Navasana - Boat Pose - Beginner Yoga Technique

Transcript

in this guide we're going to look at the boat pose this is a popular yoga pose that anyone can try it's great for strengthening the abdomen and helps to strengthen the hip flexors in this guide we're going to talk you through four variations of the boat pose starting with the basic version and finishing in the full version you should go as far as your body will comfortably allow start by sitting on your yoga mat with your feet flat on the floor and your knees bent pointing towards the ceiling next bring your body as close as possible towards your thighs whilst keeping your shoulders back and not rounding the spine concentrate on keeping your breathing relaxed and hold onto the backs of your thighs with your elbows pointing out slowly start to lift your feet off the ground so that your shins are parallel to the floor and a tabletop position stay here for a few breaths inhaling and exhaling through the nose this is the first variation for an intermediate option slowly release your hands and reach your fingertips towards your feet your torso should lift up and lean slightly backwards to maintain balance you should feel the pressure on your sit bones this is the second variation for a more advanced version hold on to your thighs once more and slowly straighten your legs up towards the ceiling this increases the engagement of your core muscles as you sit up tall keep your breathing relaxed and consistent this is the third variation for a full version of the bow pose keep your legs extended and slowly release your hands reach your fingertips towards your toes and bring your palms to touch it helps to imagine a diagonal line from your fingertips to your shoulder make sure you're leaning back slightly to help you balance keeping your shoulders back and lifting through the chest if you find this too difficult come back into one of the previous options we've demonstrated to come out of the pose slowly place one foot on the floor followed by the other then place your hands down and sit up tall so that's a quick look at the boat pose and some of the different variations you can try now why not check out some of our other individual pose guides you