How To Do Bhujapidasana: Steps, Variations & Benefits

This is some text inside of a div block.

July 7, 2022

min read

This is some text inside of a div block.

views

Home

/

‍Bhujapidasana is an intermediate-level yoga asana that targets various muscle groups of the upper body and inner thighs. Regular practice of this asana can make the core, hands, wrists, shoulders, and arms stronger. Along with that, this asana also helps in improving the flexibility of various asanas.

In this article, we are going to cover Bhujapidasana meaning, its benefits, variations, and much more. If you are a beginner or intermediate-level yoga practitioner who is interested in making your upper body and inner thighs stronger, you should read this guide till the end.

Bhujapidasana Meaning

The meaning can be understood by its name. The name “Bhujapidasana” comes from the Sanskrit language in which “bhuja” means arm, “pida” means pressure, and “asana” means pose. Hence, the meaning of Bhujapidasana is the pose in which you have to exert pressure using your arms.

Bhujapidasana is known by various other names such as arm-pressure pose, and shoulder-pressing pose. Its meaning will be more clear once you will read the below-mentioned step-by-step guide on how to do Bhujapidasana.

Bhujapidasana Benefits

You get the following Bhujapidasana benefits by adding this asana to your daily workout:

Bhujapidasana can strengthen major muscle groups in your arms and hands. In the first phase of the asana, you have to provide support to your body with hands and arms. This engages your muscles and strengthens them.
To practice the right Bhujapidasana pose, you have to open up the pelvis and the hips. This increases the flexibility of your body which, in turn, allows you to stay longer in the Bhujapidasana pose.
With increased strength and flexibility, you can hold the pose for a long time while practicing deep breathing. This way, you increase the stamina of your upper body.

Bhujapidasana Steps

Here is a step-by-step guide that will help you do Bhujapidasana yoga the right way:

To start the asana, get yourself into a low squat position.
Keep your knees wide and your feet at a slightly lesser distance than shoulder-width.
Now, do a forward fold so that your torso gets between your thighs.
Touch the elbows to the inside of the knees, lean your weight forward, and keep the hands inside the feet.
Place your hands on the floor, outside the feet, and nestle the shoulders underneath your thighs.
Ensure that the heels of the feet are aligned straight with the heels of your hands.
Now, put the upper right shoulder and arm onto the right thigh, right above the knee. Meanwhile, your right hand should be placed on the floor.
Put the upper left shoulder and arm onto the left thigh, right above the knee. Meanwhile, your left hand should be placed on the floor.
After reaching this position, engage the muscles of the upper arm, put pressure on the upper thighs with the help of shoulders, press the upper thighs onto your arms and bring the knees closer to your shoulders.
By now, you will experience that the upper part of your back has started to round.
Put weight in your hands, lean your body back, lift feet off the ground, and cross at the ankles.
Take a pause of about 30 seconds or less if you are not comfortable.
Bend elbows, release feet back to the ground and get back to the position where you started the exercise.

Bhujapidasana Prep

As we have already mentioned, you need to be a little flexible to do the right Bhujapidasana steps. If you have practiced only yoga for beginners, you can make your body flexible and warm up with the following Bhujapidasana prep yoga asanas:

Yogic Squat or Garland Pose (Malasana)
Seated Baby Cradle Pose
Elephant’s Trunk Pose (Eka Hasta Bhujasana)

Modifications and Variations

Here is a list of some modifications and variations of Bhujapidasana you can add to your workout:

If you want to make this asana a little easier, you can start it with a simpler arm balance asana. You can start with Bakasana or Parsva Bakasana.
You might find it a little hard to flatten the hands when you start the asana. In that case, you can put yoga blocks under your hands.
Once you master the traditional Bhujapidasana yoga pose, you can cross at your ankles before you lift your feet off from the ground.

Precautions And Safety Points

Generally, Bhujapidasana is safe for people of all ages, gender, and fitness levels. However, there are some precautions that you need to keep in mind so that you can prevent yourself from potential injuries and muscle strain. Down below are the important precautions and safety points of Bhujapidasana pose:

Various steps of this asana deeply stretch the muscles in your hips and hamstrings. To ensure that you do not put a strain on any major muscle groups, you have to warm up every time before you start the asana.
Keep the range of motion limited in Bhujapidasana if you have any injury in your shoulder, lower back, or elbows until the injury is completely healed.
The pose might make you feel a little uncomfortable at the start but if it causes sharp pain in any part of the body, you should immediately stop doing the asana and consult a physical therapist.
Beginners often find it a little hard to stretch their shoulders, elbows, or wrists. If you feel comfortable while stretching the muscles of these areas, you can try the easy variation of this asana that we just mentioned above. Alternatively, you can add prep-asanas in your home workouts to make your body flexible.
Pregnant ladies should avoid Bhujapidasna as it targets the upper body muscles including the core.

Conclusion

If you have learned beginner-level yoga asanas and want to move to the next level, Bhujapidasana is a great option. It works on multiple muscle groups of your upper body and also targets your inner thighs. It takes some time to master the perfect Bhujapidasana form but once you achieve it, you will find the asana to be quite beneficial for your health.

Top Search Terms For Yoga