What does the word yoga make you think? I’m sure you think of disparate body poses, movements, and meditation. Well, yoga has to offer much more than that. It comprises many different poses and techniques which amazingly relax our body. With so many positions and poses, you will be amazed to learn about the Dolphin Pose in Yoga.
1. Yoga and its Origin
The originality of yoga lies in the Northern part of India from over 5,000 years back. The word ‘yoga’ for the first time was mentioned in the ancient holy textbook famously known as ‘Rig Veda’. The Vedas are a part of the four ancient holy texts written in the Sanskrit language, these are considered extremely sacred and hold much importance in Hinduism.
The word yoga originates from the Sanskrit word ‘yuj’ which means ‘union’ or ‘unite and connect’. This is because yoga affirms the connection of body, soul, and spirit. Yoga not only pays attention to the outer body but also has positive effects on the inner body. It is a true and strong connection between your body, mind, and soul which helps in the healing process and makes your mind and body strong.
Rishikesh in India, is a place considered as the birthplace of yoga and is therefore referred to as ‘yoga capital of the world’ and truly stands by it. The place is jam-packed with visitors and tourists who are keen to learn about yoga and meditation. The place is a holy destination in Hinduism and is a vegetarian-only and alcohol-free city, this may sound astounding to some, but spirituality and meditation1 do not entertain any distractions.
Lord Shiva, the most powerful god in Hinduism, is also believed to be the creator of yoga. So you can imagine the worth and significance yoga holds. To support the stories, seals and fossils have been found in the Indus-Saraswati Valley civilization with people doing Yoga and meditation.
2. Why is Yoga So Famous?
As said yoga is all about mind, spirit and body. It originated to control and balance the mind, a recognized consciousness in the mind and aloof suffering. Yoga has been showing constant optimistic results in curing many health problems and diseases.
The light, gentle movements of the body are the biggest attraction. It suits people who do not like harsh and energetic workouts. Practising yoga will only give you and your body physical and mental benefits. Yoga is highly advised to people with health conditions like osteoporosis and arthritis2. Yoga is the best for people who like to work out but cannot do intensive workouts because of their health conditions.
International Yoga Day3 is cheerfully celebrated on the 21st of June every year all across the globe with amazing enthusiasm and interest. Many yoga schools in the world help people achieve what they desire in terms of physical and mental calmness.
Things went galactic in 1968 when a famous English rock band The Beatles travelled to Rishikesh in search of spirituality and meditation. They took part in the Transcendental Meditation training course under the guidance of ‘Maharishi Mahesh Yogi‘ in his ashram. The group traveled all across India to denounce the use of drugs. This played a major role in changing the attitude of Western Culture toward Indian spirituality and yoga practices.
There are many types of yoga and poses, all with different benefits and uses. We have hot yoga, hatha yoga, yin yoga, power yoga, and Ashtanga yoga. Yoga is highly famous because it concentrates on the present and focuses on the inner peace of a human, other than letting the goofy mind of a human take control.
Check out: Benefits Of Yoga
3. Types of Yoga
3.1. Hot Yoga
Hot yoga4 is a much more intense yoga practice. Performed in a heated room above the normal temperature of a room. Hot yoga tends to work better for people who are aiming for weight loss or improving their fitness, health and posture. A hot yoga session for 90 min can easily burn 330 calories. It delivers many effective results in terms of muscle recovery, fat burning, relaxation and stress relief. Hot yoga proves to be more intense and rigorous because it makes the body workout harder and carries more risk than normal yoga. Hot yoga is better for your heart, lungs and muscles.
3.2. Hatha Yoga
Hatha means ‘force’. Since the beginning, it has been defined as ‘yoga with force’. It means reaching that stage of yoga only with a force which includes performing asanas-yoga postures, as they are performed in any yoga type. Hatha yoga5 is slow and steady at pace majorly focusing on the breath, movements, postures and body stretching. The hatha yoga reaches the stage of spirit-mind-body with the practice of mudras, shatkarma, pranayama and asanas while focusing on internal organs and the spine. These postures mainly focus on strengthening the body, purifying the physical body and building in life force and dormant spiritual energy. It includes many poses but the famous ones are Downward-Facing Dog and Standing Forward Bend.
3.3. Yin Yoga
Yin yoga6 falls under a slow pace style of yoga which incorporates the ancient principle of traditional Chinese medicine. The postures in yin yoga are held for a longer period. This is all about body and mind control. It assists in the omission of stress, pain, and tension, and promotes physical and mental well-being. It mainly pays attention to the lower body part that is hips, inner thighs, pelvis and lower spine.
3.4. Power yoga
A form of energetic style yoga found in America since the 1990s. There is much more movement in power yoga as compared to regular yoga. It is all about moving stiffly between your poses while managing your breath, building core strength, and achieving your target goal. It promotes a full-body workout from your legs to your back, stomach, neck, arms, and your core. This was designed to form strength, concentration, stability, and flexibility.
3.5. Ashtanga Yoga
This form of yoga comprises a total of eight steps. Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. This is the best and fastest way to build your strength, flexibility, and mental stability and reduce stress and tension. This yoga style might be challenging for many but it’s worth the struggle, the pros of this yoga are endless and therefore, it is high on tabs and famous. It pays attention to muscle building and physical training.
4. Various Poses in Yoga
Yoga is incomplete without meditation, poses, and holy spiritual connection. With distinct types of yoga come numerous poses filled with benefits and benefits only. Let’s discuss the most famous yoga poses and their benefits.
4.1. Dolphin Pose
The dolphin pose is somewhat similar to the Downward-Facing dog pose in yoga. The pose helps to calm your mind and relax. It is highly famous as it can be performed as a meditative pose if the body supports it. The dolphin is called ‘ardha pincha mayursna‘ in the Sanskrit language. This is vastly recommended to beginners so that they can ease up in the meditative pose. It supports your upper back and shoulder blades, stretches the hamstrings spine, and arms builds upper body strength, and stimulates the nervous system. I
t gets its name from the movement of dolphins as they arch their backs and move their flukes vertically up and down to swim and move forward, similarly in the dolphin pose in yoga the person arches their back and stands on both legs stretched out and bends elbows and bring the forearms down to the mat.
4.2. Downward Facing Dog Pose
The downward facing down pose in yoga is also called ‘adho mukha svanasana’, an inversion asana. This pose is performed while practicing ‘Surya Namaskar’ the praise of the sun. It is also used in modern yoga as a complete exercise. Strengthening your upper body, back, hands, and fingers, Improves blood circulation, Eases up your backs of legs, and Relieves tension and stress. In this pose you lean and arch your back and stand on all fours.
4.3. Mountain Pose
The posture of the mountain pose draws a straight line from our head to our toes, where the pelvis and shoulders are stacked along the line. ‘Tadasana‘ or ‘Yamashita’ is its Sanskrit name. It strengthens your knee, thighs and ankle and also tends to help them grow. It may seem slime but it has its complexity and benefits.
4.4. Triangle Pose
Also known as ‘utthita trikonasana’. The pose is not restricted to any level, to the contrary students of all levels can practice this pose and gain the advantages. Spread your legs and straighten them, bring your arms to a ‘T’ position, then shift your body forward and try to touch your one arm to the ground while the other arms form a straight line in the air. It builds up your knee, arms, lower back and things.
4.5. Chair Pose
The chair pose or ‘utkatasana’ might even bring the toughest person to tears. The chair pose works with ankles, butt, shoulders and quads. It is a slow squatting asana in yoga where two minutes feels like two hours. In this pose the feet are close together and the bottom is slowly made into a seated position in the air as if practically sitting on a chair and the hands are shut together and lifted in the air. This is not at all an easy pose. The pose engages your legs, upper and lower back, hips, glutes, shoulders and feet.
4.6. Cobra Pose
It is performed in the sequence of sun salutation. Cobra pose in Sanskrit is known as ‘bhujangasana’. This pose helps you relax and open up your chest, stretches your abdominal muscles and strengthens your back. It is one of the famous height-increasing poses as it stretches the spine to do so. The pose helps in rectifying fatigue and stress. You have to lie down on your front body and pick your back up with your forearms on the ground for support and stretch it towards the back. Including this in our daily routine will make you feel less worried and more joyful.
5. What is a Dolphin Pose in Yoga?
The famous Dolphin Pose in yoga is also known as Half Peacock Feather or Peacock Feather Preparation and in Sanskrit it is known as ‘ardha pincha mayurasana’. It gets the name ‘dolphin’ as our body in this posture looks similar to that of a dolphin jumping out of the water.
Moreover, it originates from downward -facing dog pose as it is very similar to that but varies a little in posture and benefits. It is a beginner-level pose still much of an advanced part of the yoga practice. It gives great strength to the body and mind. Its types are inversion, stretch and strength.
5.1 Dolphin Pose in Yoga
Dolphin poses in yoga come first and foremost in many yoga sequences without which one cannot perform other poses thoroughly. It is performed as a warm-up for runners, a yoga sequence for treating back pain, yoga sequence for core and abs strength and building. The beautiful posture allows the practitioner to be free and open and provides the body with a base while performing other poses.
How to perfectly and rightfully practice this pose so you can grab the best out of it. Keep in mind never perform yoga or do any exercise in the wrong manner. Poses are meant to be performed efficiently and not doing so may lead to other body problems.
5.2. How to do Dolphin Pose in Yoga?
Step One:
Come onto the floor on your forearms parallel and knees bent to like a child’s pose.
Step Two:
Slowly shift the position of your knees slightly bent and move to straighten your legs open and backwards. Doing so you have formed a straight line from your back to the toe.
Step Three:
Again slowly push your hip and lower back up in the air to form an arch and keep your forearms as a base.
Step Four:
Lift your heels and your head should touch the ground between your forearms.
Step Five:
Hold the pose for 10-15 breaths, then rest and keep doing it in a pattern.
This is how you practice doing dolphin poses in yoga without screwing it over. Talking about the benefits of this difficult pose on the various parts of the body, let’s dig into them.
6. Advantages to the Body
After knowing so much about the dolphin pose in yoga, I’m sure you are eager to learn about the dolphin pose benefits. Also, how many advantages it has on your vital body organs? More importantly, what can you expect at the end of this pose? Well here is the answer to your genuine query.
6.1. Upper Arms
Practising the dolphin pose increases the strength in your upper arms and inner wrists. This is because your whole body weight lies on the forearms on the floor while you are in puppy pose. Putting weight on the upper arms helps to build strength and make it strong. Dolphin pose activates the strength, actions and will need to perform a Headstand and Forearms balance and credibility.
6.2. Spine
The Dolphin pose assists in opening up your upper back and the lengths of the spine. This is greatly famous for height growing ideas and showing effective results. This is because the dolphin pose allows you to fully stretch and straighten your upper back or spine and doing so accelerates strengthening and length of the spine.
6.3. Shoulder Blades
The pose is designed so that the weight of your body falls on the hands and shoulders of the practitioner. Dolphin pose strengthens the ability and credibility of the shoulder to the maximum value. Therefore, someone with weak shoulder injuries should not perform this pose unless under the guidance of a yoga therapist.
6.4. Legs
It helps to activate the arches of your feet and inner thighs. Your legs and toes play a crucial role in executing this pose and heels are pushed off the ground and the weight is barred by the heel and inner thighs of legs which helps in its strengthening. People with weak feet should do this with proper assistance and procedure.
6.5. Strengths of the Core
The Dolphin pose is extremely famous for building up core muscles. While performing the plank helps to tone the abdominal muscles of your body, improves the digestion process, effective and efficient relief to headaches, fatigue and bad back aches. While locking the plank for 2 mins you might feel the time has stopped at that very moment but the pros are worth the struggle.
Conclusion
Keep in mind this is a beginner’s pose and there are still several benefits of dolphin pose in yoga, depending on how well you execute this. Yoga is all about learning new things and not leaving the pre-teachings back in the game.
Once you start doing these poses or yoga, there is no going back. Who wants to miss out on the mind-spiritual-body connection in the best form? To get the maximum results, perform the poses under the guidance of an expert otherwise, there may be contraindications of dolphin pose.
Hope you are motivated enough to try out these poses or start your yoga journey after knowing the good. Go and relax your mind-body-soul in the best possible way and wait till the sweet results kick in.
- Kristeller, Jean. “Spirituality and meditation.” (2011). ↩︎
- Cheung, Corjena, et al. “Managing knee osteoarthritis with yoga or aerobic/strengthening exercise programs in older adults: a pilot randomized controlled trial.” Rheumatology international 37 (2017): 389-398. ↩︎
- Lakshmi, Anusha. “Choreographing Tolerance: Narendra Modi, Hindu Nationalism, and International Yoga Day.” Race and Yoga 5.1 (2020). ↩︎
- Bourbeau, Kelsey Christian, et al. “Cardiovascular, cellular, and neural adaptations to hot yoga versus normal-temperature yoga.” International Journal of Yoga 14.2 (2021): 115-126. ↩︎
- Bernard, Theos. Hatha yoga. Rider, 1968. ↩︎
- Grilley, Paul, and S. Grilley. Yin yoga. White Cloud Press, 2002. ↩︎
Last Updated on by Sathi