Benefits of Vyaghrasana and How to Do it By Dr. Himani Bisht
By Dr. Himani Bisht +2 more
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By Dr. Himani Bisht +2 more
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Over half of the world’s population is suffering from mental and physical issues. To overcome all these issues, yoga is the best remedy. Yoga can relax and calm your mind and help to enhance body function. Yoga is the mastery of controlling your body and mind. According to Pancha Kosha, balanced yoga therapy can balance mind-body disturbances by using mind-body-breathe techniques that include practising yoga postures along with controlled breathing.1 There are powerful yoga poses that may help to achieve a healthy body and mind. One such pose is the vyaghrasana or tiger pose. Let us look at the steps to do vyaghrasana and its incredible health benefits!
The asana vyaghrasana is known as the tiger pose or tiger asana. In English, ‘vyaghra’ means tiger, and ‘asana’ means pose. The tiger pose is a dynamic yoga posture that warms up the body. In this, the body movements are coordinated with the breath, providing deep relaxation to the mind and body. The Tiger pose yoga improves the spine’s flexibility and strengthens the abdomen, back, legs, hips, and buttock muscles.2
You can do vyaghrasana yoga in the following way:2
Some of the interesting facts about vyaghrasana are:
As per my observations, poor posture has become quite common due to a sedentary lifestyle. These might result in excessive load on the lumbar spine, inadequate muscular endurance, an imbalance of the hip extensor, back injuries and lower extremity instability. In my experience, regular practice of Vyaghrasana may reduce pain while enhancing spine stability and function.
Dr. Siddharth Gupta, MD
Some of the Vyaghrasana benefits are as follows:
Irritable bowel syndrome is a disorder relating to the stomach and the intestine that causes abdominal pain, bloating, and discomfort, leading to headaches, anxiety, and depression. A study by Kavuri et al. in 2015 found that yoga practices that include breathing techniques and asanas, such as vyaghrasana, may reduce irritable bowel disease.1 However, more studies are required to understand the full extent of vyaghrasana’s benefits. Therefore, yoga should not be used as a substitute for ongoing medications. It is best to consult with a doctor if you have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Type 1 diabetes is a genetic condition in which there is the destruction of insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. Insulin is used to control the levels of blood sugar level. A study by Maurya et al. in 2020 showed that performing a yoga regime that includes vyayama, cleansing processes, and regulated breathing helped type 1 diabetes patients. The study showed that yoga postures such as vyaghrasana restore pancreatic cells, improve blood supply to muscles, and enhance insulin secretion that controls blood sugar levels.3 However, more studies are required to check if vyaghrasana can alone benefit type 1 diabetes or not. Therefore, you must consult your doctor if you have diabetes.
Premature ejaculation is a sexual disorder in young males that causes early ejaculation before the person’s wish or after penetration. A study by Mamidil et al. in 2013 showed that performing regular yoga postures such as vyaghrasana may improve ejaculatory control, muscle tone, and blood flow to pelvic and perineal muscles among men.4 However, more research is required to understand how vyaghrasana benefits premature ejaculation. So, if you are facing this issue, you should consult a doctor and seek treatment accordingly.
Depression is a mental health problem affecting millions of people around the world. A study by Kim et al. in 2022 on single mothers with depression found that those who have participated in a total of 8 yoga sessions consisting of asana yoga, including vyaghrasana and meditation once a week for 120 minutes, may lower the depression symptoms.5 It may also reduce anxiety and promote mental calm. However, more research is required to understand tiger pose yoga benefits. You must consult a doctor if you have depression.
In my experience, Vyaghrasana may strengthen the muscles in the back and the core and relieve pregnancy-related back discomfort. However, I strongly recommend that pregnant ladies first consult their doctors and practice this yogasana only under an expert’s supervision.
Dr. Rajeev Singh, BAMS
Yoga practice may help develop the mind and body; however, it is still not an alternative to modern medicine. Therefore, you must not rely on yoga alone to treat any condition. Instead, please consult a qualified doctor who can assess your condition and advise accordingly. Moreover, it is necessary to practice and learn yoga under the supervision of a trained yoga teacher to avoid any injuries.
The risks associated with tiger pose yoga are as follows:
With the guidance of a qualified and experienced yoga teacher/yoga expert, we can assess the risk factors and continue to perform vyaghrasana with precautions.
The asana vyaghrasana is also known as the tiger pose. In English, ‘vyaghra’ means tiger, and ‘asana’ means posture. Vyaghrasana may improve muscle strength, spinal flexibility, and postural balance. It may benefit patients with depression, type 1 diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, weak core muscles, and premature ejaculation. People with a hernia, weak writs, slipped disc, joint pain, spinal injuries, migraine, severe cervical pain, lower back pain, and conditions of thighs, knees, and hips should not do the vyaghrasana pose. Pregnant mothers, people with heart conditions, and spondylitis must be cautious and consult a doctor when doing vyaghrasana. You must do this pose under the guidance of a professional yoga trainer.
Tiger asana yoga may have benefits like decreasing depression, type 1 diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, and avoiding premature ejaculation. However, you must consult your doctor if you have symptoms of any such diseases instead of self-medicating.
In English, the word ‘vyaghra’ means tiger, and ‘asana’ means pose, so vyaghrasana is also called tiger pose.
Vyaghrasana may stimulate the sacral chakra of the body.2
The vyaghrasana variations are Athena vyaghrasana-Raised tiger position; Vyaghrasana, foot touching head; Vyaghrasana, foot resting on the head and Eka hasta vyaghrasana (Handed tiger position).
People with a hernia, weak wrist, slipped disc, joint pain, spinal injuries, migraine, severe lower back pain, cervical pain, conditions of hips, thighs, and knees, and those who recently had surgeries on the back, neck, chest, abdomen, or legs should not perform vyaghrasana pose.
Disclaimer: The information included on this site is for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment by a healthcare professional. Because of unique individual needs, the reader should consult their physician to determine the appropriateness of the information for the reader’s situation.
1. Kavuri V, Raghuram N, Malamud A, Selvan SR. Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Yoga as Remedial Therapy. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2015;2015:1–10. Available From: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4438173/
2.Swami Satyananda Saraswati. Asana, Pranayama, Mudra, Bandha. Yoga Publications Trust; 1973.Available from: https://ia804508.us.archive.org/31/items/aaa_20210704/aaa.pdf
3. Maurya S, Kumar DIR, Singh DA, Nagaratna DR. Development and Validation of a Yoga Module for Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes. Global Journal of Medical Research [Internet]. 2020 Aug 15 [cited 2022 Dec 27];20(F9):47–55. Available from: https://medicalresearchjournal.org/index.php/GJMR/article/view/2237/6-Development-and-Validation_JATS_NLM_xml
4. Mamidi P, Gupta K. Efficacy of certain yogic and naturopathic procedures in premature ejaculation: A pilot study. International Journal of Yoga. 2013;6(2):118. Available From: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3734637/
5. Kim S-J, Lee Y-H. Effectiveness of yoga training programs to reduce depression and improve the resilience of single mothers. Journal of Exercise Rehabilitation. 2022 Apr 26;18(2):104–9. Available From: https://www.e-jer.org/journal/view.php?number=2013600930
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