Salabhasana or Purna Salabhasana ( sa, शलभासन;

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 ...

: ''Śalabhāsana''), Locust pose, or Grasshopper pose is a prone 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 ...

Etymology and origins

The asana's name comes from the Sanskrit शलभा "shalabh" which means "grasshopper" or "locust". The pose is not found in the 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 included in Yoga Ghamande's 1905 ''

Yogasopana Purvacatuska The ''Yogasopana Purvacatuska'' (Marathi: योगसोपान पूर्वचतुष्क (in Devanagari script)) or ''Stairway to Yoga'' is a 1905 book in Marathi on hatha yoga by Yogi Narayana Ghamande. It describes and illustrates 37 ...

'', the first yoga manual with printed illustrations, uniquely as

halftone Halftone is the reprographic Reprography (a portmanteau of ''reproduction'' and ''photography'') is the reproduction of graphics through mechanical or electrical means, such as photography or xerography. Reprography is commonly used in catal ...

plates. It is described independently in

Swami Vishnudevananda Vishnudevananda Saraswati (31 December 1927 – 9 November 1993) was an Indian yoga guru known for his teaching of asanas, a disciple of Sivananda Saraswati, and founder of the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres and Ashrams. He establ ...

's 1960 ''

Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga ''The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga'' is a bestselling 1960 book by Swami Vishnudevananda, the founder of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres. It is an introduction to Hatha yoga, describing the ''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali'' and the ''Hatha Yog ...

'' 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 founder of the style of yoga as exercise, known as " Iyengar Yoga", and was considered one of the foremost yoga guru ...

'' in his 1966 ''

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 ...

'', 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. File:Salabhasana in Yogasopana 1905.jpg, Salabhasana in ''

'', 1905 File:Schistocerca gregaria - less color 2 (cropped).JPG, A locust, '' Schistocerca gregaria'', both head and 'tail' up File:Seal posture Mollie Bagot Stack 1931.jpg, Mary Bagot Stack in "Seal" posture, 1931

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 Bhujangasana ( sa, भुजंगासन; IAST: ''Bhujaṅgāsana'') or Cobra Pose is a reclining back-bending asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise. It is commonly performed in a cycle of asanas in Surya Namaskar, Salute to the Sun, ...

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

Etymology and origins

Description

Variations

References

Further reading