How To Do Naukasana - Boat Pose: Meaning, Steps & Benefits
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Incorporating yoga into your workout routine can be an excellent way to provide periods of active rest to your body in between more intense workouts. It will not only help you get a breather and relax your mind but also aid in toning your muscles. Many yoga asanas are intense enough to work on your muscles and strengthen them. The Naukasana, or boat pose, is one such asana.
The Naukasana is a terrific asana if you're looking for an effective yoga pose to strengthen your core and improve your posture. This asana is named after the shape your body takes during the pose, which is that of a boat. In this blog, we'll explore the meaning of Naukasana, how to perform the pose correctly, and the many benefits it can offer.
Meaning of Naukasana
Naukasana is derived from two Sanskrit words: "Nauka," meaning "boat," and "asana," meaning "pose." This posture is a seated posture that represents the shape of a boat. It is an intermediate-level posture and requires a strong core to maintain balance.
Steps to Do Naukasana - Boat Pose
To do Naukasana, follow these simple steps:
- Step 1: Begin by lying flat on your back with your arms at your sides and your legs together.
- Step 2: As you inhale, lift your head, shoulders, and legs off the ground, keeping your arms extended and parallel to the floor.
- Step 3: Keep your toes pointed and your arms straight as you balance on your sitting bones.
- Step 4: Hold the pose for as long as you can while maintaining your balance and breathing steadily.
- Step 5: To release the pose, exhale and slowly lower your head, shoulders, and legs back down to the ground.
Repeat the pose 3-5 times, gradually increasing the amount of time you hold the pose as you build strength.
Benefits of Naukasana
There are plenty of Naukasana benefits that can improve your overall health. Let’s have a look.
Since the Naukasana pose involves balancing your body on your sitting bones, most of the load is focused on your back and core muscles. The pose requires you to engage your abdominal muscles, hip flexors, and lower back muscles. This immensely helps to tone and strengthen your core and reduce belly fat.
Naukasana can help stimulate your digestive system and relieve constipation, gas, and bloating. Blood flow to the abdomen increases, improving your digestive health and the health of your abdominal organs.
The Naukasana opens up your chest. This can help the lungs intake more air and improve your lung capacity, promoting better breathing and oxygen flow throughout your body.
The Naukasana strengthens the core and back muscles. This can aid in improving posture, straightening your spine and preventing back pain.
The Naukasana, like many other yoga poses is not just a physical pose. As you breathe, you’re required to declutter your mind and focus on your breathing. This can help calm your mind and reduce stress and anxiety.
Precautions to Keep in Mind
While Naukasana can be a great pose to add to your yoga practice, there are a few precautions to keep in mind:
- Avoid this pose if you have a neck or back injury.
- People with heart ailments, headaches, migraine or low blood pressure must not attempt the Naukasana pose.
- Pregnant women should refrain from doing boat pose yoga.
- If you feel any pain or discomfort while performing the pose, slowly release the posture and rest.
Thus, the boat pose is an effective yoga pose that can help strengthen your core, improve your posture, and promote overall health and wellness.
If you want to incorporate the Naukasana into your yoga routine, then you can easily do so with FITPASS, a comprehensive fitness app that helps you find the best yoga classes near you. Also, with our AI-led fitness assistant FITCOACH, you can get other workout routines that include weight loss, muscle toning, and much more.
The Naukasana yoga pose offers many benefits. It strengthens the core and back muscles, tones the arms and legs, improves posture, aids in digestion, relaxes the mind and increases lung capacity.
People who have a neck or back injury, heart conditions, asthma, migraine, spinal disorders or low blood pressure must avoid performing the Naukasana. Additionally, pregnant women should also avoid performing this pose.
Although the Naukasana is a fairly uncomplicated pose to perform, it does require a bit of practice. Your core muscles must be strong enough to support your body. It’s an intermediate-level pose, but beginners can also start practising by holding the pose for as little time as possible, and then gradually increasing the holding time.
To do Naukasana (Boat Pose), lie on your back, lift your legs and upper body simultaneously, balancing on your sit bones. Hold the pose with your arms extended forward, keeping your core engaged. This yoga posture strengthens the core, improves balance, and stimulates abdominal organs.
Naukasana, or Boat Pose, is a yoga posture that involves balancing on the sit bones with the legs and torso lifted. This pose strengthens the abdominal muscles, improves digestion, enhances core stability, and helps in reducing belly fat. It is beneficial for overall core strength.
Naukasana, also known as Boat Pose in yoga, involves balancing on your sit bones with legs and torso lifted. This posture strengthens the core muscles, improves digestion, and enhances balance and concentration, making it an effective exercise for abdominal health.
Avoid Naukasana if you have a hernia, severe neck or back pain, or are pregnant. Ensure proper form to prevent strain, and avoid holding the pose for too long initially. Always warm up before practising and listen to your body to avoid overexertion and injury.
