Banana pose in iyengar yoga: What do you prepare?

Preparing for the banana pose has never been a waste of time in your yoga career. Therefore, let’s prepare “baggage” with easyhealthylive.com to ensure the safety of this pose.

Banana pose is an important pose in iyengar yoga. However, to perform properly, you will need a lot of practice time and go through many steps to ensure safety and achieve optimal results.

Understanding that, easyhealthylive.com gives you the method to get used to this yoga pose as well as the necessary tools and notes during the practice.

>>What is Iyengar yoga? Why practice them? What should I pay attention to during practice? Let’s find the answer at “What is Iyengar yoga and what practitioners cannot ignore?“

Benefits from the banana position

Relieve stress and anxiety

Bringing your head down puts our whole body at ease as it balances the central nervous system, reducing the amount of Cortisol can be a cause of stress and anxiety.

This yoga pose promotes increased and reversed blood flow, energizing the mind and positively changing your inner perspective. It helps to build confidence and increase the ability to focus and pay more attention to body and mind.

Increase concentration

Putting the whole body in an upside down position is an anomaly that we are not used to at first. So when in that pose, our mind tends to be more focused. Focus on keeping your body balance without falling. Focus on keeping your breathing even while in the pose.

Improve blood circulation

When your legs are elevated above your heart, blood begins to flow like a waterfall, it has a chance to flow backwards. Good blood circulation is key to good health.

Strengthen shoulder

As mentioned, to do the banana pose, you will need a lot of focus on the shoulders to be able to balance the whole body. You will need to warm up before practicing yoga thoroughly in your shoulders before entering the practice, practicing this pose. When you get used to controlling your body in the air with your hands, your shoulders are also much stronger.

Balance hormone production

Whether you are a man or a woman, your body needs hormones to balance your mood, skin or muscles, and bone health.

The upside down benefits all glands (adrenal, pituitary, thyroid, etc.), which helps in hormone production and maintenance.

Practice Courage

Putting the whole body up is something not both of them dare to do. And of course through the practice of posture, you will also learn how to understand your body while balancing your body.

What preparation is required to practice standing head posture?

Like many other schools of yoga, when practicing iyengar yoga in general and standing head posture in particular, you need a practice mat. The practitioner should spread the exercise mat close to the wall and the width of the mat in contact with the wall.

Yoga bricks are the next thing to prepare. This block is used to fix the back during exercise. Thin cushions can also be used to keep your head comfortable when you’re new to yoga. Besides, elbow bandages should be something to consider because the banana position puts a lot of pressure on the elbows.

The last important thing to prepare is yourself. A fresh, clear mind and well-hydrated and energetic body will greatly determine the success of a yoga session.

How to practice banana planting posture?

This is not a simple pose, as well as potentially causing injury when practicing yoga such as in the neck, shoulders and back. Therefore, the practitioner needs to do it methodically and step by step. The process of getting used to the standing head position can be divided into 4 stages:

State 1

The key to this stage is that you know how to properly place the yoga blocks to support this yoga pose.

Doing

• Hold the yoga block with two hands, all fingers resting on the brick.
• Kneel on the exercise mat, put your elbows on the floor, shoulder distance apart and 10cm from the wall, both hands resting on the wall.
• Head down close to the carpet, so that the eyes cannot see the block of bricks you are holding. Stabilize the body to prepare for the next stage.

Phase 2

Keep your elbows still, at this point, you will want your back to be in contact with the block.

Doing

• While in a kneeling position, raise your back toward the block until your upper back touches the brick.
• The upper back that touches the brick will be located slightly below the C7 cervical vertebra (last part of the neck) and can be said to be at the level of the shoulder blades.
• Try to maximize the area of ​​the back in contact with the tile. This step can be done slowly and repeatedly as not everyone can do it after just a few tries.

Stage 3

With your upper back and fingers firmly planted on the block, it’s time to straighten your legs.

Doing

• From the position made in stage 2, slowly straighten your legs and raise your pelvis.
• During the stretch, try to lift your heel as high as possible, while moving your toes toward your elbow. As you do this, notice how the higher heels support the pelvic lift.
• The head will be in contact with the carpet during phase 3.

Stage 4

At this point, you are ready to place the sides of your hands on the floor.

Doing

• One hand holds the yoga block, the other hand lowers to the floor, the side of the hand is in contact with the floor. (Note, this is a difficult movement after completing stage 3, the practitioner should pay attention to ensure safety, it is best to have a coach to observe and support).
• Gently place both elbows on the floor, do the same with the other hand, then bring your hands together and lightly touch the wall. At this step, you still have to make sure that the elbow is directly below the shoulder and that all the fingers are interlaced.
• According to inertia, when you are in a standing position, the palms will separate even though the fingers are interlaced. To handle it, try to bring your hands together while gently pressing your wrists and elbows into the floor to increase stability and balance.
• Once the elbows are pressed down, raise the shoulders, back, and hips up. Next, do the same with the thighs.
• Lift your heels toward the wall, closing the space between your feet and elbows.
• Relax your neck muscles, but still make sure your head touches the floor.
• To return to the resting position, bend your knees and let the block fall freely to the floor.

The banana pose is difficult to practice on your own at first. You should have an observer as well as give reasonable adjustments and instructions to ensure the safety of the practitioner.

An instructor is not only necessary when starting out on the yoga path or when getting used to the banana pose, but also someone to support you at any level. At easyhealthylive.com, we bring you high quality personal yoga teachers at a reasonable cost.

With just a few simple steps, you can choose for yourself a “suitable” guide through the suggestions that our intelligent mind provides. Let’s download the smart exercise application easyhealthylive.com right away.

Reference source

Iyengar yoga preparation for headstand https://yogaselection.com Accessed date: 8/6/2020