Salabhasana or Purna Salabhasana ( sa, शलभासन; IAST: ''Śalabhāsana''), Locust pose, or Grasshopper pose is a prone back-bending asana in modern

yoga as exercise Yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting mainly of postures, often connected by flowing sequences, sometimes accompanied by breathing exercises, and frequently ending with relaxation lying down or meditation. Yoga in this form has ...

Etymology and origins

The asana's name comes from the Sanskrit शलभा "shalabh" which means "grasshopper" or "locust". The pose is not found in the medieval hatha yoga texts. It is included in Yoga Ghamande's 1905 '' Yogasopana Purvacatuska'', the first yoga manual with printed illustrations, uniquely as halftone plates. It is described independently in Swami Vishnudevananda's 1960 '' Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga'' in the Sivananda Yoga tradition, and by '' B. K. S. Iyengar'' in his 1966 '' Light on Yoga'', implying that it may have older origins. A similar pose was found in Western gymnastics in '' The Bagot Stack Stretch-and-Swing System'', 1931, though Mary Bagot Stack had visited India. File:Salabhasana in Yogasopana 1905.jpg, Salabhasana in '' Yogasopana Purvacatuska'', 1905 File:Schistocerca gregaria - less color 2 (cropped).JPG, A locust, ''

Schistocerca gregaria The desert locust (''Schistocerca gregaria'') is a species of locust, a periodically swarming, short-horned grasshopper in the family Acrididae. They are found primarily in the deserts and dry areas of northern and eastern Africa, Arabia, and sou ...

'', both head and 'tail' up File:Seal posture Mollie Bagot Stack 1931.jpg,

Mary Bagot Stack Mary Bagot Stack (12 June 1883 – 26 January 1935), known as Mollie Bagot Stack, founded the Women's League of Health & Beauty in 1930, the first and most significant mass keep-fit system of the 1930s in the UK. This has continued as an exercis ...

in "Seal" posture, 1931

Description

Salabhasana is entered from a prone position. The legs are stretched out straight and lifted; the arms are stretched straight back, palms down, and lifted; the head is lifted and the gaze is directed straight ahead. It is a back bend, or spine stretch, utilizing the strength of the upper and middle back to lift the weight of the legs as high as possible from a starting position while face down on the floor. It improves flexibility and coordination, exercises the back muscles, and increases strength and stamina.

Variations

Ardha Salabhasana (Half Locust Pose) raises one leg and the opposite arm at a time; the other arm may rest on the floor or be folded over the back. In

Bikram Yoga Bikram Yoga is a system of hot yoga, a type of yoga as exercise, devised by Bikram Choudhury and based on the teachings of B. C. Ghosh, that became popular in the early 1970s. Classes consist of a fixed sequence of 26 postures, practised in a ro ...

, Salabhasana, following another reclining backbend,

Bhujangasana Bhujangasana ( sa, भुजंगासन; IAST: ''Bhujaṅgāsana'') or Cobra Pose is a reclining back-bending asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise. It is commonly performed in a cycle of asanas in Surya Namaskar, Salute to the Su ...

or Cobra Pose, is performed in stages. First, the arms are placed under the body pointing straight towards the feet, palms downwards, and the chin is rested on the floor. Then the left and right legs are lifted alternately. Finally, both legs are lifted together. (Three web pages) File:Half-locust pose.jpg, Half Locust Pose, variant moving leg only File:Salabhasana_Yoga-Asana_Nina-Mel.jpg, Variant arm position

Etymology and origins

Description

Variations

References

Further reading