Yoga Health Secrets

Yoga for constipation and indigestion

Squatting Pose

This pose is exactly what its name implies. 1 want you to practice squatting like the people of the Orient do. They feel more comfortable in this simple position than they would sitting on a chair. You though may not, and especially at first, find it at all comfortable, but as an exercise for constipation it has few equals. The method is simple.

1. Stand up straight with your feet about twelve inches apart, inhale deeply and rise on your toes.

2. Complete your inhalation and begin to exhale immediately at the same time as you slowly bend your knees until you are sitting on your heels.

3. Hold the position for as long as you comfortably can and then, without inhaling slowly, rise to your feet. Then take a deep breath and repeat up to four times.

Practice this simple Squatting Pose for a few days and then try this slightly more difficult version. Proceed as above but this time do not raise your heels from the ground. Bend your body forward as you squat so that you do not overbalance, and bring your hands and arms forward over your knees so that your fingers touch the floor.

The third version of the squatting pose is even more difficult but with careful practice you will soon be able to do it. Proceed as for version 2 but this time keep your feet close together without raising your heels off the ground. You may wish to perform the three variations of this exercise and if so you should repeat each one twice. If you do only one, repeat it six times and do remember your breathing carefully.

If your knees are stiff or you are afraid of overbalancing you may steady yourself by holding on to a chair or anything convenient that will support your weight, until you feel more confident. After performing this exercise lie down on your back, stretch out your legs with your feet together, and relax for a few moments.

And now for an exercise which has an intriguing strangeness about it. It is called YOGAMUDRA and I have demonstrated it in figure 10. As you can see, it has an appearance of supplication about it and indeed, in the higher stages of Yoga the spiritual value of this asana cannot be over-emphasized. In some cases advanced Yogis hold this pose for an hour or more to help the awakening of the mysterious Kundalini or Serpent Power which I have already mentioned.

But we are concerned, in this chapter, with constipation and YOGAMUDRA, by increasing the peristaltic movement of the bowel, promotes internal purification. It also tones and strengthens the abdominal muscles, the colon, and the pelvic region, and so it is a very valuable and health-giving posture indeed. There is an easy version for beginners but I will describe the classical one first.

1. Sit down in the Lotus Pose, which I have described in chapter six. With your hands behind your back clasp the right wrist with the left hand or vice versa.

2. Bend forward until your head touches the floor between your knees and remain so for as long as you find comfortable. When you are ready to straighten up do so very slowly and remain seated for a few moments with your back straight. You will experience a curiously light and peaceful sensation, as though you had just awakened from a peaceful dream.

But I can hear many of my readers protesting that the exercise I have just described is impossible. You can neither get into the Lotus Pose nor hope to reach the floor with your head. Very well, try this easier variation.

Sit down cross-legged on the floor, tailor fashion. This is the Easy Pose. Double your fists and place them firmly on either side of your navel. Now bend forward as before until your head touches the ground as near to your knees as you can. Your fists will impart a healthy massage to your abdominal organs just as, in the classical Yogamudra the upturned heels do likewise.