Baddha Konasana or Butterfly Pose

It is mentioned in Hatha Yoga pradipika as the one of the meditative posture. There Swami Svatmaram (author of Hatha Yoga Pradipika) mentioned it as “destroyer of all disease”.

“भद्रासनं भवेदेतत्सर्व-वयाधि-विनाशनम |”

Bhadrasana is a simple practice with multiple benefits.

1, Stretches the inner thighs.

2. Increase the blood circulation in pelvic area. Thus provide relief in menstrual discomfort and menopause symptom.

3. Nice practice for pregnant women.

4. Release the stiffness and tightness from lower body which will prepare you for other asanas.

5. Calms the mind and helps to go inwards.

The Benefits of Yoga: Mind, Body, and Soul Union

Yoga means “union”. It can be a union of body, mind and soul or the union of your soul with supreme divinity. In a way, it connects us with our inner self.

Regular practice of yoga can be beneficial in many ways. Let’s discuss this in detail.

Yoga brings awareness

In current scenario, we forget to live in the moment. While doing anything, our mind is preoccupied with lots of thoughts. So, how yoga can bring awareness?

When you connect your breath with the asana, you can feel every movement your body is doing. When you apply this thought of observing breath during daily activities you will feel more aware.

Maharishi Patanjali defines asana as

स्थिरसुखम् आसनम ।

स्थिर – steady

सुखम – comfortable

Asana – Posture

It means to be comfortable while you are staying in an asana for a longer time. When you stay in asana for a long time, you can feel the flow of energy going through the body through your breathing pattern. There is feeling of calmness in the body. You enjoy that state. Once you gain perfection in an asana, you will not feel any sort of pain or discomfort. At this stage, you will feel more aware than usual. You can feel the rhythm of your breathing.

Please note always increase the duration of holding asana gradually else, there will be chances of injury.

Increase concentration

In this Instagram era, when our attention span is becoming low. Everyone is continuously busy in either creating reels or watching them, it is hard to concentrate on one thing. I am sure many of us won’t even consider yoga, and if some of us want to pursue it, we want it to be very fast. In that case, we stick to the Surya namaskar or few asanas only as we want to lose our weight quickly. Unfortunately, this form of yoga will not work because we are trying to convert yoga into some fast-moving exercise. If your body is not flexible, it can cause injury as well. (Please note flexibility can be achieved with regular practice.) Consequently, we lose our faith in yoga.

Yoga works with our inner self. It changes our mind and soul. It will take time and effort to get a result. When you stay in asanas for at least few seconds, and gradually increase your time in it day by day. It will help to increase the concentration and bring patience. Pranayama is also very effective to increase the concentration, but it will happen gradually.

Best asana for concentration :

Vrikshasana (tree pose), Garud asana, Padmasana along with Pranayama gives maximum benefits.

Brings Flexibility:

If your bones are not flexible, they will break easily. Most exercises can reduce weight, but they do not bring flexibility. Yoga works on every muscle and joint of the body. It releases tightness and tension in the muscles.  When tension is released in your muscles, it may help you feel more relaxed. In turn, that may lower your stress levels.

Helps to reduce weight

Remember you didn’t gain weight in a day. It took years of sedentary lifestyle to reach this point, then how will you lose weight in a few days. If you maintain any form of physical exercise daily (not just yoga) you will lose the weight.

Please remember not to exert yourself to the breaking point. Just increase the practice gradually.

Help us in maintaining balance

“Balance in the body is the foundation for balance in life.”

What happens when put lots of salt in any dish or less salt in a dish?

It will ruin its taste. No matter how much masala we keep putting in it. It will remain flavourless. Until the right amount of salt is added. Our life works in similar way. If we don’t maintain certain balance in every aspect of life, our life will remain flavourless.

How does yoga help in maintaining balance?

You may have observed that we utilize one side of the body more than the other, for e.g. we use one hand to eat and write. Subconsciously, that hand is more active than the other. When we use one side of the body more than the other, our muscles adjust themselves accordingly. 

Yoga does not allow us to choose our favorite side. We have to perform every asana from both sides. In this way, both sides of our body are utilized equally. 

At the end, I will say yoga doesn’t not work only on our body, it works on our mind as well. It changes our thinking pattern and gradually change our lifestyle.