By Atul Vyas
Yoga works on health by calming the agitated dosha, restoring balance and returning the dosha to its home site. If vata is aggravated or is out of balance it may produce symptoms in different sites such as constipation, dull pain, dry cough headache and restlessness.
While dosha have their main region and home organ, they are all pervasive throughout the body and they move through vata. People with vata dominant constitution arise from predominance of attachment to this world. Such vata dominated people have quick bright mind which if vata is imbalanced becomes flighty perhaps spaced out or obsessional. They can be indecisive and worried.
Through yoga, vata dosha can be brought into balance and one of the yogic pose to help in this is ‘Utkatasana’ or the awkward pose. Its a quadriceps and hamstring exercise and an excellent balancing pose. This pose not only balances vata but strongly reduce aggravated vata dosha.
Technique
- Stand in Tadasana
- Stretch the arms over your head, so that your ears are touching insides of your upper arms
- Now, while exhaling bend knees squatting down until your thighs are parallel with the floor, as if sitting on an imaginary chair
- Breath normally while in pose
- Keep the chest straight while keeping lower spine relaxed
- Hold for five seconds then return back to normal position
Benefits
- Balances vata dosha
- Improves mobility of ankle, knee, and shoulder joints
- Increases the power of the knees
- Enhances ligaments of knees to maximum extent
- Improves blood circulation around waist
- Safe for all ages
- Helps in all types of leg aches, foot ache, bow legs and thigh cramp
- Strongly improves peripheral inflow
- Helps in venous blood return
- Increases basic metabolic rate
- Increases neurogenic impulse
Note of Caution
Those suffering from deep vein thrombosis, pedal edema, and laxity of ligaments, etc. should avoid this pose.
Atul Vyas likes to be called a “Yoga Scientist”. He is a celebrity yoga trainer and has trained several top Hollywood and Bollywood stars. He has trained for years under many eminent yoga gurus including his illustrious mother Daya Vyas, the first lady yoga guru of India.
