Ardha Matsyendrasana is a SANSKRIT word that means Ardha means "Half", Matsya means "Fish", Indra means "Ruler", and Asana means "Pose" Means Half Lord of the fishes pose. This pose is helpful to warm up your hips for most of the balancing, energizing seated twists, and balancing.
This pose is one of the best twisting postures. All spine gets rotated around its axis. The spine also gets two side twists throughout its length. The levers that are helpful for these extreme twists are the hands and the knees. This is also known as the Sleeping pose.
Proper sit with an extended spine and your legs extended out in front. turn into your right knee and cross your leg above your left thigh. Bend your left knee and take your left heel to the outer side of your right hip. Keep your right side leg on the into of your left knee if your right leg lifts off the ground. Place your right fingertips on the floor next to your right hip, and breathe out as you elongate your spine. Hold your breath out as you twist towards the right, rotating from your back left ribs.
Use the turning action itself too deeply, avoid hooking your elbow right away and using the hand for leverage. Instead, wrap your left arm lightly around your knee while lengthening with each breath in. Breath out to twist more. Bring your elbow outside your knee. Allow both hands to manage the length of your spine, despite the requirement to collapse due to the pressure of the elbow against your knee.
Benefits of Ardha Matsyendrasana yoga:
There are the most important health benefits and mental benefits of Ardha Matsyendrasana are,
1. Ardha Matsyendrasana helps to Increase the elasticity of the spine, tones the spinal nerves, and improves the functioning of the spinal cord.
2. This pose helps to stretch the muscles on one side of the body while compressing the muscles on the other side.
3. This asana helps to reduce the back pain and stiffness between the vertebrae.
4. This pose helps to massage the abdominal organs and increase the digestive juices making it.
5. This asana helps to reduce constipation problems.
6. This pose is also useful to reduce diabetes.
7. This yoga is helpful to open the chest and increase the oxygen supply to the lungs.
8. This poses help to increase the purification of the blood as well as the internal organs.
9. Continued practice of this pose is helpful to loosen the hip joints and relieve stiffness.
10. Ardha Matsyendrasana pose helps to control the secretion of bile and adrenaline in the body.
Step by step Ardha Matsyendrasana yoga:
1. Sit on the floor, with the legs extended straight in front. (Step 1)
2. angle the left knee joint and join the thigh and shin; hold up the seat from the floor, put the left leg under the buttocks and sit on the left leg so that the left heel rests under the left buttock. The leg used as the seat should be kept parallel to the floor, the outer side of the ankle and the little toe of the leg resting on the ground. If the leg is not so placed, it will be impossible to sit on it. stabilize securely in this position.
3. Then curve the right knee joint and lifting up the right foot from the floor, put it by the outer side of the left thigh so that the outer side of the right ankle touches the outer side of the left thigh on the floor. stabilize in this posture, keeping the right shin perpendicular to the floor. (Step 2).
4. Turn the trunk 90 degrees to the right until the left armpit touches the outer side of the right thigh. Bring the armpit over the right knee. (Step 3) Exhale, stretch the left arm from the shoulder and twist it round the right knee. Bend the left elbow and move the left wrist to the back of the waist.
5. The left arm should lock the bent right knee tightly and there should be no space between the left armpit and the bent right knee. To achieve this, exhale and move the trunk forward. Stay in this position and take 2 breaths.
6. Now breath out deeply and swing back the right arm from the shoulder, curve the right elbow joint, place the right hand behind the waist and either clutch it with the left hand or vice versa. At starting phase you will be able to catch a finger or two. eventually it will be possible to catch the palms and
then the wrists behind the back. (Step 4)
7. The neck may be turned to the left and the gaze directed over the left shoulder (Step5), or to the right, and the gaze fixed at the centre of the eyebrows. (Steps 6 and 7) The spinal twist will be greater if the neck is turned to the left than when to the right.
8. As the diaphragm is stretched by the spinal twist, the breathing will at first become short and fast. Do not be afraid. eventually the posture can be held from half a minute to a minute with normal breathing.
9. Release the hands, remove the right foot from the floor and straighten the right and then the left leg.
10. Continue the posture on the other side and hold it for the same period of time. Here, curve the right leg and sit on the right foot so that the right heel is under the right buttock. Place the left leg over the right leg and rest the left foot on the floor so that the outer side of the left ankle touches the outer side of the right thigh on the floor. Turn the trunk 90 degrees to the left, placing the right armpit over the left knee and twist the right arm round the left knee. stretch the right elbow joint and drag the right hand behind the waist. stay in the posture and take 2 breaths. Again breath out completely and swing the left arm back from the shoulder, bend the left elbow and clasp the hands behind the back at the wrist. Then release and relax.
11. In the starting phase it may not be possible to twist either arm round the opposite knee joint. In that case try to catch and hold the opposite foot, keeping the arm straight at the elbow joint. (Steps 8 and 9) It also takes time to catch and hold the hands behind the back. eventually, the backward stretch of the arms will increase, and one will be able to catch at first the fingers, next the palms, then the wrist and as the posture is mastered even the forearms above the wrists. Beginners who find it difficult to sit on the foot can sit on the floor. (Steps 10 and 11)
