Conquering the compass pose in yoga is not as difficult as you think!

Successfully conquering the compass pose in yoga requires your body to combine three factors: flexibility, strength, and balance.

Compass pose or sundial pose (compass pose) has the Sanskrit name Parivrtta Surya Yantrasana with Parivrtta meaning rotation, rolling, Surya meaning sunshine and Yantra being a Belgian musical instrument. This is an advanced yoga pose because it is not easy to perform when this movement requires the hamstrings and shoulders to be very flexible. However, if you are a new yogi, you can still try to familiarize yourself with the support of a yoga rope. Let’s see the sharing below with easyhealthylive.com to understand more about this pose.

Like other yoga poses, the compass pose is often incorporated in the sequence of yoga exercises. Before doing compass pose, warm-up is the most important thing that you need to do. The sun salutation sequence is a great warm-up exercise that you can practice before conquering the compass.

Benefits of Compass Pose in Yoga

The compass is a great pose for experienced yogis to strengthen the flexibility of the hips, hamstrings, and shoulders. Thereby, helping the body become more agile and healthy in daily activities.

In addition, the compass pose also helps stretch the spinal muscles, making the spine more flexible, elastic and supple. Performing compass movements regularly will help correct gait and standing, improve balance, and help prevent injuries, especially to the lower back:

• Increase lung capacity, promote oxygen circulation
• Increase muscle flexibility
• Stimulates the digestive organs, eliminates toxins, relieves constipation and cleanses the organs
• Practice concentration, patience and help reduce stress.

Instructions for performing the sundial pose

Because it is an advanced yoga pose, to successfully conquer the compass movement, patience is still the most important thing

To do the compass pose in yoga, do:

• Sit in a comfortable position with your legs crossed
• Inhale and bend your right knee, hugging it to your chest. You can keep your left leg bent or straight in front of you
• Bring your left arm around your head, and at the same time raise your right leg so that your left hand holds your right foot.
• Slide your right arm under your right knee and place your hand on the mat outside of your right hip. Breathe slowly and evenly, stretching your spine and keeping your back straight.
• Use your left hand to raise your right knee so that your right knee is in line with your right shoulder.
• Move your left hand to the outside edge of your right foot.
• Look to the left hand, keeping the spine straight. Take 3-5 deep breaths while holding the pose, then switch sides.

Common errors when executing

A common mistake when doing the compass move is trying to put weight on the sitting bones, causing the spine to curve forward. This makes the body no longer straight. The cause of this error is often because the hamstrings, hips and shoulders are not flexible enough. You can maintain good yoga poses for your hips and hamstrings to improve the flexibility of these parts.

It’s good to challenge yourself during yoga practice, but never force your body to do something too hard. If you feel pain or discomfort while doing the Compass pose, stop or use a yoga rope to help you perform the pose effectively.

Variations of the Compass Movement in Yoga

Once you’ve mastered the compass movement, can you move on to conquering the octagon?

Insufficient hamstring flexibility is the main cause of your difficulty in conquering compass pose. To overcome this, you can try the heron pose – a simpler variation of the compass move.

If you have mastered the sundial pose, you can move on to conquer the eight angle pose (Astavakrasana). This is an advanced yoga pose that requires core strength, flexibility, and balance.

Notes when performing compass pose in yoga

One of the most important things you need to remember when conquering advanced yoga poses like the sundial pose is that you need to be patient and spend a lot of time practicing to succeed. During exercise, you need to practice slowly step by step to give your body time to develop the necessary flexibility.

If impatience burns the stage, forcing the body too much will cause you to experience injury. If you feel uncomfortable while exercising, stop and adjust to gradually get used to it. In addition, because this is a difficult yoga pose, it is still best to practice with a yoga teacher for instructions on how to perform the movement correctly.

Reference source

How to Do Compass Pose (Parivrtta Surya Yantrasana) in Yoga https://www.verywellfit.com/compass-pos-parivrtta-surya-yantrasana-3567068 Access date: January 20, 2021