asana: supta dandasana

yogabuch / asanas / supta dandasana

supta dandasana
„lying stick“

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last update: 30.12.2018
Name: supta dandasana
Trivial name: lying staff
Level: A

Classification

classic: lying posture

Contraindication

Effects

Preparation

An important preparation is the flexibility of the hamstrings so that the legs do not inevitably move away from the upper body:

  1. uttanasana as a generally effective and efficient stretch of the ischiocrural group to prepare for flexion in the hip joints
  2. prasarita padottanasana very similar to uttanasana
  3. parsvottanasana as a generally very effective and efficient stretch of the hamstrings
  4. parivrtta trikonasana
  5. parivrtta ardha chandrasana
  6. downface dog as another good preparation for the ischiocrural group when the pelvis is tilted powerfully
  7. hip opener 5 as a very effective stretch for the hamstrings that goes beyond uttanasana

If the upper body does not want to lie flat in the area of the thoracic spine, active (with the use of the autochthonous back muscles) and passive (without their use) should help:

  1. the „table“ variation of uttanasana (active)
  2. warrior 3 pose (active)
  3. upface dog (active)
  4. Lying on a roll (passive)
  5. Hyperbola (passive)
  6. Raisedback extension (passive)

and all backbends If the rectus femoris tends to cramp, stretch it first:

  1. virasana
  2. supta virasana
  3. Quadriceps stretch 1 on the wall
  4. Quadriceps stretch 2 on the wall
  5. ardha supta krouncasana
  6. supta krouncasana

Follow-up

derived asanas:

similar asanas:

Geometry:

  1. Back extension
  2. Head down dog pose
  3. urdhva hastasana variation of dandasana
  4. right-angled handstand
  5. right-angled uttanasana
  6. right-angled headstand
  7. navasana
  8. dvi-pada variation of the handstand

Diagnostics (No.)

(650) Kyphosis and lordosis of the spine:

In this pose, the back should lie largely flat on the floor. The lumbar spine becomes flat or the physiological lordosis largely remains, the thoracic kyphosis should be largely eliminated. Deviations from this, for example in the form of a remaining significant thoracic spine kyphosis or a lumbar spine hyperlordosis, are abnormalities that require further examination. See the FAQ.

(818)(721) Hip flexor/schiocruralgroup

Depending on the flexibility in the hamstrings, we experience a very interesting interaction between the muscles of the back of the legs, whose restricted flexibility pulls the legs away from the head towards the floor, and the hip flexors, which try to keep them vertical. This shows the flexibility of the hamstrings on the one hand and the strength/stamina of the hip flexors on the other. Depending on the proportions, the rectus femoris in particular, which has a very short sarcomere length and is therefore close to active insufficiency, shows a more or less marked tendency to spasm, especially when it is shortened or its tone is high. Irritation of the origin of the hamstrings at the ischial tuberosity (at the ischial tuberosities, also known as PHT: proximal hamstring tendinopathy) is less likely to be noticeable in this posture, as the force exerted is usually too low. If it does, see the FAQ.

(672) The rectus abdominis straight abdominal muscle:

If the hamstrings is less mobile, the rectus abdominis will have to work sustainably in order to counteract the tilt of the pelvis resulting from the downward pull of the legs due to gravity via the pull of the iliopsoas into the lumbar spine hyperlordosis. If the rectus abdominis does not need to work because the legs tilt slightly beyond the vertical towards the head, this indicates that the flexibility of the hamstrings is already quite good.

Variants:

45°

Instructions

  1. Lie on your back in savasana.
  2. Tighten your abdominal and gluteal muscles and raise your legs to a vertical position.
  3. In addition to the vertical, i.e. the 90° angle to the floor, other angles are possible which can be used to strengthen the abdominal muscles(rectus abdominis) and hip flexor muscles, classically around 75°, 60°, 45°, 30°.

Details

  1. The supta dandasana is also known as „urdhva prasarita padasana“.
  2. If the legs were raised without using the abdominal muscles (especially the rectus abdominis), the great leverage of the legs and their pull over the hip flexors on the lumbar spine would create a very pronounced hollow back, i.e. a presumably unpleasant, but in any case unphysiological hyperlordosis in the lumbar spine. Although it is almost impossible not to tense the abdominal muscles to a certain extent, this does not automatically happen to an extent that leaves the muscles in the lumbar spine unaffected. So consciously work hard with the rectus abdominis and do not lose the necessary breathing and its depth; because of the pull of the rectus abdominis on the sternum, inhalation is more difficult.
  3. Depending on the flexibility of the hamstrings, it may not be possible to raise the legs to a vertical position; they remain at an angle of less than 90° to the floor. This naturally exerts a permanent and significant pull on the lumbar spine via the hip flexors in the direction of the hyperlordosis(hollow back), which must be countered with sustained use of the abdominal muscles, which sooner or later is likely to lead to fatigue. In cases of less good flexibility in the hamstrings, these muscles will also cause a marked bending tendency in the knee joint, which must be compensated for with the quadriceps. As the rectus femoris is close to active insufficiency and passive insufficiency when the knee joint is extended and the hip joint is flexed due to the very short sarcomere length, this can cause a tendency to spasm.
  4. The legs to be lifted are in tadasana, i.e. neither turned in nor turned out, the knee joints are fully extended, the ankles are as in neutral zero, so the heels and inner feet tend to be stretched away to counteract the natural muscle tension.
  5. In addition to the option of leaving the arms lying down as in tadasana, it is also possible to place the arms stretched out overhead on the floor. However, if the flexibility of the shoulder joints is restricted, this leads to a force that lifts the middle back (and also the lower back via the muscles in the front of the torso), which, together with the force that tends to lift the lower back (and also the middle back via the muscles in the front of the torso), may require the abdominal muscles to work harder to keep the lower back on the floor or even exceed their capabilities.
  6. With very good flexibility in the hamstrings, it is possible to lift the legs a little beyond the vertical so that they are already tilting back towards the upper body. The abdominal muscles should then become soft and the lumbar spine area very relaxed and calm, so that the muscles of the lumbar spine may feel calmer than in savasana, especially if the hip flexors are restricted in their flexibility.
  7. At angles other than 90°, the abdominal muscles will need to work continuously, the smaller the angle to the floor, the more so, as the smaller the angle, the greater the gravitational effect ofthe legs, which must be absorbed by the hip flexors, forcing you increasingly into a hollow back if the abdominal muscles cannot absorb this. The horizontal lever with which the legs want to tilt the pelvis in the direction of the hollow back becomes ever greater. The occurrence of trembling and burning in the abdominal muscles is not uncommon, but not a cause for concern, but simply a symptom of the limiting value of the demand in relation to the competence of the muscle.

Variants

45°

A variant with a different angle is shown here as an example.

Instructions

  1. Assume supta dandasana and lower the legs by 45° – see details in point two.

Details

  1. The above applies to other angles
  2. Very often in yoga we encounter the phenomenon of discontinuity in the mathematical sense, i.e. that an identical posture assumed from two different starting states does not feel the same. In this sense, the posture that is assumed by raising the legs up to 45° from the floor may feel different from the posture that results from first assuming full supta dandasana and then lowering the legs 45° to 45°.