URDHVA DHANURASANA Anuvittasana Chakrasana Eka Pada Urdhva Dhanurasana Parivrtta Urdhva Dhanurasana Inverted Bow (or Wheel) Poses, and Salamba Urdhva Dhanurasana Trianga Mukhottanasana Urdhva Dhanurasana Variations You tell me! Viparita padangushtha Click here for Dandasana. shirasparshasana Click here for Dhanurasana. The Sanskrit word "dhanur" means bow-shaped, curved or bent. The bow referred is a bow as in "bow and arrow." This asana is so named because the body mimics the shape of a bow with its string stretched back ready to shoot an arrow. Top (and this page's index) Anuvittasana The Asana Index Home Join the Yoga on the Mid- Standing Backbend Atlantic List Anuvittasana Demonstrated by David Figueroa Yogi Unknown ©OM yoga center Photograph by Adam Dawe Cindy Lee, Director (eMail me if you know the Yogi's 135 West 14th street, 2nd Floor name!) New York, NY 10011 Tel: 212-229-0267 Eka Pada Urdhva Top (and this page's Dhanurasana index) The Asana Index Home Join the Yoga on the Mid- One-Legged Inverted Bow (or Atlantic List Wheel) Pose Eka Pada Urdhva Dhanurasana Step One Demonstrated by Susan "Lippy" Orem ©OM yoga center Cindy Lee, Director 135 West 14th street, 2nd Floor New York, NY 10011 Tel: 212-229-0267 Eka Pada Urdhva Dhanurasana Full Version Demonstrated by Simon Borg-Olivier Yoga Synergy P.O. Box 9 Waverley 2024 Australia Tel. (61 2) 9389 7399 Salamba Urdhva Top (and this page's Dhanurasana index) The Asana Index Home Join the Yoga on the Mid- Supported, Inverted Bow (or Atlantic List Wheel) Salamba Urdhva Dhanurasana Demonstrated by Mark Bouckoms Hatha Yoga Centre 42 Nayland St. Sumner Christchurch Tel. (64)(0)3 326 5255 From: Dancing the Body of Light: The Future of Yoga by Dona Holleman & Orit Sen-Gupta copy;1999 Holleman & Sen-Gupta - ISBN: 90-805113-1-5 Salamba Urdhva Dhanurasana Yogi Unknown (eMail me if you know the Yogi's name!) From an Ageless.com Advertisement Urdhva Padahasta Chakrasana or Top (and this page's index) The Asana Index Dhanur Hasta Padasana Home Join the Yoga on the Mid- Atlantic List Upward Hands under Feet Wheel Pose Urdhva Padahasta Chakrasana or Dhanur Hasta Padasana Demonstrated by André Sidersky Hatha Yoga by André Sidersky of Kiev, Ukraine Top (and this page's Parivrtta Urdhva Dhanurasana index) The Asana Index Home Join the Yoga on the Revolved Upward Facing Bow Pose Mid-Atlantic List Parivrtta Urdhva Dhanurasana Demonstrated by Daniel Browning Smith aka "The Rubber Boy" Contortionist/Enterlogist Tel. (818) 693-3539 Top (and this page's index) Trianga Mukhottanasana The Asana Index Home Three-point, Reverse Facing Pose Join the Yoga on the Mid-Atlantic List Trianga Mukhottanasana Demonstrated by Kucherenko Yuri Kiev Yoga Federation Top (and this page's index) Urdhva Dhanurasana or The Asana Index Home Chakrasana Join the Yoga on the Mid-Atlantic List Urdhva Dhanurasana Assist Betsey Downing and Suzie Hurley... ...give an innocent student the assist of a lifetime at their November 2002 Fayetteville, AR Teacher Training. Urdhva Dhanurasana or Chakrasana Yogi Unknown Photograph by David Roth (eMail me if you know the Yogi's name!) ©Yoga Journal Tel. 510-841-9200 or eMail. Urdhva Dhanurasana or Chakrasana Demonstrated by Lois Nesbitt ©Blue Sky Yoga Lois Nesbitt, Director Phone: 212-989- 9874 or 917-975- 8009 Urdhva Dhanurasana Upward Bow Pose, Backbend, or Wheel Pose ©Yoga Journal This full backbend strengthens the arms, legs, abdomen, and spine, and gives a boost of energy. (ERD-vah don-your-AHS-anna) urdhva = upward dhanu = bow Benefits Stretches the chest and lungs Strengthens the arms and wrists, legs, Contraindications buttocks, abdomen, and Back injury spine Carpal tunnel syndrome Stimulates Diarrhea the thyroid and pituitary Headache Increases Heart problems energy and High or low blood pressure counteracts depression Therapeutic for asthma, back pain, infertility, and osteoporosis Step by Step Lie supine on the floor. Bend your knees and set your feet on the floor, heels as close to the sitting bones as possible. Bend your elbows and spread your palms on the floor beside your head, forearms relatively perpendicular to the floor, fingers pointing toward your shoulders. Pressing your inner feet actively into the floor, exhale and push your tailbone up toward the pubis, firming (but not hardening) the buttocks, and lift the buttocks off the floor. Keep your thighs and inner feet parallel. Take 2 or 3 breaths. Then firmly press the inner hands into the Demonstrated by Kathleen Cunningham floor and your shoulder Photograph by Clark Quinn blades against ©Yoga Journal, January, 2001 the back and Tel. 510-841-9200 or eMail lift up onto the crown of your head. Keep your arms parallel. Take 2 or 3 breaths. Press your feet and hands into the floor, tailbone and shoulder blades against your back, and with an exhalation, lift your head off the floor and straighten your arms. Turn the upper thighs slightly inward and firm the outer thighs. Narrow the hip points and lengthen the tailbone toward the backs of the knees, lifting the pubis toward the navel. Turn the upper arms outward but keep the weight on the bases of the index fingers. Spread the shoulder blades across the back and let the head hang, or lift it slightly to look down at the floor. Stay in the pose anywhere from 5 to 10 seconds or more, breathing easily. Repeat anywhere from 3 to 10 times. Modifications & Props Often the armpits and/or groins are tight and restrict full movement into this pose. You can support either your hands or feet on a pair of blocks to help yourself realize the full backbend. Be sure to brace the blocks against a wall, and if you like, cover them with a sticky mat to keep the hands or feet from slipping. Variation Eka Pada Urdhva Dhanurasana (pronounced ACHE-ah POD-ah, eka = one, pada = foot or leg) Perform Urdhva Dhanurasana. Shift your weight onto the left foot and, with an exhalation, bend your right knee and draw it into your torso. Then inhale and extend the right leg at about a 45 degree angle relative to the floor. Hold for 5 to 10 seconds, exhale, bend the knee and return the foot to the floor. Repeat with the left leg for the same length of time. Prepartory Poses Subsequent Poses Bhujangasana Setu Bandha Ardha Matsyendrasana Sarvangasana Supta Padangusthasana Urdhva Mukha Svanasana Virasana Beginners Tip The knees and feet tend to splay as you lift into this pose, which compresses the lower back. In the beginning position, loop and secure a strap around your thighs, just above the knees, to hold the thighs at hip width and parallel to each other. To keep the feet from turning out, place a block between them, with the bases of the big toes pressing the ends of the block. As you go up, press the feet into the block. Deepen the Pose Once in the pose, lift your heels away from the floor and press your tailbone toward the ceiling. Walk the feet a little closer to the hands. Then, from the height of the tailbone, press the heels into the floor again. This will increase the depth of the backbend. Partnering A partner can help you learn about the work in the shoulders in this pose. Have your partner stand at your head, facing you. Perform the pose. Your partner can bring his/her hands around the sides of your torso so that his/her palms cover the shoulder blades and encourage them to widen away from the spine. Top (and this page's You tell me! index) The Asana Index Home Join the Yoga on the Um..... Mid-Atlantic List Name that pose! Demonstrat ed by André Sidersky Hatha Yoga by André Sidersky of Kiev, Ukraine Mr. Sidersky is very creative! Would this be Ardha Bhekasana in Urdhva Dhanurasana ? Urdhva Dhanur Bhekasana? Tell us!! Yoga Dancer Designs Created on ... February 21, 2003 by . Top (and this page's This page was last updated on Tuesday, 24-Apr-2007 10:08:02 index) The Asana Index EDT, Home and today is Wednesday, 28-May-2008 14:32:35 EDT. Join the Yoga on the Mid-Atlantic List We've been blessed with visitors since April, 2002. .