Mandukasan

Mandukasan

Mandu → frog

asana → posture/pose

Level: Beginner

Benefits:

• Massages internal organs including the pancreas to help control diabetes
• Helps reduce belly fat
• Improves digestion and provides relief from constipation, acidity and bloating
• Strengthens back and thigh muscles

Do this asana if you:

• Have gastric problems such as constipation, acidity or bloating (gas)
• Want to flatten your belly
• Are suffering from menstrual cramps (women)
• Want to relieve the effects of stress or anxiety

Not recommended if you:

• Are a chronic backache or migraine sufferer
• Have knee/ankle pain or a gastric ulcer
• Have high blood pressure
• Have heart problems

There are two ways of doing Mandukasan. Both are given below:

How to do Mandukasan I:

1. Kneel on the floor in Vajrasan
2. Your spine must be straight and your chin and head must be parallel to the floor (looking outwards)
3. Rest your feet on the ground with the knees touching and soles pointing upward
4. Turn your feet inwards so your big toes are touching each other
5. Make fists with both hands and turn them so that both sets of knuckles are touching each other. The thumbs should be on the outside and facing the stomach
6. Press both fists firmly to the stomach. Exhale and bend forward
7. At this point, your chest should rest comfortably on your thighs. Keep your head parallel to the floor with your eyes looking straight ahead
8. Maintain the pose for a few seconds while breathing normally
9. Inhale and come back to Vajrasan
10. Repeat 3-5 times

How to do Mandukasan II:

1. Kneel on the floor in Vajrasan [BITS – PLEASE LINK TO VAJRASAN HERE]
2. Your spine must be straight and your chin and head must be parallel to the floor (looking outwards)
3. Rest your feet on the ground with the knees touching and soles pointing upward
4. Turn your feet inwards so your big toes are touching each other
5. Place your right hand over the left, palms facing downwards
6. Place your joined palms on the stomach (right hand on top) and press firmly. Exhale and bend forward
7. At this point, your chest should rest comfortably on your thighs. Keep your head parallel to the floor with your eyes looking straight ahead
8. Maintain the pose for a few seconds while breathing normally
9. Inhale and come back to Vajrasan
10. Repeat 3-5 times

Dos and don’ts while doing Mandukasan:

• Place a pillow under your ankles when you first start practising Mandukasan
• If you start feeling cramps or pain in your lower legs, sit cross-legged on the floor in Sukhasan until the pain passes
• If you feel a strain in the stomach while bending forward, come back to Vajrasan, then try again