Yoga Therapy

DWIPADA PEETAM
yoga Mandiram
8y S Ramaswami.. Trust6e,Krishnamacharya

Many y o g a s a n a s a i m at
maint ainin g t h e s u p p l e n e ss
of t he s pi n e . l t i s s a i d t h at
a m an is a s o l d a s h i s s p i n e.
The Desk Pose or Dwipaoa
Peetam is a simple, efiective
as ana wh i c h w o r k s o n t h e
bac k bone .

In h a le , p la ce th e a fm s a lo n g
th e sid e o f th e b o d y. Ke e p
the knees, ankles and feet
to g e th e r a n d slo wly str e tch
them.
STEP 2

Exh a le ,b e n d in g th e le g s a t
th e kn e e s a n d d r a win g a n d
M ETHO D O T O G Y
placing the feet close to the
b u tto cks. Do a fe w m o d u la STEP 1
ted breaths. Now hold the
Lie on your back on soft a n kle s with th e p a lm s, if
c a. pet . S u p p o r t t h e n e c k a n d o n ly p o ssib le ; o r e lse , ke e p
head wi t h a s m a l l s o ft th e p a lm s o n th e g r o u n d .
pillow in t h e i n i t i a l s r a g e s. In h a le , p r e ss th e b a ck o f th e

head and ]neck and al so the

feet; raise the trunk slowly
as hi gh as you can, archi ng
and stretchi ng tho spi ne, thc
neck, shoul ders and arms i n
the process. Stay for two
seconds. E xhal e, l ow eri ng
the body Repeat 3 times.
Thi s i s D w i pada P eetam or
Desk Pose. (Refer Sketch 1 )
STEP 3
N ow for the vari ati ons.
lnhal e, stretch ri ght l eg,
w hi l e keepi ng the l eft l eg
bent as i n previ ous posi ti on.

l n hale again , a r c h i n g t h e
back, rais ing t h e h i p w h i l e
pressing the left foot and
heel. Stay for two seconds.
Exhale and return to the
starting position.
STEP 4
lnhale, press the back of
the neck and left heel, raisi n g th e right l e g a s h i g h a s
you can, stretching especially
the neck and the right hip

ioint. Stav for two seconds.

Exhals, return to starting
position. (Refer Sketch 2).

STEPS 6 to 8
Repeat movements mentioned in Steps 3 to b with the
right leg bent.

STEP 5
Exhale. bending the right
l e g a t th e kn e e a n d p la cin g
the right foot on the root of
the left thigh. Inhale, raising
th e tr u n k a n d th e b e n t r ig h t
leg. Stay for few seconds.
Exhale and deturn to starting
position. (Befer Sketch 3).

STEP 9
Stretch both legs on inhalation and return to start of
Step 1. Now, inhale, press
the back of the neck and
heels. arching the body
between below the neck and
the heels. You may stfetch

the ankles, so that the feet

are on t he g r o u n d . T h i s , i s
kn own as M a d h y a s e t h u o r
Bridge Pose. Stay for a few
seconds. Exhale, returning
to the starting position
O lder an d o b e s e p e r s o n s
sh oulo pe r f o r m t h e t r u n k
rais ing mov e m e n t s o n e x h a l a t ion and r e t u r n m o v e m e n r
on inhalat i o n . T h i s i s L a n g a nakriya.

BE NEFI T S

tors, drivers, typists, etc. lt is

a lso u se fu l to r e lie ve lo w
back pain, especially experienced by pregnent women.
They however, need do onry
Ste p s 1 a n d 2 a n d d o th e m
after getting tho clearance
f r o m th e ir o b ste tr icia n s.

head with a small soft pillow

dur,ng the firstfew weeks of
practice. Place the arms
along the body. Knees, anrles and feet are kept together.
Slowly stretch them, whilo
taking a lew
modulated
b r eaths.

tU&VF ORM AT IONS

STEP 2

T h is g r o u p o f Asa n a s
which resemble the letters,

Inhal e, stretchi ng and rai s.

in g the ri ght arm overhead.

L, U and V, require the stretch in g o f lo r r e r b a ck a n d

Desk Pose is a convenient b r in g in to p la y th e lo we r
ex erc is e f o r a r c h i n g a n d sto m a ch m u scle s a n d im p r o hence streDgthening the ve th e ir to n e . T h e a r m s a n d
sp ine. S ince t h g . f e e t a n d le g s a r e str e tch e d o u t a n d
nec k are anch o r e d ,f o r b e g i n - up, and are known as Urdhwa
ners , t his p o s t u r e i s e a s i e r Pr a sr u taPa a d a Ha sth a Asa to do, c om p a r e d t o m a n y n a s
other bac k a r c h i n g a s a n a s .l t
helps reliev e p a i n i n a s t i f f STEP 1 :
nec k ,inc ide n t a l i n s u c h o c c r . r Lie on your back on a soft
pat ions as m a c h i n e o p e r a . carpet. Support the neck and

Exhal e, rai si ng the ri ght

l eg
arm
and .ri ght
fr o m the hi p as hi gh as you
can but uDto 90o to the
g r ound. In the begi nni ng,
yo u may fi rst bend the ri ght
kn ee, as i f ki cki ng hi gh
towards the face and then
straighten it. Stay for a few
se conds. Inhal e returni ng to
th e starti ng posi ti on.
ST EP 3
Now exhal e,rai se th ri ght
arm and left leg. stay for

two s ec ond s . T h e n i n h a l e , th e r fr o m th e h ip a s h ig h a s Stay for tw o seconds. l nhal e,

ret urning to t h e o l i g i n a l p o ssib le , u p to 9 0 o fr o m th e sr r etchi ng both the arms
pos it ion. E : : h a l e . l o w e r i n g g r o u n d . sta y fo r two se co n - and legs and returning to the
posi ti on.Thi s resemthe right arm t o t h e s i d e o f d s. ln h a le , lo we r in g th e le g s. sta rti ng
T h is r e se m b le s le tte r L a n d bles letter U and is known
the body .
is Ur d h wa Pa r sr u ta Pa d a a s U rdhw a P rasruta P ada
Ha sthasananr. (R efer S ketch
Asa n a m .
ST E P 4& 5
4).
R epeat m o v e m e n t s2 a n d 3
ST EP 7
wi t h t he lef t a r m r a i s e d .
STEP 8
lnhale. raising both arms
STEP 6
Innal e, rai si ng troth arms
o ve r h e a d . E r h a le , r a isin g
Exhale deeply. press the b o tlr a r m s a n d b o th le g s o ver-head. E xhal e as i n S tep
palm s . rais e b i t h l e g s t o g e - p e r p e n d r cu la rto th e g r o u n d . 7 rai se tcth i rrns and the

l6gs but, take ths legs a bit

further and hold lhe big toes
'by
the thumb and the next
two fingers. Inhale, spread
the legs, resembling ltter V
and t his is k n o w n a s U b h a y a
Pada Angushtasanam. These
postures will be easier to
longer and
perform with
s m oot her e x h a l b t i o n . ( R e f e r
Sktch 5).

tice of the earlier Vinyasas

is Supta Padangushtasana.
F r o m a fte r th o _ Ste p 2 , m e n tioned above, slightly strotch
the right leg, bring it forward
and hold the big toe with
fingers of the right hand.
KeeD the left hand on the
le ft th ig h wh ich is o n th e
g r o u n d a n d d o a fe w m o d u la r e d b r e a th s. T h is is Su Pta
Pad a n gu sh ta san a m .

body, leg and heel, lower

the ri ght l eg w i th the.arm to
the ri ght si de, hol di ng the toe
a ll through. In the fi nal P osi tion, the right leg is stretched

Another variation which

mai be attempted after Prac-

No w slo wlY e xh a le a n d
p r o ssin g th e lsft sid e o lth e

be repeated on tho

on the ground to the ri ght ot

the body and hel d bY the
r ight hand at about thc
shoul der l evel . Thi s i s S uP ta
P arsve P adangushtasanam.
(Refer Sketch 6). This is to
si de al so.

other

BENEFITS
As mentioned,this group
of Asanas,helps to strehgthen lowerabdomenalnruscles and effectivelychecks

o b e sity; co n stip a tio n a n d

e a r ly sta g e s o f p ile s r e spond
to thesb exercises.
Pe o p le wh o sp e n d
h o u r s sta n d in g a n d

lo n g
te n d

to develop vericose veins

will al so benefi r. ci rl s i f they
practice from puberty will
im p rove the tone of thei r
p e lv i c muscl es,