Viparita Dandasana (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

: विपरीत दण्डासन,

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...

: Viparīta Daṇḍāsana) or Inverted Staff Pose is an inverted back-bending

asana An asana 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 later extended in hatha yoga ...

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 ...

. It may be performed with both feet on the ground, or with one leg raised straight up.

Etymology and origins

The name of this asana comes from Sanskrit विपरीत ''viparīta'', "inverted", दण्ड ''daṇḍa'', "staff" symbolising authority and the devotee's prostration, and आसन ''āsana'', "posture" or "seat". The variants are named for Sanskrit एक ''eka'', "one" or द्वि ''dvi'', "two", and पाद ''pada'', "foot". The asana is not found in medieval

Hatha yoga Haṭha yoga is a branch of yoga which uses physical techniques to try to preserve and channel the vital force or energy. The Sanskrit word हठ ''haṭha'' literally means "force", alluding to a system of physical techniques. Some haṭha ...

texts. It is described in the 20th century by two of

Krishnamacharya Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (18 November 1888 – 28 February 1989) was an Indian yoga teacher, ayurvedic healer and scholar. He is seen as one of the most important gurus of modern yoga, and is often called "the father of modern yoga" for h ...

's pupils,

Pattabhi Jois K. Pattabhi Jois (26 July 1915 – 18 May 2009) was an Indian yoga guru who developed and popularized the flowing style of yoga as exercise known as Ashtanga vinyasa yoga. In 1948, Jois established the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mys ...

in his Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga,> and B. K. S. Iyengar in his ''

Light on Yoga ''Light on Yoga: Yoga Dipika'' (Sanskrit: योग दीपिका, "Yoga Dīpikā") is a 1966 book on the Iyengar Yoga style of modern yoga as exercise by B. K. S. Iyengar, first published in English. It describes more than 200 yoga postur ...

''.

Description

The asana is entered from lying on the back. The hands and feet are positioned close to the body as for upwards bow, and the body is lifted so the crown of the head can be rested on the floor. The legs are then straightened into the two-legged pose, Dvi Pada Viparita Dandasana, and the hands are arranged holding the head as for yoga headstand (Sirsasana). Alternatively, advanced students can enter the asana from Sirsasana, arching the back, lowering the legs to the floor, and then straightening the legs. The one-legged pose, Eka Pada Viparita Dandasana, can then be entered by raising one leg; the leg is held stretched straight out vertically. Advanced students can leave the asana by returning to Sirsasana. This asana is in the Advanced A Series of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga.

Variations

The asana can be practised on an open-backed chair, its seat padded with a folded blanket. The asana is entered by sitting with the feet through the back of the chair, holding the chair's back, and leaning back into a reclining position with the back supported on the seat of the chair. A bolster or folded blankets may be used to support the head and relax the body if the neck feels compressed. A more strenuous asana for advanced students is Viparita Dandasana II, where the feet are brought towards the head until the ankles are grasped by the hands; the head is lifted. A variant of that is Eka Pada Viparita Dandasana II, with one leg lifted to point straight up. Chakra Bandhasana has the forearms on the floor and the hands grasping the heels.

References

Sources

* * * {{Yoga as exercise Backbend asanas