Chaturanga-Dandasana low Yoga-Asana Nina-Mel

Chaturanga Dandasana ( sa, चतुरङ्ग दण्डासन; IAST: ''Caturaṅga Daṇḍāsana'') or Four-Limbed Staff pose, also known as Low Plank, is an 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 ...

and in some forms of

Surya Namaskar Sun Salutation, also called Surya Namaskar(a) or Salute to the Sun (), is a practice in yoga as exercise incorporating a flow sequence of some twelve gracefully linked asanas. The asana sequence was first recorded as yoga in the early 20th centu ...

(Salute to the Sun), in which a straight body parallel to the ground is supported by the toes and palms, with elbows at a right angle along the body. The variation Kumbhakasana, Phalakasana, or High Plank has the arms straight.

Etymology and origins

The name comes from the sa, चतुर् IAST ''catur'', "four"; अङ्ग ''aṅga'', "limb"; दण्ड ''daṇḍa'', "staff"; and आसन; ''āsana'', "posture" or "seat". The pose is unknown in hatha yoga until the 20th century '' Light on Yoga'', but the pose appears in the 1896 ''Vyayama Dipika'', a manual of

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

, as part of the "very old" sequence of ''danda'' exercises.

Norman Sjoman Norman E. Sjoman (born July 6, 1944, Mission City) is known as author of the 1996 book ''The Yoga Tradition of the Mysore Palace'', which contains an English translation of the yoga section of ''Sritattvanidhi'', a 19th-century treatise by the ...

suggests that it is one of the poses adopted into

modern yoga Modern yoga is a wide range of yoga practices with differing purposes, encompassing in its various forms yoga philosophy derived from the Vedas, physical postures derived from Hatha yoga, devotional and tantra-based practices, and Hindu nation- ...

in Mysore by Krishnamacharya and forming the "primary foundation" for his vinyasas with flowing movements between poses. The pose would then have been taken up by his pupils Pattabhi Jois and B. K. S. Iyengar.

Description

In Chaturanga Dandasana the hands and feet are on the floor, supporting the body, which is parallel to and lowered toward, but not touching, the floor. It looks much like a push up, but with the hands quite low (just above the pelvis), and the elbows kept in along the sides of the body. In vinyasa styles of yoga, Chaturanga Daṇḍasana is part of the

(Salute to the Sun) asana sequence, performed on an exhale. In Ashtanga vinyasa yoga's Surya Namaskar A it is the fourth asana, and in Surya Namaskar B it is the fourth, eighth and twelfth asanas. In yoga practice without vinyasas, the posture is simply held for a period of time (for instance, 30 seconds) with continuous breathing.

Variations

Beginners can practise with the knees on the floor, or keeping the arms straight (in Kumbhakasana, also called Phalakasana or High Plank), before attempting the full pose. High Plank too is used in some forms of the Sun Salutation. Purvottanasana, Reverse Plank, or Upward Plank, has the back straight but the front of the body facing upwards, the arms outstretched down to the floor, the fingers pointing towards the feet. File:Chaturanga-Dandasana_high_Yoga-Asana_Nina-Mel.jpg, Variation with straight arms (Kumbhakasana, Phalakasana, or High Plank) File:Kühlungsborn früher Morgen Yoga (detail).JPG, Purvottanasana, Reverse Plank

References

Sources

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External links