VIPARITA DANDASANA / DWIPADA DANDASANA

Introduction

 

Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana is an advanced level yoga pose or asana. It is a combination of different yoga poses, like the Chakrasana, the Matsyasana, the Purvottanasana , and the Sirsana.

 

This pose requires intense body flexibility. It opens your shoulder and stretches the hip flexors. It also stretches your whole body and gives you an extra boost of energy. Thus this asana can be incorporated in your flow yoga routine.

 

Yoga is a great way to improve your health and happiness. A 12 Week study conducted in Hongkong found that participants had improved balance, flexibility, as well as stress levels after practicing Hatha Yoga, poses such as Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana, or similar sequences many times over 12 weeks.

 

Muscle Focus

 

Upward Facing Two-Foot Staff Pose focuses on several muscles such as

 

·                     Core (Abdominal Muscles)

·                     Chest (Pectoralis)

·                     Shoulders (Deltoids)

·                     Back muscles (Latissimus Dorsi)

·                     Buttocks (glutes)

·                     Thighs (Hamstrings)

 

Ideal For Health Conditions

 

·                     Chest/Heart opening pose

·                     Good for people having sedentary lifestyles

·                     Helps to prevent backache.

·                     Strengthens and tones spinal muscles.

Benefits of Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana or Upward Facing Two-Foot Staff Pose

 

1. It Stretches the Anterior Muscle Chain of the Body

 

The anterior chain consists of all the muscles that are located on the front side of the body. Practicing this asana helps to stretch all the muscles that are located in front of your body, including the pectoralis major and minor. Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana or Upward Facing Two-Foot Staff Pose helps to stretch all the muscles from knees to shoulders.

 

2. It also Increases the Mobility of your Hip Joints

 

Practicing this pose also helps to increase the mobility of the hip joint, hence improving its range of motion.

 

3. It Releases Tension from the Shoulders and Neck

 

The Yoga Pose of Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana or Upward Facing Two-Foot Staff Pose helps to release any kind of tension that is built inside your muscles. This Yoga Asana also relieves stress, fatigue, and even depression.

 

4. It Improves Digestion and Stimulates Reproductive Organs

 

This Yoga pose helps in improving your digestion and stimulating the reproductive organs. It also increases blood circulation towards the head which leads to improvement in mental functions like memory, concentration, etc.

 

5.  It Improves Body Alignment

 

Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana or Upward Facing Two-Foot Staff Pose helps to improve body alignment. Yoga asanas help you in aligning your spine and shoulders with each other, thus helping you stand tall and graceful.

 

6. It Improves Balance and Coordination

 

Yoga asanas also help in improving balance and coordination between mind, body, and soul. Practicing Yoga can help you a lot in your day-to-day life by providing confidence while standing still or walking without falling down. Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana or Upward Facing Two-Foot Staff Pose is one of the poses that will give immense power to hold your posture longer duration once you master it.

 

7. It Promotes Flexibility of Muscles and Joints

 

Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana or Upward Facing Two-Foot Staff Pose also helps to improve the flexibility of muscles & joints by stretching them properly while practicing Yoga asanas/Pose such as Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana or Upward Facing Two-Foot Staff Pose. Yoga asanas help in aligning the body, improving balance and coordination, releasing tension from muscles and joints, and stretching them properly.

 

8. Improves Blood Flow

 

All the Yoga poses help in improving the blood flow as they all require focus, concentration, and deep breathing. Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana or Upward Facing Two-Foot Staff Pose is one of the best yoga poses that help in flushing out toxins from your body. As a result, it improves your overall health.

 

9. Eases Menstrual and Menopausal Symptoms

 

Yoga helps in soothing your nerves and relaxes you. Yoga helps to balance the hormones of the body, thus providing relief during menstruation or menopause. Yoga asanas like Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana or Upward Facing Two-Foot Staff Pose help in relieving stress, anxiety, and fatigue caused due to hormonal imbalance during these periods.

 

10.  Strengthens Muscles

 

Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana or Upward Facing Two-Foot Staff Pose strengthens your leg muscles by stretching them properly and also improves their flexibility at the same time. Yoga poses are beneficial for strengthening muscles as well as joints because they require focusing on deep breathing while practicing Yoga asanas/poses.

 

11.  Helpful in Conditions Such as Prolapsed Bladder or Cystocele

 

Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana or Upward Facing Two-Foot Staff Pose is also very helpful for individuals suffering from the medical condition known as Prolapsed Bladder or Cystocele. Yoga asanas such as Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana or Upward Facing Two-Foot Staff Pose helps in releasing any kind of tension that is built inside your muscles and relieves stress, fatigue, and even depression.

 

Contraindications

 

The Upward Facing Two-Foot Staff Pose is an advanced level pose. Therefore, you should be careful while practicing it. People suffering from neck, shoulder, arms, and hip injuries should avoid performing this pose.

 

If you have recently undergone surgeries of any internal organs, then practicing this asana can have adverse effects on your body. Even if the wound has healed, you should still consult your yoga instructor before practicing this pose.

 

Pregnant ladies and blood pressure patients should give this pose a miss. If you feel a sharp pain in your leg, then immediately release the asana.

 

Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana should not be performed by individuals that experience frequent migraine and headaches. Lastly, people with ulcers, hernia, and tuberculosis should refrain from doing this asana.

 

Variations

 

·                     Setu Bandh Asana with Legs Extended

·                     Dwi Padasana with Wheel Pose as the base.

 

Preparatory Pose

 

·                     Chakrasana or Urdhwa Dhanurasana(Wheel Pose)

·                     Ustrasana (Camel Pose)

·                     Setu Bandha Asana (Bridge Pose)

·                     Matasyasana (Fish Pose)

 

Beginner’s Tips

 

·                     Start by practicing against a wall until you feel comfortable with the pose.

·                     Make sure your spine is straight and parallel to the ground.

·                     Breathe deeply and hold the pose for at least 30 seconds.

·                     If you find it challenging to balance in this position, focus on keeping your core engaged.

·                     Once you have mastered the basic version of Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana or Upward Facing Two-Foot Staff Pose then you can try the more advanced version.

 

How to do Upward Facing Two-Foot Staff Pose

 

Follow these steps to master this pose: Step by Step Instructions of Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana or Upward Facing Two-Foot Staff Pose

 

·                     Come to Wheel Pose

·                     Lower your head to the mat, take a deep backbend, and walk your arms towards your body,

·                     You will rest with your forearms on the floor on either side of your head for support.

·                     Upward Facing Two-Foot Staff Pose Lifting off of your forearms, shift your entire body forward.

·                     You should be pressing into the mat with the soles of your feet and your forearms,

·                     Your hips should now be above your head.

·                     Hold this position for up to 30 seconds and then relax.

 

Mental Benefits of Upward Facing Two-Foot Staff Pose

 

·                     Helps in calming your mind

·                     Releasing any kind of tension

·                     Relieving, stress, anxiety, and depression.

 

Bottom Line

 

Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana or Upward Facing Two-Foot Staff Pose is a challenging backbend that requires the use of many different muscles in the body at once. Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana or Upward Facing Two-Foot Staff Pose stretches out the chest and shoulders while also strengthening core muscles in addition to other benefits such as improved posture, strengthened arms and legs, increased blood flow throughout all areas of the body due to increased heart rate during practice which can help with circulation issues like varicose veins among others.

 

So, what are you waiting for? Start practicing Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana or Upward Facing Two-Foot Staff Pose today to improve your overall health.

The benefits of Legs up the wall pose

Put your feet up for 5 minutes and enjoy the benefits of Viparita Karani mudra.

It seems hard to believe that simply lying with your legs up the wall could make any difference to mental or physical health. But as yogis have known for thousands of years, it’s often the simplest postures that have the most profound effects. From calming the nervous system to strengthening immune health, giving some much-needed time out, and even promoting longevity, this ancient posture has so much to offer, especially in a world wrought with stress and busy-ness. For your how-to guide on Viparita Karani and its many benefits, read on!

 

Found within yogic texts as far back as the 17th Century, Viparita Karani’s name tells us a lot about the intention of the posture. From the word viparita meaning ‘reversed’ and karani meaning ‘in action’, we can understand that what many of us think of as ‘legs up the wall pose’ is intended to reverse and rebalance fluids, blood flow and energy. It’s not just reversing the flow of physical fluid that this posture can aid with however, but the flow of prana or ‘life force energy’, because Viparita Karani is considered to be a mudra as well as a yoga posture.

 

Mudras are symbols or gestures used to direct and enhance energy in the subtle body, and in this case, Viparita Karani is all about helping maintain healthy life force or subtle energy for as long as possible. In yogic texts such as the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Viparita Karani is said to help rebalance energy that flows through the various nadis (energy channels) and chakras (concentrated ‘wheels’ of energy located along the spine), and even says that:

 

“After six months of practice, grey hairs and wrinkles become inconspicuous. One who practices it for three hours conquers death.”

 

Hatha Yoga Pradipika

 

Now, whilst we can’t make any promises regarding immortality or the prevention of grey hairs, the benefits of this posture could indeed aid in reducing oxidative stress, thus meaning it could help reduce inflammation and just maybe reduce those grey hairs!

 

3 benefits of legs up the wall pose

1.       Supports your lymphatic and glymphatic systems and gives your immune system a boost

 

Just as inversions like headstand and shoulderstand are understood to bring fresh blood flow and oxygen to the brain and upper body, Viparita Karani allows fresh, oxygenated blood to flow to the upper extremities, as well as stimulating the flow of lymphatic fluid. The lymphatic system plays an important role in filtering and breaking down bacteria and other potentially harmful cells, but the nodes that do most of the filtering are found on the neck, armpits, stomach and groin, which is why inverted postures like this are so vital for sending fluid there. The lymphatic system doesn’t have a ‘pump’ like the blood’s circulatory system does, which means it relies upon gravity and movement to help aid in its function.

 

Another important but largely unknown benefit of raising the legs whilst resting is the ability to stimulate the glymphatic system. This system is in charge of effectively ‘sweeping away’ the bacteria that the lymphatic system has filtered, so it serves as an important second step of ridding the body of unwanted pathogens. The trick to making it all work that much better? Relax. Both of these systems work much better when the body is in a relaxed state.

 

2.       Helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system – our rest and digest state

 

Resting in an inverted position encourages breathing to slow, which in turn helps communicate to the vagus nerve that it’s safe to start fully relaxing. The vagus nerve is a long nerve that starts in the brain and wanders down through the body, connecting to areas such as the throat, heart, diaphragm, and ending in the gut. This nerve is always sensing what’s happening in the body and sending messages back up to the brain, which then influences how we feel.

 

Rushing around and breathing fast? The vagus nerve senses stress, so it communicates ‘stress!’ to the brain, and the brain encourages the release of cortisol – the stress hormone. Lying with your legs up the wall and breathing slowly? This nerve senses you’re in a calm state and sends that message back up to the brain, so that it can help you move out of the sympathetic nervous system (‘fight or flight’) and into a parasympathetic state (‘rest and digest’).

 

3. Relieves aching muscles and joints and swollen ankles and feet

 

After rushing around or sitting at a desk for prolonged periods of time, the joints and spinal column can become compressed and drained of fluid, leading to more aches and pains. Practicing a few minutes of Viparita Karani can help reduce pressure on the lower back, as well as relieving feelings of heaviness and fatigue in the feet, legs and hips. For those who suffer with swollen ankles and feet, this posture can be a great way to reduce the swelling and discomfort.

 

Who should adapt this pose?

 

Whilst Viparita Karani is a gentle and safe posture for most people, there are certain circumstances when it’s best to opt-out or use a different variation where you are not lying completely flat on your back. This includes if you’re pregnant, if you suffer from glaucoma, or untreated high blood pressure. If you’re unable to practice this posture, a restorative and supported Savasana with cushions and blankets supporting the body is another wonderful way to ease yourself into deep relaxation. To help stimulate the glymphatic system, you can gently raise your feet a little on a cushion or yoga blocks, which will still bring big benefits.

 

How to do Legs up the wall pose

 

If you have a 5 or 10 minute break in your work day, I’d highly recommend making Viparita Karani a part of it. Just as the posture reverses and rebalances aspects of the physical and energetic body, it’s also a great way to shift your state of mind and give yourself a much needed break, so you can return to your day feeling refreshed and calm. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika advises practicing in the morning daily at the same time, but it works equally well as a way to decompress and de-stress in the evening.

·                     To get started, place a yoga mat against the wall, so that the short edge of the mat is touching the wall.

·                     Set a time for anything from 5 to 20 minutes (start with just a couple of minutes if you have never practiced before).

·                     Sit on the mat side-on to the wall and then manoeuvre yourself to lie down so that your legs can stretch up the wall.

·                     Your legs should be comfortable here, so if you need to, shuffle either close to or further away from the wall to suit you.

·                     Focus on breathing slowly and calmly, moving your awareness from your feet to your head o the inhale, and from your head to feet on the exhale.

·                     To come out of the posture, hug your knees into your chest and roll to one side.

·                     After a few moments, gently move into a Child’s pose position and then slowly come up to sit.