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Every muscle below the navel is exercised. The pose cures stiffness
in the hip, knee and ankle joints. It restores sexual energy and controls
sexual desires.
The asana also exercises the Svadhi��hana Chakra (the hypogastric
plexus) and the Ma�ipiiraka Chakra (the solar plexus), thus helping
proper digestion.
- Hanumcmasana Thirty-six* (Plates 475, 476 and 476a)
Hanuman was the name of a powerful monkey chief of extraordinary
strength and prowess. The son of Vayu, the god of Wind, and Anjana,
he was the friend and devoted servant of Rama, the seventh incarna
tion of Vi��u. When Rama, his wife Slta and his brother Lak�ma�a
were in exile as hermits in the Dandaka.. forest, Ravana, the demon.
king of Lanka (Ceylon), came to their hermitage in the guise of an
ascetic and seizing Slta carried her off to Lanka while Rama and
Lak�maJ?.a were hunting game. The brothers searched far and wide for
Slta, and enlisted the help of Sugrlva, the king of the monkeys, and
his general Hanuman. Hanuman went in search of Slta, crossed the sea
by leaping over the straits, found her in Ravana's palace, and brought
the news to Rama. With. the aid of a great army of monkeys and
bears Rama built a causeway of stones across the sea to Lanka and
after a fierce battle slew Rava�a and his hosts and rescued Slta. During
the battle, Lak�ma�a had been struck by an arrow and lay un
conscious and it was said that the only cure was the juice of a herb
which grew in the Himalayas. With one prodigious leap Hanuman
crossed the sea and reached the Himalayas to bring back with him
the mountain top on which the life-giving plant grew and thus saved
the life of Laksmana... This asana is dedicated to Hanuman and com-
memorates his fabulous leaps. It is practised by going down on the
floor with the legs spread out laterally while the hands are folded m
front of the chest. It resembles the splits of Western ballet.
Te chnique
r. Kneel on the floor. (Plate 40)- Rest the palms a foot apart on the floor on either side of the body.
3· Lift the knees up. Bring the right leg forward and the left leg back.
(Plate 472.) Try to stretch both the legs straight with an exhalation
and keep the hips up. (Plate 473.) Then press the legs and hips to the
ground, and bear the weight on the hands. (Plate 474)
4· It takes a long time to master this position and to attain it one