Dekasana: Airplane Pose Health Benefits and How to do?

Dekasana: Airplane Pose Health Benefits and How to do?

Dekasana (Airplane Pose) is one of those ancient staple poses that distinguish the arm position from Warrior III. Like Virabhadrasana III, Dekasana strengthens the Hips, arms, shoulders, and neck and stretches the lower back, calf, hamstrings, and Shoulders.

Dekasana has been added relatively recently to the traditional poses of Hatha Yoga Pradipika for a combination of yoga poses that can help balance distortions.

In this advanced standing yoga balance pose, the arms are extended out near the ears which are in the position of airplane wings. The body leans forward while balancing on one leg.

Most people find the arm position with the forward bending action of Dekasana much easier, and the shoulders and neck feel much lighter, relaxed, and less stressed. However, the arms are a bit more challenging because lengthening the arms requires keeping the body in balance. What's more - the practice also prepares the body for more challenging balancing postures that can be performed as part of a yoga flow.

So if you are looking for a way to calm your energy force and improve body balance, keep practicing Dekasana again and again.

Steps to Practise Dekasana - Airplane Pose

  • To enter Dekasana, first of all, open both your legs and stand in the posture of Tadasana.

  • Now with awareness in the legs, transfer your body weight to either one leg or the right leg, and extend your other leg ie the left leg back and up, so that your torso leans forward in front of the right leg.

  • To balance, press the toe of the right foot into the floor.

  • Extend your arms out to the sides of the body or out from your shoulders, or rotate them outward into the shoulder sockets.

  • Extend the arms backward like the wings of an airplane.

  • Look at the ground a few feet in front of you for balance.

  • Hold for 3-5 breaths.

  • To come out of the pose, lift your body straight up while keeping your left foot on the floor.

  • Now repeat the Dekasana from the other side or right leg.

If your balance is frequently unstable during Dekasana practice, then you can stand near the wall and start practicing Dekasana. If needed, allow one hand to touch the wall.

Time to Practise

For the best results of Airplane Yoga Pose, the morning is the best time because your stomach is empty. If you are busier in the morning time then you can do your practice in the evening time also, keep in mind that practice should be done at least 4-6 hours after the meal.

Dekasana Preparatory Poses

• Tree Pose (Vriksasana)

• Boat Pose (Navasana)

• Hand to Big Toe Pose (Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana)

Follow up Poses

• Warrior III (Virabhadrasana III)

• Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana)

Dekasana - Airplane Pose Health Benefits

A consistent Dekasana yoga practice can help your body feel better:

Airplane posture tones the body muscles such as hamstrings, quadriceps, and calves. Continuous yoga practice also increases strength and flexibility in these organs.

Breathing with expanded chest tones strengthens the muscles around the shoulders, upper arms, forearms, and wrists.

Balancing Legs focuses on increasing your balance and strength. There is not much emphasis on stretching. The practice of this asana has a great effect on the core muscles and shoulders.

May help reduce excess fat and improve the functioning of the digestive system due to the generation of internal heat.

With the emphasis on stretching the spine, the body comes under better control and improves position and posture with repeated practice.

To hold the balance there is the proper use of the abdominal muscles, which helps to contract and stimulate the abdominal organs.

Airplane pose can be of great benefit to athletes as it requires balancing the body on one leg which emphasizes building strength, stability, endurance, and confidence of the athlete.

The airplane pose is proven to be good for asthma, improving the expansion of the diaphragm muscles properly, which proves beneficial for overall breathing.

Precautions

Some precautions need to be taken while practicing Airplane pose. These precautions are as follows-

While doing the airplane pose, your stomach should be completely empty, that is, you have to do this asana after defecation. This asana will not show its full effect with a full stomach.

It is better to avoid airplane yoga poses for people with back problems.

This asana should not be practiced if you are a patient with high blood pressure as one may feel dizzy or nauseated.

Do not also practice airplane pose if you have injuries to the legs, upper legs, or thighs.

Pregnant women should practice it with caution or under the guidance of a specialist as it may lead to loss of balance.