Boat Pose, also known as Naukasana, is a powerful yoga pose with many health benefits. This pose helps digestion, increases metabolism, tones the legs, strengthens the core, and increases spinal flexibility. This pose strengthens the hips, thighs, and spine while toning the deep abdominal muscles. It helps reduce stress and enhances metabolism and digestion. In this article, we are going to discuss everything about Naukasana, its health benefits, etc.
What Is Naukasana?
In the Sanskrit word Naukasana or Navasana, “Nauka” or “Nav” denotes a boat, while “asana” denotes a position or a pose. Because of this, the final body position is known as the “boat pose” because it resembles a boat or yacht. It is a reclining, back-bending pose. Our legs are raised off the ground, and our body is balanced on the sit bones. The upper body rises to create a V-shape, while the arms are extended parallel to the ground.
Your abs and lower back muscles will benefit from doing Naukasana. Your abdominal muscles are stretched during yoga’s boat posture, strengthening your core and enhancing your body’s overall energy.
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How To Do Naukasana?
The following are the steps to do Naukasana:
Step 1: Start by lying flat on your yoga mat with your feet together.
Step 2: Maintain a sideways arm position. Next, extend your fingers and arms straight until you reach your toes.
Step 3: Keep your body in this position and breathe rhythmically.
Step 4: Take a big breath out, then raise your feet and chest off the ground while reaching your arms towards your feet. Be aware that you are doing it correctly if you have tightness around your navel. This occurs as a result of your abdominal muscles contracting, which strains your abdomen.
Step 5: Maintain a straight line from the points of the fingers and toes to the eyes.
Step 6: Your buttocks should support your entire body weight.
Step 7: Hold your breath and hold this position for ten to fifteen seconds. After that, if you feel comfortable doing so, increase the duration. This comes with experience.
Step 8: Lastly, take a slow breath as you exit this pose and take a step back to your starting position.
Health Benefits Of Naukasana
Naukasana Yoga helps digestion, increases metabolism, tones the legs, strengthens the core, and increases spinal flexibility. The Boat Pose, or Naukasana, is an easy but very effective yoga pose. Some of the benefits of the Naukasana Yoga Pose are as follows:
Builds Up Your Core Muscles
All core muscles, including the rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, and internal and external obliques, are worked during the Naukasana Yoga. Maintaining this position helps in strengthening the core. Better posture and spine support come from a strong core.
Helps In The Toning Of Leg Muscles
This Naukasana yoga tones all of the leg muscles, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, and inner thighs, by raising the legs off the floor. The leg muscles can be defined and shaped with regular practice.
Reduces Back Pain
The two main advantages of Naukasana yoga are increased flexibility of the spine and strengthening of the back muscles. Stretching the body muscles releases tension, which lessens back pain and improves flexibility.
Enhances Digestion
The liver, kidneys, and intestines are among the internal organs that are massaged in the boat pose. It improves absorption and digestion. Constipation is relieved with regular practice.
Enhances Blood Flow
The posture of this yoga pose moves blood toward the torso and abdomen, as a result of the inversion. This provides nourishment to the abdominal region’s cells and tissues. By lifting the legs, it also enhances circulation in those areas.
Activates Hormonal Gland
The head tilt stimulates the thyroid, pineal, and pituitary glands, which are located in the neck and head region. Hormone levels are thereby brought into balance.
Benefits Thyroid Gland
In Naukasana, the neck is extended backward, which helps in stimulating the thyroid gland. Immunity, mood, heart rate, and metabolism are all regulated by a healthy thyroid.
Lessens Anxiety and Stress
Holding the difficult pose and concentrating on the breath brings awareness inside. This helps reduce tension and anxiety and has a relaxing impact on the mind.
Nervous System Benefits
Yoga’s Naukasana pose has the potential to calm the nervous system, promote balance, and release tension. It may provide the body with freshness and energy while reducing tiredness. It also enhances your capacity to focus on your regular tasks.
What Are The Contraindications Of Naukasana?
Boat posture is safe, however you should still take the appropriate safety precautions if –
1. You Are Not Physically Fit
As an exercise to strengthen the core, Naukasana is not recommended for persons with weak knees, ankles, or shoulders.
This is not a pose that should be done by beginners who have imbalance problems. People who know they are out of breath or who have back pain should also avoid it. This is due to the fact that this specific combination is the only method to achieve alignment and balance.
2. You Are Wounded
Because it requires the whole body to engage in muscles and joints, some people may find it difficult to achieve Naukasana. In order to perform the position, the hips, knees, ankles, toes, rib cage, shoulders, and neck must all be in good working order.
3. Other Health Related Problems
You should not perform this yoga pose if you have low BP, breathing problems, heart-related issues, migraine, headaches, and spinal issues. Pregnant ladies, elderly people, and small children should avoid this pose just to be safe. This is because older people or small children may not have the necessary core strength for this posture, which increases the risk of injury.
Additionally, spines are typically strong. Therefore, it’s possible that sitting on the sit bones will cause harm. Pregnant women should also avoid this posture since it puts strain on the abdomen and makes it difficult for them to balance their weight on the sit bone.
Conclusion
Because of the way the body looks in the final position of this yoga pose, Naukasana, also known as Navasana, is termed the boat pose. This asana is intermediate in difficulty, requiring mastery of breathing and physical motions. The boat position strengthens the core by focusing on the legs, lower back, and abdominal muscles. It’s a great stretching exercise to do.
