Tolasana

Scale Pose

(to-la-sun)

Meaning: tola = scale

Table of content

Preparation

Sit in Dandasana (Staff Pose) - spine straight and upright, hands at your sides, extend your legs forward, feet together. Then come into Padmasana (Lotus Pose). Inhale, exhale and relax.

Getting into position

Place the palms on the floor on either side of the hips. Inhale. Exhaling, straighten the arms, press the shoulders down, activate the abdominal muscles, and raise the whole body off the floor. Hold a steady position, being careful not to swing, for a few moments to allow the body to adjust. Inhale. Exhaling, lift farther. Hold with normal breathing for 30 or more seconds.

Coming out of position

Slightly relax the body. Inhale. Exhaling, slowly lower the buttocks to the floor. Relax the arms and sit upright into Padmasana. Uncross the legs one at a time and sit back into the starting position. Inhale, exhale and relax.

Tips

Keep the spine straight, chest open, and abdomen engaged during the practice.
Keep the shoulders tensed and pressed away from your ears.
To get enough height to lift your buttocks off the floor, you can round your spine slightly, push the hips back, and lift your knees slightly.
For stability, rest your hips or thighs against your forearms, then practice balancing from there.
When first practicing this pose, inhale around 30%, hold your breath, and lift to develop stability.

Precautions

Avoid

If you have a herniated (slipped) disc or chronic/serious shoulder or wrist problems.

Be careful

If you have high blood pressure, mild shoulder, wrist, knee, or heart issues.

Benefits

General

Opens the chest.
Strengthens arms, wrists, shoulders, and abdomen.

Therapeutic

It helps to cure depression if performed in a daily routine.

Gupta Padmasana
Gupta Padmasana
Niralamba Paschimottanasana
Niralamba Paschimottanasana
Adhomukha Naukasana
Adhomukha Naukasana