Bow (Dhanurasana)

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Dhanurasana, or Bow pose is a yoga pose in which the practitioner lays on their belly, grabs their feet, and lifts the legs into the shape of a bow. Dhanurasana is also called Urdva Chakrasana.

Improperly executed, this pose could compromise the knees and the spine. Because the spine is placed out of alignment and pressure is applied, this pose can lead to ruptured disks.

Any backward extension of the spine should be done exclusively using the back muscles and should never be forced. In addition, the spine should always be extended fully from hip bones to the head before moving into any pose. It is always appropriate in any yoga class to skip a dangerous pose in favor of another. In this case, locust pose is appropriate.

This page uses material from the Wikipedia article "Dhanurasana".