Yoga Pose Plank Benefits and Precautions

The yoga posture Plank, called sometimes High Chaturanga, is a good precursor to more challenging arm balances postures.

In the Plank pose the body is in a straight line from the ears, through the shoulders and hips, to the heels. Ideally the body should not arch or sag in this pose.

While performing this yoga pose the abdominal muscles are kept lifted throughout. If your body starts to shake, release the posture, relax for a moment and start to hold the Plank again.

The Plank yoga pose targets the abdominals (muscles responsible for holding in the stomach and giving the appearance of a flat stomach), but it can be an excellent way to get a full body challenge.

In order to do the Plank properly, there must be integration of all the core stabilization muscles, and the arms, as well as keeping the gluteus (large muscles which form the buttock) and legs active.

The Plank posture is a well-known exercise that can be seen in many exercise systems. It is one of the most popular exercises for developing core strength and stability. It strengthens muscles of the arms, shoulders and the spine, and strengthens the wrists.

However in one health condition the Plank posture is strongly not recommended.
If you have a Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, do not attempt this yoga pose.

The Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is the compression of median nerve at the wrist, which may result in numbness, tingling, weakness, or muscle atrophy in the hand and fingers. The disease typically affects the thumb, index, and middle fingers and is often particularly troublesome at night.

Issued in public interest by Subodh Gupta, a Celebrity Personal Yoga Trainer in London.

He has been interviewed by various TV channels and his views and articles appear regularly in magazines and newspapers in India and the UK.

Subodh Gupta is based in London (UK) and conducts yoga, weight loss, nutrition and stress counselling sessions for number of celebrities.

http://www.yoga-london.org.uk