Thrive Posture Focus - Rabbit Pose

Rabbit Pose

The objective of Rabbit Pose is to stretch out the spine slowly. The secret of this posture is in the arms and pulling with all your strength on your heels. This is what allows you to perform the posture fully and to keep your weight where it belongs in order to stretch out your total spine equally.

Sanskrit: Sasangasana

Benefits: Maximum extension of the spine increases its mobility and elasticity. It also does the same for the back muscles. Stretching your spine also feeds the nervous system with fresh blood and oxygen. Rabbit pose also relieves tension in the neck, shoulders, and back. With compression of the thyroid and parathyroid it can help alleviate colds, sinus problems, and chronic tonsillitis. Rabbit Pose can also be therapeutic for insomnia, diabetes, and depression.

Technical Points:

Grab your heels, thumbs outside, fingers inside. Nice, tight grip
Pull your heels as hard as possible
Tuck your chin to your chest
Touch your forehead to your knees, the top of your head touching the floor
Lift your hips up, all the way, as high as possible
Roll forward like a wheel until your arms/elbows are straight
Lift your shoulders up toward the ceiling
Suck your stomach in
Heels together
Feet flat on the floor, no gap under the ankle

Important Things to Remember:

Make sure your total spine is stretching top to bottom
Eyes open, mouth closed, breathe normal
Don’t move your head, don’t turn your head
Continuously keep pulling your heels, lift your hips up more
The harder you pull, the more you stretch
Walk your knees until they touch your forehead
Very little weight on the top of the head
You want the tension between your arms and heels to hold up most of your weight, instead of resting that weight on your head and neck
You can improve the grip of around the heels by wrapping the edges of your towel over your heels and grasping both together
Don’t lose your grip
Stay in full posture for 20 seconds