Salabhasana or Purna Salabhasana
(; ), Locust pose, or Grasshopper pose
is a prone back-bending
asana
An āsana (Sanskrit: आसन) is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and late ...
in modern
yoga as exercise
Yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting mainly of asana, postures, often connected by vinyasa, flowing sequences, sometimes accompanied by pranayama, breathing exercises, and frequently ending with savasana, relaxation lying down or ...
.
Etymology and origins
The asana's name comes from the Sanskrit which means "grasshopper" or "locust".
The pose is not found in the medieval
hatha yoga
Hatha yoga (; Sanskrit हठयोग, International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''haṭhayoga'') is a branch of yoga that uses physical techniques to try to preserve and channel vital force or energy. The Sanskrit word ह� ...
texts. It is included in Yoga Ghamande's 1905 ''
Yogasopana Purvacatuska'', the first yoga manual with printed illustrations, uniquely as
halftone
Halftone is the reprographic technique that simulates continuous tone, continuous-tone imagery through the use of dots, varying either in size or in spacing, thus generating a gradient-like effect.Campbell, Alastair. ''The Designer's Lexicon''. ...
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
Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar (14 December 1918 – 20 August 2014) was an Indian teacher of yoga and author. He is the founder of the style of yoga as exercise, known as " Iyengar Yoga", and was considered one of the foremost yoga ...
'' 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.
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, Salabhasana, following another reclining backbend,
Bhujangasana 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
References
Further reading
*
*
*
{{Yoga as exercise
Reclining asanas
Backbend asanas