HIMALAYAN PRAYER POSTURES

 

POSE IV

1)    Lie on your abdomen in a prone position.

Ø     The dorsal part of your feet will stay in contact with the floor at all times.

Ø     The upper back bends in cobra pose.

2)    Join your hands in a namaste (prayer position).

Ø     The arms will stay bent at the elbows

Ø     The thumbs will maintain contact with the sternum.

Ø     The elbows must not make contact with the floor.

Ø     This is the starting position for all the prayer postures.      

      3)  Now exhale and straighten your hands in front of you

Ø     Straighten your arms at the elbows as you do so.

Ø     The hands remain horizontal to the floor.

Ø     Take a deep inhalation

      4)  Exhale and take your hands behind your back.

Ø     Interlock your fingers, palms facing each other.

      5) With an inhalation dig your shoulder blades in.

Ø     This allows the chest to open at the sternum.

      6) With an exhalation come up in a back bend.

Ø     The face turns towards the ceiling.

Ø     Try to increase the distance between your interlocked hands and the back as you do so.

      7) Return to starting position.

Repeat steps 6) and 7) taking time to make sure that the chest opens to a safe maximum capacity. Initially you may count up to 5 repetitions, slowly increasing to the count of 10 as you attain a level of mastery over the movements.