. You can target the upper back, shoulders, and neck by changing the movement of your arms. Likewise, if you change leg position and movement, you can work with abductors, rotators, hip flexors, and hamstrings.
See More: Hanuman Yoga Pose
How To Do It:
- Lie down on a yoga mat. Make sure your back is touching the ground as you lie down face up forming the alphabet T with your body.
- Keep your spine straight as should be your legs while the hands should be stretched outwards on either side. This marks the beginning posture of the yoga.
- Now bend one of your knees and try lifting your hip up while you swivel yourself to the left. If you are shifting towards the left side, the right leg should be bent and vice versa.
- Now while keeping your upper body straight, twist as you bend your leg to the further left edging it closer to your chest.
- To keep things more comfortable for the beginners, we prefer that you start with both your legs, however, with practice move on to one at a time.
- This basically would ask you to twist your lower body to the sides while keeping the front upright.
- One of the many variations of Jathara Parivartanasana includes turning your neck to the side as well, but the upper body, chest to stomach, must remain upright.
- Another variation to this yoga posture can be smooth for the beginners where they don’t have to bend their limbs anymore. All you have to do is outstretch them to the side so that your legs are straight yet the twist is evident.
- As you do so, don’t forget to incorporate deep breathing with each step. After the first leg, return to the beginning position and taking a second to catch your breath, continue with the next one.
See More:Head To Knee Pose
Benefits of Jathara Parivartanasana:
- The first and foremost help that you achieve from this yoga is relief from any pain in the lower back. Typically, the twisting speaks for itself as you twist your lower body, freeing your muscle of any rigidness. All those stubborn lower body pain can now kiss you goodbye.
- Speaking of lower back pain, another such help derived from the yoga posture is relief from marrow or spine pain. The extended office hours have taken its toll on your spine and neck, and now with this posture, you can free yourself from the rigidity making yourself more flexible.
- While you twist and turn, the ingredients in your body go through churn and twist as well, making sure your organs are perfectly in functions. This is why indigestion or any other stomach related problem can be kept at bay. This yoga helps you strengthen your stomach.
- This yoga pose is widely known for its body detoxification abilities where it is said that this posture releases body toxins while working to increase your metabolism.
- If we refer to the point before, without the toxins and impurities within us, we are already walking towards a much peaceful pathway. Yoga is a good stress release and would always work to bring harmony to your mind and body.
See More: Chakrasana Steps
Precautionary Measures and Contraindications:
The safe and effective practice of Jathara Parivartanasana can be ensured by avoiding these common mistakes.
- Don’t allow your knees to shift below your pelvis region. This can place unnecessary pressure on the low back and leaves the lumbar vertebrae vulnerable to strain.
- Don’t allow your left arm and shoulder blade to lift off the ground, so your shoulder, neck, and spine don’t come under pressure.
The significant contraindications include those with any spinal injuries, women who are menstruating and ladies who are pregnant as this yoga posture requires abdominal strength and tightening of the abdominal muscles. Those people suffering from recent or chronic injury to the knees, hips or back can practice Jathara Parivartanasana by keeping the knees on the floor. The use of bolsters is recommended for these persons so that they can rest the lower portion of the legs; since this is more restorative.
In this generation with people obsessed with long tiring sessions in front of TV and computer, this exercise comes to us as a relief and a blessing. This Yoga posture is highly recommended and truly beneficial. Hope you practice this yoga posture and say cheers to a happy, healthy and stress-free life.
