Pose Description:

Come into a kneeling position taking the knees in together and the feet out about mat width distance apart, taking a hold of the calves roll them outwards and begin to sit down in the middle of the legs. If this is uncomfortable or your bottom does not reach the ground you might like to put a blanket underneath you.

The soles of the feet should be facing up towards the ceiling, the knees should be together and the inner ankles either side of the bottom. Keeping the ribs contained and the belly button drawing back towards the spine, interlock the fingers and extend the arms away from you and take them up overhead so that the palms of the hands are facing towards the ceiling. The upper arm rotate inwards. Open the arm pits towards the front and the shoulders press downwards while the chin stays level with the ground.

Body Parts Affected:

feet, knees, legs, hips, groin, pelvis, spine, shoulders, neck

Effects of the Asana:

• Relives gout
• Alleviates arthritis of the elbows and fingers
• Relieves back ache
• Reduces the pain of broken deviated or fused tail bones
• Corrects herniated discs
• Helps relieve symptoms of menopause

Cautions:

May strain ligaments in the knees, not to be done with knee or ankle injury. This pose places pressure directly on a superficial branch of the common peroneal nerve (supplies several muscles on the anterior side of the leg) and may lead to you not being able to flex foot when walking. This pose may also lead to headaches (if you are lying back).

Effects of the pose of each part of the body

Digestive and respiratory System:

Virasana creates an automatic lumbar curve that keeps the abdomen open yet taut; this aids digestion and relives gas as it brings space and blood flow to the organs of the abdominal region. Virasana encourages the spine’s natural curvature, so it not only creates space in the lower torso but also in the upper torso keeping the front of the chest and the back of the chest spacious and open. This space gives the lungs the maximum room to expand and breath fully, because of this Virasana is good for people with Asthma.

Lymphatic System:

Virasana stretches the hip and groin region which is where a lot of the major nodes of the Lymphatic system are located. The version of Virasana with the arms up also stretches the area under the arms where the Lymph nodes for the arms live. This stretch stimulates and promotes drainage from both of there areas. For this reason alone, Virasana can be useful to help relive swelling in legs during pregnancy.

Muscular System and Skeletal Systems:

Virasana stretches the thighs, knees and ankles and helps to strengthen the arches of the feet. The asana promotes flexibility and rotation in the hips and groin and tilts the pelvis forward slightly, giving the spine its natural lumbar curve and allowing the spine to lengthen and create space between the vertebra without using too much strength to hold it up. This is all good for posture. Virasana with arms up creates space under the arms, stretches the torso, arms, shoulders, neck and wrists.

Circulatory System:

Virasana cuts of the blood supply to the legs. The effects of this are felt when you come out of the pose. You will get a fresh rush of blood to the legs and feet along with a fresh supply of oxygen. This helps to flush out stagnant blood, strengthen veins and get more oxygen moving down into the lower legs and feet. Virasana is also good for people with high blood pressure as the heart does not have to work as hard to get the blood down so far. Because of this temporary blocking of blood supply Virasana can be dangerous for people with heart or circulation problems.

References:

Coulter, H. David – Anatomy of Hatha Yoga A Manual for Students, Teachers and Practitioners published by Body and Breath Inc in Honesdale, PA USA, 2001
Iyengar, B K S – Yoga – The path to holistic Health published by Dorling Kindersley in Great Britain in 2001
Swami Satyananda Saraswati –Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha published by Yoga Publications Trust Munger Bihar India, 1996
Iyengar, B K S - Yoga – Light on Yoga published by schocken Books in New York America, 1979
http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/490_1.cfm - 1/11/2004
http://www.bodyandfitness.com/Information/Womenhealth/varicose1.htm - 1/11/2004