Uttanamandukasana Benefits: This
asana is of great value for large muscles of lower
and upper limbs and abdominal muscles as it
provides good stretching exercise to legs,
perineum, pelvic floor, sides of trunk and the
arms. Also it is beneficial for the digestive
system, respiratory system and nervous system.
Practicing this asana strengthens excretory system
muscles and genital muscles.
Uttanamandukasana Description and Technique:
Uttan means in Sanskrit means uplifting. Manduka
is a frog. This asana's final posture
resembles a frog from the ventral view. The final
posture is achieved in three stages.
In the first stage the person sits between the
heels keeping the knees together. The feet are
in such a position that they are almost upturned
with the big toes touching each other. The back
is kept erect and the hands are placed on the
knees. This is the Vajrasana position.
In the second stage the knees are separated as
much as possible keeping the hands on the knees
and the feet placed as they are. This is the Mandukasana.
The third stage is attained by raising the
hands and keeping them on the opposite shoulders
so that the elbows point upward and touch the
head on both sides. This is the Uttanmandukasana.
It may be difficult to achieve the final
posture as it involves a lot of pulling and
stretching of muscles. This asanas final posture
may be practiced only for a few seconds
initially. The time may be slowly increased to
two minutes later. The beneficial value of this
asana increases greatly if done after three
rounds of bahya kumbhakas with bandhas
of Bhadrasana.
