#20 Ardha-Kurmasana - Half Tortoise Pose
By training us to slow our breathing and relax, Half Tortoise Pose can actually help us to live longer—in fact, longevity is Tortoise’s number one benefit. Think about it: the tortoise is the longest living animal on Earth.
30 seconds in this posture can provide the same benefits to the body as sleeping for a full eight hours. You can get this restorative, relaxing effect by practicing Tortoise at any time.
To begin:
- Sit on your heels, knees and feet together.
- Raise and straighten your arms overhead, lock your elbows, and place your palms together, crossing the thumbs.
- Reach your arms up as high as you can and inhale fully.
- On the exhale, suck in your stomach and bend forward slowly, keeping your body in straight line from tailbone to fingertips, until the edges of your little fingers touch the floor.
- At the same time, bring your forehead to the floor and rest it there.
- Keep your hips down on your heels; don’t lift the body off them.
- Your elbows are locked, wrists and arms straight, eyes open.
- Only your littlest fingers touch the floor while your arms are straight and in the air.
- Keep your chin away from your chest to have your airway completely opened.
- Reach forward even more with your arms.
- Come up exactly as you went down—lifting slowly and in one piece, stomach sucked in, back straight. One straight line.
- Then turn over and rest in Savasana for 20 seconds.
To accomplish this posture, keep your elbows locked and palms glued together. You’ll need to generate a tremendous amount of power in your hands and arms. You’ll feel how much you are working the core and strengthening the spine.
Benefits:
Aside from enhancing longevity, Tortoise is great for tense necks and shoulders. It also increases blood flow to the brain, which enhances memory and mental clarity. This posture also stretches the lower part of the lungs, which is therapeutic for asthmas, and counters indigestion, constipation, and irritable bowel syndrome. Plus, it increases flexibility of the hip joints. Got a headache? Do two Half Tortoise poses and call me in the morning!
Bikram Yoga Burr Ridge
