Benefits and how to do Rabbit Pose or Shashankasana

The rabbit pose, called Shashankasana in Sanskrit, is inspired by the scene of a rabbit lowering its head to the ground. Rabbits are known for their agility, quickness, and flexibility in navigating difficult terrain. Practicing this pose helps shape the rabbit’s features and connects their inner nature with nature. It is excellent for clearing mental and emotional clutter. This is a great alternative to camel pose. This pose helps to strengthen your spine by lengthening the space between the vertebrae. Here’s everything you need to know about the rabbit pose and its potential benefits.

Benefits of Rabbit Pose

Here are some potential benefits of the rabbit yoga pose as explained by yoga instructor Dr. Mickey Mehta.

1. Promotes mental well-being

Regularly performing the rabbit pose improves your mood. It helps to manage anxiety and reduce fear, panic, depression, stress and weakness. It gives you peace of mind, which allows you to let go of grudges and resentments. In this posture you lean forward and all your mental and emotional worries are washed away.

2. Stimulates the digestive organs

This pose requires you to bend forward and contract your abdomen, which helps improve the secretion of digestive juices. It stimulates organs like the stomach, liver and intestines, thereby eliminating toxins.

Also read

Also Read: Yoga Poses for Digestion: 5 Asanas for Strong Gut Health

3. Helps in spinal flexibility

Your spine gets stronger over time, and moves like the rabbit pose can help improve spinal flexibility and reduce the risk of injury. It can cause these problems by reducing the stress on your spine.

4. Good for the heart

Rabbit pose is a wonderful way to relax your heart. This allows you to breathe from your solar plexus, which helps to calm and relieve pressure from the arteries and veins. This, in turn, helps promote a healthy heart.

5. Increases lung capacity

Rabbit pose involves a large forward bend, which helps tone the abdomen and stretch the back. It helps improve lung capacity and overall respiratory health.

Also Read: How to Breathe Deeply to Improve Lung Capacity: Says Yoga Expert

How to do the rabbit pose?

Here is a step-by-step way to do Shashankasana or Rabbit Pose:

• Step 1: Begin in hero pose by sitting on the butt of your heels. Ankles, thighs and knees should be uniform.
• Step 2: Grasp the heels with your hands on the outside, your thumbs on the outside edges of your feet and your fingers on the inside arches.
• Step 3: Lift the navel inward and up toward the spine to activate the core.
• Step 4: As you begin to round your back, your forehead should contact your knees and the crown of your head should touch the floor. Chin should be tucked into your chest.
• Step 5: As you lunge forward, lift your hips and butt your heels until your arms are straight.
• Step 6: Release the pose and return to the starting position.

Who should avoid this pose?

People with severe knee, neck or shoulder pain should be cautious and pregnant women should avoid this pose. Avoid this pose if you feel dizzy or nauseous, as this pose involves a mild inversion. You should not do this pose before warm-up exercises.

Are there any side effects to the rabbit pose?

Although the pose is very easy, some may face discomfort. You may experience neck pain, compression on the spine, strain on the knees, hip joint stretch and even shortness of breath if you are not careful.

Best time to do this Yogasana

Many factors influence the best time to practice rabbit pose, depending on personal preferences, lifestyle, and specific health concerns. Some people use it as part of their daily routine to wake up and rejuvenate their body. For some, it can help ease and promote evening relaxation.

It should be practiced with proper alignment and understanding. It encourages practitioners to explore deeper levels of consciousness and connection with the outer world, in addition to promoting physical well-being.