Chaturanga Dandasana or Four-Limbed Staff pose, also known as Low Plank, is an asana in modern yoga as exercise and in some forms of Surya Namaskar, in which a straight body parallel to the ground is supported by the toes and palms, with elbows at a right angle along the body. The variation Kumbhakasana, Phalakasana, or High Plank has the arms straight.
Etymology and origins
The name comes from the चतुर् IASTcatur, "four"; अङ्ग aṅga, "limb"; दण्ड daṇḍa, "staff"; and आसन; āsana, "posture" or "seat". The pose is unknown in hatha yoga until the 20th centuryLight on Yoga, but the pose appears in the 1896 Vyayama Dipika, a manual of gymnastics, as part of the "very old" sequence of danda exercises. Norman Sjoman suggests that it is one of the poses adopted into modern yoga in Mysore by Krishnamacharya and forming the "primary foundation" for his vinyasas with flowing movements between poses. The pose would then have been taken up by his pupils Pattabhi Jois and B. K. S. Iyengar.
Description
In Chaturanga Dandasana the hands and feet are on the floor, supporting the body, which is parallel to and lowered toward, but not touching, the floor. It looks much like a push up, but with the hands quite low, and the elbows kept in along the sides of the body. When performed correctly, it can help prepare the body for arm balance asanas by strengthening important muscles and promoting good form. In vinyasa styles of yoga, Caturanga Daṇḍasana is part of the Surya Namaskar asana sequence, performed on an exhale. In Ashtanga vinyasa yoga's Surya Namaskar A it is the fourth asana, and in Surya Namaskar B it is the fourth, eighth and twelfth asanas. In yoga practice without vinyasas, the posture is simply held for a period of time with continuous breathing.
Variations
Beginners can practise with the knees on the floor, or keeping the arms straight, before attempting the full pose. High Plank too is used in some forms of the Sun Salutation.
Effects
This asana helps to tone arm and forearm muscles and develops flexibility and power in the wrists, as well as toning abdominal organs and building repository muscles.
Cautions
As the shoulder joint is supported by muscles and tendons alone, those with weak muscles risk winging the shoulder blades in the pose, resulting in shoulder or elbow pain or clicking. Lumbar hyperextension and hip flexion is a result of weakness in this asana, which can be corrected by activating the hamstrings.
