Boat Pose Yoga (Paripurna Navasana) – How To Do At Home?

Yoga is a sport that improves both physical and mental health for people. If you have learned and practiced simple and basic yoga poses, it’s time to jump to a higher level.

One of the postures in an intermediate and advanced level that is quite hard but very beneficial for a yogi is boat pose yoga. Let’s learn about this position with us.

What Is Boat Pose Yoga?

Yoga boat pose, or the so-called Paripurna Navasana pose, is a position that requires you to extend your arms and legs to resemble an upside-down letter “A”.

The name Navasana originated from Sanskrit words: “paripurna”, which means “full”, “nava” for “boat”, and “asana” translating into “posture”. Combining all together, we have “full boat posture”.

The level of this pose is intermediate. This standard is suitable for people who can practice basic yoga postures and want to challenge themselves with various harder positions and styles. Practitioners at this level can balance breath and body movement professionally.

Boat Pose Benefits

Navasana yoga is one of the greatest methods concentrating on improving the strength of the abdomen. Besides, it also supports you in performing other yoga positions, especially inversions.

This posture focuses on building core strength, inspiring a full-body consciousness. Your energy can be boosted when you perform this pose, and the tiredness will disappear.

Your digestion system will be improved when you practice boat pose yoga regularly. The elevated diaphragm lets air circulate more easily through the belly, benefiting the inner organs. This airflow assists in easing pressure on your heart and stomach, so it facilitates digestion.Another pro of the navasana position is enhancing torse strength. It expands your chest and stimulates your abdominals while also developing your hip flexors as well as the adductor muscles.

Moreover, boat posture helps relieve hamstrings tension, limiting flexibility and potentially contributing to pain alleviation. 

If you are office staff, this position especially works wonders for you. Strengthening your hips improves your body’s endurance and counteracts the impacts of long sitting and working in front of computer screens.

Yoga Boat PosePosition Instructions (How to do)

Step-By-Step Tutorial

1. Starting in the seated pose with your knees bent and your leg straight on the floor. When you inhale, keep your hand on the ground behind the knees, elevate your chest, and activate your back muscles. 
2. Lift your legs through the top of your chest and lean back a little bit, being careful not to curve your back. Your weight should be balanced on the tripod of the seated bone and tailbone.
3. Breathe and lift your legs off the ground, then move your thighs to a 45-degree angle over the floor while keeping your knees up.
4. Gradually straighten your legs, push the tips of your toes a little above your eyes if it’s possible. If you cannot do it, maintain your knees bent and your shins parallel to the ground. This is half-boat posture.
5. Pull your shoulders back and stretch both hands across the legs, parallel to the ground, palms facing in, keeping your heart open and spine long. Maintain a flat and firm lower abdomen that isn’t rigid and bulky.
6. Breathe while raising your toes or bending your feet. Try to hold the stance for 10 to 20 seconds at a time, then gradually extend your duration to a minute or longer.

Common Mistakes

The mistake that yogis usually get in a few first times practicing this pose is rising the back up quickly and then letting the shoulders collapse.

This will lead to an unsafe position: the neck is compressed, the shoulder shrugs towards ears, the arms are not engaged, and the shins are collapsing.

The wrong pose can be prevented by reaching the body forward, bringing your navel to the backbone, and rolling your shoulders back and downward, leaving them relaxed.

Conclusion

Our review has provided you with some basic information about the boat yoga pose, such as definition, benefits, instructions as well as some mistakes to avoid. 

Practicing the navasana position and yoga regularly will improve your health and your body so much. We hope you will have a great time with yoga.