SALABHASANA (LOCUST POSE)
When this pose is demonstrated, it resembles a grasshopper. So the name Salabha, a locust.
TECHNIQUE
Lie on the ground, pointing down. Hold hands on the sides. The palm should be turned up You can place the hands underneath the belly also. This is another way. Inhale (Puraka) light. Hold the breath (Kumbhaka) until you finish the Asana and then exhale. Stiffen the whole body and raise the legs in the air one cubit high. Raise the head as in Bhujangasana. Hold the thighs, legs, and toes as shown above. Rotate the soles of the feet up. Raise your legs, thighs and lower portion of the abdomen. Keep up this pose from 5 to 30 seconds. Bring the legs slowly down. Now exhale very, very slowly. You can repeat the process 6 to 7 times. you can keep the hands near your chest on the ground, with the palms facing the ground.
BENIFITS
This asana gives a posterior curvature of the spine. It bends the spine backwards. When bending the spine it serves as a counter-pose to Paschimottanasana, Halasana and Sarvangasana which bend the spine forward (anterior). Like Mayurasana, it increases the intra-abdominal pressure. It supplements the Bhujangasana. Bhujangasana develops the upper half of the body, while Salabhasana develops the lower half of the body and the lower extremities also. The muscles sound of the abdomen, thighs and legs. It brings down the accumulated faecal matter of the stomach to the ascending colon, from the ascending colon to the transverse colon of the intestine, transversally colon to descending colon and from there to the rectum. Read any book on elementary physiology. It will help you a lot.
This Asana gives a good exercise for the abdomen. It relieves constipation. It tones the abdominal viscera (organs) viz., liver, pancreas, kidneys, etc. It removes several diseases of the stomach and intestines. It heals lingering of liver and humpbacks. The lumbo-sacral bones are tinted up. Lumbago is removed. All forms of myalgia of the lumbar region (hips) are removed. The digestive fire is increased. Dyspepsia is removed. You will have very good appetite.