Hey There.! Trying to get hold of the camel pose in yoga, and not able to learn? It might seem difficult if you don’t have a good guide, but let me assure you after reading this post you will be a master of this pose.
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What is Camel Pose?
Camel Pose is one of the seated positions in yoga that try to resemble the shape of an animal Camel, the ship of the desert. It is originally known as ‘Ustrasana‘ (oo-sta-ra-sa-na). Word Ustrasana is derived from the Sanskrit words ‘Ustra’ meaning camel and ‘asana’ meaning posture. This pose has always been part of yoga since ancient times and is still on the menu of hot-selling beginner’s yoga classes. This simply points to its importance and benefits.
| Name of Pose | Camel Pose or Ustrasana |
| Preparatory Poses | Thunderbolt pose, easy pose, or none |
| Difficulty Level | Medium-low |
A Step-by-step guide to Camel pose
- Come to a kneeling position on the yoga mat, most of the part of your leg should be touching the mat.
- Make sure your knees are in the same line as the spine and shoulder i.e. in a perpendicular line to the ground. The body should be straight.
- Keep the half-foot distance between the two legs.
- Gently lean backward and grab your heels with your respective hands.
- When you are comfortable, Inhale and raise the torso as such someone is stretching you from the naval. The sternum should be lifted and the shoulders should be as back as you can make it.
- With your eyes open, try to look at the ceiling with your neck tilted backward.
- Hold your breath for 10 sec and come back to a kneeling position.
- Repeat this set for 10 sets
“Sometimes in life, We need to go upside-down to become right-side up” – Romano Christiana
Video Guide
Precautions
It is recommended to perform some warmup exercises, or yoga poses like cobra pose, or tree pose before trying out camel pose. If you have undergone any kind of surgery please consult your physician or yoga teacher before performing this pose.
Pregnant women and patients with very high blood pressure should avoid this pose.
Benefits of Camel Pose
- It opens the Heart chakra of the body, thereby increasing your consciousness of feeling, love, and emotions.
- Helps in reducing stress and backache because of long seating.
- Stretching of the lungs causes its capacity to increase.
- Strengthens abdominal muscles, spine, and hip area.
- Aids in slow digestion problems by increasing blood flow to the abdominal area.
- This pose is found to be helpful for Insomnia patients.
- Helps to overcome thyroid-related problems.
- Brings balance to physical and mental health.
Conclusion
I recommend you, try this pose for bringing better flexibility to your upper body. I myself have experienced its relaxing benefits after long seating during office hours.
Please let me know of your experience after trying out the camel pose below in the comments.
FAQs
Does camel pose reduce belly fat?
Yes.! Camel pose in yoga stretches the abdominal area thereby causing fat around the waist and thighs to burn. You should try to hold the camel pose for more than 30 seconds to increase the reduction in belly fat.
Does Camel pose help in increasing height?
Back bending in camel pose in yoga stretches the hamstring along with the spine. Hence it helps to provide strength to the spine thereby helping in increasing height.