Purvottanasana (Upward Plank Pose): Basics, Steps, Benefits & More

Purvottanasana is one of the most difficult intermediate yoga postures as it requires strength, stretch, and balance in the body. Besides this, it also includes having strong wrists, ankles, neck, and most importantly, having a strong core.

Known as reverse plank, this asana elevates the spine and provides an intense stretch to the front part of the body.

Purvottanasana Basics

Sanskrit Pronunciation	Purvottanasana (purr-vo-tahn-AHS-ah-nuh )
Meaning	“Purva” means “east” or “front of the body”. “Uttana” refers to “intense stretch” “Asana is “pose”
Pose Type	Arm balance
Pose Level	Intermediate posture
Style of yoga	Ashtanga yoga
Other Names	Upward Plank Pose, Inclined Plank Pose, Reverse Plank Pose, Inclined Plane Pose
Stretches	All the muscles extending from toes to the neck
Strengthening	The back, wrist, and leg muscles
Duration	30 second to 3 minutes

Meaning

The word Purvottanasana comes from the Sanskrit root. It is a combination of three words, where the meaning of Purva is ‘East’, the meaning of Ut is ‘intense’ and the meaning of Tan is ‘stretch’. That is the posture stretching in the east direction. This is usually the direction of a budding potential and a new beginning. As the sun “rises in the east and sinks in the west. In this easy way, the east part of the body looks raised and the west part is submerged.

The eastward stretch is a full-body workout that stimulates the muscles of the back, wrists, and legs. In fact, when practiced correctly, Purvottanasana strengthens the all forward bends and helps to open up the muscles of the hips, shoulders, and chest.

This asana is also referred to as an eastward facing stretch, inclined Plank Pose, Reverse Plank Pose, Inclined Plane Pose, Upward Plane Pose, or Back Bend Pose.

Like most advanced yogic poses, Purvottanasana may seem a bit difficult to see, but it is simple for those who have strong arms. The yoga posture extends your upper body, elevates your heart like the sun, and removes fear and doubts from your mind. This asana stimulates the thyroid gland and improves the respiratory process.

Practice Guide For Supta Konasana

The Practice Guide to Perform Supta Konasana serves as a valuable resource for yoga enthusiasts seeking to advance their practice, offering a structured and detailed approach to mastering this asana.

Preparatory Poses

The following poses below will make Purvottanasana easy.

• Cow Face Pose (Gomukhasana)
• Reclining Hero Pose (Supta Virasana)
• Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana)
• Bow Pose (Dhanurasana)

Steps To Do Upward Plank Pose – Purvottanasana

• Begin by sitting in Dandasana. with the legs spread straight towards the front, keep the feet together, and also keep the spine straight.

• Now keep both your hands a little distance behind the hips and about one foot.

• While placing the palms on the floor, keep in mind that the fingers of both hands stay in the opposite direction of your head.

• Keep the arms straight and lean backward.

• Support the body weight with hands.

• Raising the hips above the floor, putting the weight of the body on both your hands.

• Now slowly straighten both the legs and try to keep the toes fully on the floor.

• Lift your hips as high as you can and lift your chest up also.

• If you are not able to keep your paws completely on the floor, then only the ankles can also be rested on the floor.

• The heels should be pressing firmly into the mat.

• Hold the final pose for as long as you are comfortable, and then, release the pose.

• After pausing for a few seconds, again sit in Dandasana.

Follow-up poses

• Seated Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana)
• Downward-Facing Dog Pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

Benefits Of Purvottanasana

• By doing Purvottanasana, your lungs completely expand, due to which a good amount of oxygen is added to them. This oxygen strengthens our respiratory system. And Closed holes of the lungs are opened. Apart from this, this asana also provides relief for diseases like asthma.

• In this posture, there is pressure on the muscles of the feet and hands which helps to strengthen our legs and hands. It also makes the wrists, arms, shoulders, back, and spine strong.

• Purvottanasana is a good treatment to reduce pain in the lower part of the body, such as pain in the feet, thighs, and ankles and wearing high heel shoes.

• This asana helps to focus and calm the mind. It relieves stress and also helps to increase concentration in children.

• If you want to reduce your abdominal fat, then practice this asana regularly. It helps in reducing the belly as well as thinning the waist.

• With the regular practice of Purvottanasana, the height of the body can be enlarged and dwarfism can be overcome.

• This art increases the sexual power of the person. Apart from this, the pelvic organs are also well-toned.

• The expansion of the chest muscles in the pose stimulates the heart chakra (Anahat) thereby improving the immune system as well as benefiting the lungs.

Conclusion

Purvottanasana Yogasanas help to keep our body healthy in many ways, but to take maximum benefit of this asana and to perform this asana properly, it is very important to know its precautions. Some precautions of this asana are as follows-

• One should not be hasty while doing this asana at the beginning race.
• If there is discomfort in the waist, this yoga should not be practiced.
• People suffering from diseases such as slip disc, sciatica, asthma, and ulcers should avoid doing this asana.
• Pregnant women should avoid doing Purvottanasana.
• Do not try to do yoga asanas beyond your capacity, do as much as you can bear.