Rabbit Pose in Bikram Yoga benefits and tutorial

Overview of the Rabbit Pose in Bikram Yoga

  The Rabbit Pose  in the Bikram Hot Yoga Series or called Sasangasana in Sanskrit follows the deep backward bend of the Camel Pose with a deep forward bend which helps improve moment in the spine. The meaning of Sasangasana translating from Sanskrit to English breaks down as follows:  Sasaka which has the meaning of "rabbit" and Asana has the meaning of "pose".

An interesting fact about Rabbit Pose in the Bikram Series is that it is the only pose that the dialogue calls for the allowance of using a prop. This is when they suggest that if you are struggling establish a grip you are able to use a towel. The Rabbit Pose helps you round and lengthen the back of the body and compress and compact the front of the body. Lets get right into it and discuss how to do the Rabbit Pose in the Bikram Hot Yoga Series properly.

The grip is the foundation

  To start the Rabbit Pose come to the middle of the mat and sit on your knees with the tops of your feet into the floor. Sit back into your heels and establish a grip by grabbing your feet from the outside and press your finger tips into the bottom of the feet. The thumbs should be on the outside and fingers on the inside of the feet.  Have your palms flat on your heels.

You can bring your towel over your feet and then establish your grip in order to get a better hold. This is the foundation of the whole posture and you need to hold the grip on the heels through out the posture even if it means sacrificing depth in the posture. It is the grip which gives you the stretching sensation inside the pose. Slightly tuck your chin to your chest and round  your spine forward. You need to keep your spine rounding through out the posture.

Round Forward in the Rabbit Pose in Bikram Yoga

  Try bringing your forehead to your knees to the best of your ability but if you can not do that do not sweat it just bring your forehead as close to your knee as much as you possibly can. If you can not get your forehead to your knees it may help if you walk your knees forward a little bit to make contact. Have the top of your head gently resting on the floor but do not jam it. The chin is only slightly tucked  and should be only a few inches away from the chest. Make sure your spine is rounded and lifting and along with your hips and tailbone.

Let us take a deeper look

Try and straighten out your elbows and notice your shoulders rolling shoulders up your back. Eventually you will have full extension of your arms. You need to press your heels together and the tops of your feet consistently press into the floor. You need to make sure you are breathing calmly through out the whole, entire posture. After ten seconds round back up the same way you came in and the chin releases at the very end. You should hold onto the grip of the feet till you get to top and get into your Savasana. In the Bikram Hot Yoga Series you are doing two sets at ten seconds a piece of the Rabbit Pose which may not seem like much but in reality has immense benefits for your body and overall health. Try doing your Rabbit Pose and notice the results for yourself. Namaste !

Conclusion

   The Rabbit Pose in the Bikram Hot Yoga Series is a deep forward bending posture that is meant to counteract the deep backward bend of the Camel Pose. The key to the whole posture is establishing a proper grip that will help give you that stretching sensation you are looking for inside the pose. You need to make sure the chin is slightly tucked to the chest and your spine is rounded and lifting the whole time. To repeat HOLD THE GRIP ON THE FEET FOR THE DURATION OF THE POSE.

 New Teacher and Beginner Cheat Sheet

• For starters come up on your knees in the middle of your mat
• Bring the tops of the feet and ankles  pressing  into the floor
• Suck in your stomach and grab your heels from the outside of the feet
• Your core remains engaged through out the  whole pose
• Pull the belly button in towards the spine
• You need to bring the thumbs on the outside of the heels
• Try and press your finger tips into the bottom of your feet
• The palms should be flat on the heels
• Get a strong grip and hold onto heels throughout posture
• It is ok to use your towel to help establish a better grip on your heels
• Inhale and round the spine forward
• Bring forehead to knees and keep spine rounded and lifting through out pose 
• Keep try lifting your hips up towards the ceiling
• Keep pulling on your  heels the entire time
• Try and bring your shoulders more away from your ears
• Do not jam top of head into the floor 
• The back of the body is stretching and lengthening
• The front of the body is contracting and compressing
• Make sure you are breathing calmly and slowly for the duration of the pose
• Round back up. Chin and grip release when you get to the top
• Do two sets at ten seconds each 
• Turn around and lay on your back in Savasana

Benefits

• The Rabbit Pose helps stretch the entire spine
• The pose is good for compression of the inner organs
• The posture helps heal the nervous system
• The pose can alleviate stress, anxiety and depression
• Improves the spines range of motion and mobility
• The pose helps alleviate the tension in the neck, back and shoulders
• Helps in the improvement of the function of the thyroid and parathyroid  gland
• The posture helps boost your immune system
• Helps assist in bringing freshly oxygenated blood to the spine
• Helps get rid of colds, sinus problems and allergy problems
• The posture can be good for sleep depravation
• Rabbit pose helps heal the endocrine system
• The pose is good for your bodies metabolism