Benefits of Bhadrasana and How to Do it By Dr. Himani Bisht

Introduction:

Due to prolonged sitting habits throughout the day, we experience limited flexibility in the hip muscles. Since these muscles lose flexibility, they can be painful and the movements get restricted. These changes in the movements impact the other regions of our body and ultimately affect the way we move. Yoga poses might help address flexibility issues of the major muscle groups.¹ 

Bhadrasana, is one such yogasana. It is a sitting posture. Let us read further to know more about bhadrasana benefits. ²  

What is Bhadrasana?

Bhadrasana is a combination of two words, Bhadra and asana. Bhadra means firm or auspicious; thus, bhadrasana is also called the firm or auspicious posture. It is an excellent meditation pose. This asana helps to increase blood flow in the pelvic (region between abdomen and thighs) part.^2,3 

How to Do It?

To perform the bhadrasana yoga pose, we must sit with our neck, head and back straight with your legs stretched in the front. Let the hips and palms rest on the floor comfortably. Then follow the following steps to get into the bhadrasana posture: 

• Separate your feet such that your buttocks and perineum can rest flat on the ground. 
• Now, fold both legs from the knees and join both soles together. 
• Try to separate the knees further, but do not strain.  
• Exhale and fasten your hands over your toes.  
• Inhale, pull your heels up to the perineum region (the region between the thighs) as close as possible. This is the final position. 
• Stay in this position for some time with normal breathing.^2,3 

If you cannot touch your thighs to the floor or cannot even reach them somewhat close to the floor, you may place a soft cushion underneath the knees for support.  

Practising bhadrasana might increase the flexibility of your legs, and improve strength in the thighs, hips, backbone, and buttocks. Additionally, it may also relieve varicose veins in people who regularly practice it.

Dr. Rajeev Singh, BAMS

Do You Know?

Here are some trivia facts about bhadrasana that will be interesting to read. 

• Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi, in 1963, found a Buddha statue seated in bhadrasana dated back to the 5th century A.D. It is now placed at Sanchi Museum, Madhya Pradesh.⁴ 
• The five stone buddhas found in Nakhon Pathom are also cases of Dvaravati art. Dvaravati might be considered one of Thailand’s oldest artistic and religious cultures, thriving between the 7th and 8th centuries. All these five statues show Buddhas seated in bhadrasana, in which their leg pendants are firmly placed on a lotus base.⁵ 

Benefits of Bhadrasana:

Yogasanas have benefitted humankind for ages; bhadrasana is another beneficial yoga pose which helps in several ways, as follows: 

1. Benefits of Bhadrasana for Cardiovascular Problems

According to the American Heart Association, eating healthy, exercising and meditation might be good preferences to benefit for heart disease. Cardiovascular diseases (a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels) may be caused due to high cholesterol levels and increased blood pressure. Appropriate yoga practices are of high importance to help in these two conditions and help reduce mental stress. In the study by Karunaratne HK, Hatha Yoga Pradipika-based literature survey was conducted to investigate the yoga practices suitable for cardiovascular health. The study found that Hatha Yoga, which was correlated with asanas and Yogic exercises, including muscular stretch, might benefit cardiovascular diseases. Bhadrasana, one such practice, might have similar special effects and thus can help maintain cardiovascular health.⁶ 

2. Benefits of Bhadrasana for Weight Management

In the study conducted in 2017, Chauhan et al. found that the body mass index or BMI (a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters) of the study participants doing bhadrasana was reduced within a month; this effect might be the asana that might help to decrease the fat deposited within the adipose tissue. Their findings also indicated that yoga therapy, which includes several yoga asanas including bhadrasana could possibly reduce obesity-related complications.⁷ 

3. Benefits of Bhadrasana for Managing Stress

Bhadrasana can help to keep the body firm and stabilise the mind.² According to the 2017 study done by Chauhan et al. The asanas such as bhadrasana might relax and calm the mind. It might balance and regularize the stress-controlling centre in our nervous system.⁷ 

4. Benefits of Bhadrasana for Blood Pressure and Heart Rate

The upright position of the spine in these asanas, such as bhadrasana, allows slowing down of heart rate. This effect reduces load on the heart to pump blood to the brain against gravity. Thus, the heart rate and the cardiac output simultaneously slow down, and BP is controlled.⁷ 

5. Benefits of Bhadrasana for Management of Stress Urinary Incontinence in Women

Thakre and Bhati, in a study in 2018, conducted a clinical trial to study the effectiveness of bhadrasana, along with other asanas, on Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) patients. According to the Yogic literature, bhadrasana might help strengthen pelvic floor muscles (muscles between the thighs containing the urinary region, genitals, rectum, bottom, and vagina). They further found that regular practice bhadrasana and other such asanas might strengthen abdominal muscles and the pelvic floor and reduce the SUI symptoms.⁸ 

6. Other Benefits of Bhadrasana

• It might help to stabilise mind and keep the body firm.  
• Since it strengthens muscles of the pelvic floor (muscles in the areas between the thighs containing the urinary region, genitals, rectum, bottom, and vagina or penis), it may help with pregnancy issues and relieve abdominal pain often experienced during menstruation.^2,8 
• It might strengthen your back by keeping it erect and upright. 
• It may help improve digestion and reduce stomach ailments such as acidity, peptic ulcer and constipation.³ 

Yoga practice may help develop the mind and body; however, it is still not an alternative to modern medicine. You must not rely on yoga alone to treat any condition. Please consult a qualified doctor who will be able to assess your condition correctly and advise accordingly. Moreover, it is necessary to practice and learn yoga under the supervision of a trained yoga teacher to avoid any injuries.  

As we all know, any yoga asana works around some chakras in the body. Bhadrasana is associated with one of the chakras, the root chakra. The root chakra is associated with the Earth element. Practising bhadrasana may open this root chakra which can result in activating a sense of security in the mind.

Dr. Siddharth Gupta, B.A.M.S, M.D (Ayu)

Risks of Exercise

Any asana should be essentially performed correctly under the guidance of an expert yoga trainer or instructor. While performing bhadrasana following risk factors must be kept in mind: 

• Since folding your knees may exert pressure on your joints, it is advised to avoid this practice if you suffer from severe arthritis and sciatica. People with mild to moderate arthritis may perform this pose under expert supervision and variations suggested by your yoga teacher.²  
• Since fewer studies are available to prove the benefits of bhadrasana, we would need studies on a larger group of participants. To effectively perform this posture, one must rely on advice from a qualified doctor and an expert yoga trainer. 

Conclusion

Bhadrasana is a sitting posture that is helpful to keep the body upright and calm the mind. Archaeologists have found evidence of the existence of this asana in ancient times. We must perform this bhadrasana yoga pose under expert guidance to achieve maximum benefits for conditions like cardiovascular disorders, Stress Urinary Incontinence, blood pressure and obesity. Thus, it can be a way to achieve good health and relief from stress through regular practice. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

References:

1. Cleveland Clinic, 10 Yoga Poses to Stretch Your Hip Muscles. July 2022. Internet [Cited: Oct 2022] Available from: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/yoga-poses-that-can-stretch-your-hip-muscles/  

2. 21 June INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA Common Yoga Protocol, Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) [Internet] 4th Revised Edition, May 2019. [Cited: Oct 2022] Available from:  http://mea.gov.in/images/pdf/common-yoga-protocol-english.pdf  

3. Nathani N. Yoga- A Therapeutic Adjuvant in Female Infertility. World Journal of Pharmaceutical Research 2014, 4:3. Internet [Cited: Oct 2022] Available from: https://wjpr.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/article_issue/1425553529.pdf  

4. Indian Culture, Govt. of India. Sanchi Museum: Buddha seated in bhadrasana 5th century A.D. Internet [cited on October 2022] Available from: https://indianculture.gov.in/sanchi-museum-buddha-seated-bhadrasana-5th-century-ad  
5. Karunaratne HK. National Research Symposium 2016. Practices of Yoga in Cardiovascular Health. ABSTRACTS; 2016. Internet [Cited: Oct 2022] Available from: http://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/16190  

6. Chauhan A, Semwal DK, Mishra SP, Semwal RB. Yoga practice improves the body mass index and blood pressure: A randomized controlled trial. International journal of yoga. 2017 May;10(2):103. Internet [Cited: Oct 2022] Available from:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5433109/  

7. Thakare MM, Bhati KR. Study the efficacy of specific yogasanas in the management of stress urinary incontinence in women. 2018;7:9. Internet [Cited: Oct 2022] Available from:  https://www.openacessjournal.com/abstract/738  

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