Tiger Pose Yoga (Vyaghrasana) | Yoga Sequences, Benefits, Variations, and Sanskrit Pronunciation | Tummee.com (2024)

Alignment plays a great role during the practice of this pose. The position of the arms is just below the shoulders, with an equal distance between the arms and the knees and also between both the knees and the palms. Once this is accurate, the actual benefits will be derived. The movement of the spine should be carefully watched during this practice of Vyaghrasana. Given below are the main benefits described:

• Strengthens the muscles in the arms: As this pose brings the body to all fours, your knees, and your palms, the entire body weight falls on them. Though it is important to distribute the weight of the body evenly, for beginners, the entire weight falls on the arms. This further improves the muscle strength around the elbows, wrists, and shoulders.
• Strengthens the knees and the thighs: As the hip weight falls on the thighs and the knees, tightening the muscles around the knees and the thighs during the practice of this pose will also improve muscle strength. Leaving it loose, one would have lesser control over the body and hence not remain stable. Therefore it is essential to work on keeping these muscles pulled in tight. Repeated pulling in of the muscles with make them strong and one could hold on to the posture, Vyaghrasana for a longer duration.
• Opens the hips and brings about balance and flexibility: Vyaghrasana or the Tiger Pose, with all the attention on the lower abdomen and lower back, helps to open the hips to a great extent. Opening of the hips refers to the clearing of any stiffness around the hips. And while the practice should be done equally with both legs, it will also balance the hip joint. A well-balanced hip joint takes care of the inner alignment of the same and also improves the flexibility of the muscles around the hip.
• Excess fat burns and tones the hips and thighs: The tightening of the gluteus during the practice of this pose along with the tightening of the thigh muscles ensures the excess fat is removed and burned out. Hence the toning of the thighs and the hips also happens.
• Digestive system improves and the muscles get toned: The main focus during the practice of Vyaghrasana should be at the core. While the muscles at the core need to be pulled in along with the belly to get a great-looking posture, the internal organs around these muscles begin to function completely, improving the digestive system. Along with the improvement of the digestive system, the abdominal muscles get toned up, helping with proper abdominal health.
• Relieves stress around the lower back: The main benefit one derives from the practice of Vyaghrasana, is the expansion and contraction of the lower back muscles, while the belly is pulled in deep making the breathing slow and steady. The steady movement of the muscles around the lower back reduces the stiffness and relieves one from any kind of lower back pain or tightness.
• Tones the spinal nerves: While the breathing expands and contracts the entire muscles around the spine, the nerves get enough prana to help heal and keep the nerves fit. These nerves also relax the sciatic nerves and reduce any symptoms and pains related to sciatica.
• Reproductive organs get toned: The deep movement and expansion of the lower abdominal muscles, towards the side of the abdomen, which gets the maximum stretch as the leg is raised, gets toned with this deep stretch. This stretch works on tightening the muscles around the vagin* too, making it a great pose to be practiced by women after childbirth.
• A great chest opener: With variations of this pose, Tiger Pose, the stretch can become a wonderful chest opener, by raising the neck upwards while still holding on to the balance. Opening the chest works well for healing allergies related to asthma.
• Great on the joints: The pressure at the hips, knees, ankles, shoulders, elbows, wrists and neck helps in working on the movement of the joints. Thus it awakens the body and keeps these joints flexible and fit.

Given below is the step-by-step method of going into the posture of Tiger Pose, which is also considered a prone pose. One can practice Tiger Pose standing too, but we shall now look at this pose as a prone pose:

1. Begin the practice by sitting in Vajrasana, seated on your heels and on your knees. Elongating the spine upwards while seated in Vajrasana, take a few breaths and watch for the movement of the spine with expansion and contraction of the muscles around the spine.
2. Move the neck towards the left and right working on opening the shoulders along with the movement of the neck. Opening the shoulder and neck muscles is important before the practice of Vyaghrasana. After repeating this for four rounds, two times on each side of the neck, bring the body to relax.
3. Bring the body forward, lifting your hips off the heels, and place the palms on the floor further away from your knees in front of you. Come onto your knees while moving forward to place your palms on the floor. Knees should be hip distance apart and the palms are placed just below the shoulders, at shoulder width distance.
4. Make sure the feet are placed in line with the knees and placed on the toes. The heels are pointed upwards while the toes are placed firmly on the floor. Do not rest the feet completely on the floor. The pressure on the toes while on the floor too acts as a great way to wake the nerves up during the posture.
5. Bring the wrist firm on the floor with all the fingers touching the floor and make sure the inner palms too are touching the floor. For beginners, getting a feel of the palms on the floor may take time as one is just learning to balance first. Once, one gets to learn to balance the body well, the pressure of the palms on the floor becomes essential.
6. Raise the chest and bring it forward, making sure the shoulders are just above the wrists and the elbows stretched out and not bent inwards. Lock those elbows pointing the inner elbows towards each other inwards.
7. Once the body is in position, make sure the lower back is raised upwards while taking the neck upwards too. Take a few breaths here, while still gaining confidence in the balance of the body. Make sure the body weight is not entirely on the knees and the wrists.
8. Inhale and raise the left knee off the floor and bring it inside towards your chest, balancing carefully on your right knee and the palms, and as you exhale stretch it backward and raise the left thigh behind you, as high as possible while still having the left knee bent.
9. The left thigh is now parallel to the floor with the left toes pointed upwards. Once you have gained confidence here, take the neck upwards and gaze up opening the chest to the maximum.
10. Feel the stretch at the lower left side of the abdomen and the left side of the hips. Work on slow breathing but deep, and with every inhalation tighten the belly and with every exhalation expand the pose and lift the left leg higher.
11. While one gets confidence, slowly work on taking the feet pointing it towards the back of your head, flexing the ankles. Raising the thighs high up and taking the feet deep backward towards your head, improves the posture and creates a great opening to the hips.
12. Balance your body in this position, ensuring the belly is pulled in to help keep the hips and lower back tight too. Remain in this pose for about 4 breaths or longer depending on the level of practice.
13. While in the position of Tiger Pose, watch for the movement of the spine with inhalation and exhalation and stretch the muscles around the spine to the maximum.
14. To release, inhale and bring the left knee down, release the neck, and place the left knee on the floor, in alignment with the right knee and left wrist. While placing the left knee back to the floor make sure the alignment of the wrists and the knees are perfect. Take a few breaths here throwing the neck inside to release the tension around the shoulders.
15. Now inhale and raise the right knee off the floor and bring it close to the chest inside and as you exhale expand the right thigh and knee and take it behind you bringing the right thigh parallel to the floor while the right toes are pointed upwards.
16. With normal breathing balance the body first and once confident, with every exhalation raise the right thigh high up and bring the right foot close to the back of your head pointing the toes inwards, flexing the right ankle.
17. Throw the neck upwards gazing up and giving room for the chest to expand. Bring the breathing under control with awareness of the body too.
18. Watch for the stretch around the right side of the lower abdomen, along with the shoulders and the hips. With slow deep breathing hold the pose for about 4 breaths or more. The movement of the spine here becomes essential and the awareness of the same is important.
19. Balance the body in this pose, Vyaghrasana, and keep the mind and the body steady by pulling in the belly to make sure the lower back and the hips remain steady and tight. Also, ensure the hips remain almost parallel to the floor, turned one side.
20. To release from the pose, inhale, bring the right knee back to the floor, and relax the neck. Place the right knee in alignment with the left knee and the right wrist. Take a few breaths here, bringing the neck inside to release the tension around the shoulders.
21. Slowly go back to Vajrasana and relax the hips and the knees. Take a few breaths here and get back into Vyaghrasana for a deeper practice. While in the pose, it is very important to keep the thighs tight along with the hips in order to maintain the pose for a longer duration.

Learn more: Tiger Pose Steps

No pose becomes difficult if done with some support and some modifications. To get the feel of this pose for beginners or for someone who needs medical attention and guidance, there are certain modifications that can be followed, some of which are given below and explained:

• To begin with, to avoid strain on the knees, placing blankets below the knees for extra support is a good way to begin to learn this pose.
• The other alternative is to place blankets or an extra yoga mat below the palms to get a better grip and ease the pressure around the shoulders. One also gains the confidence to balance the body comfortably.
• Using the wall to place the leg that is bent for better support and yet feel the stretch could be an alternative for the practice of this pose. Bring yourself close to the wall with your back facing the wall, when into the pose bring the leg that is raised up and place the shin on the wall or the feet on the wall and learn to balance the body here gradually.
• Avoid taking the neck upwards if one is not confident with the balance. Remain gazing forward until one learns to balance the body with confidence. For some, gazing up can also cause uneasiness and make them feel giddy. For someone who has this problem, one can avoid looking up.

When we talk about Vyaghrasana or Tiger Pose, what comes to mind are the shoulders, hips, and spine. Hence working on these before the practice of Tiger Pose is essential. To learn to balance the body too is another challenge in Tiger Pose. So given below are some of the yoga poses in sequence keeping in mind the above requirements:

• Bhujangasana or Cobra Pose: Bring the body to relax first completely in Makarasana, taking a few breaths here, moving the spine with breathing. Inhale and place the palms on the floor close to the chest bending at the elbows and exhale completely. With another inhalation raise the upper body at the chest and the lower abdomen and balance the body taking the back in a back bend, while the arms are stretched out completely. Here the chest is expanded completely and the gaze should be upwards, watching for the stretch at the lower back and the shoulders. Remain in this pose for about 6 breaths working on the expansion of the lower back and the shoulders completely. Also, feel the stretch at the lower abdomen while the back is bent backwards in deep expansion. This stretch will be a great opening for the practice of Vyaghrasana. To release from the pose, inhale, and as you exhale bring the body back to Makarasana and relax taking a few breaths here.
• Salabhasana or Locust Pose: This pose is a great opener for the hips and the lower back. Moving from Makarasana, now keep the arms close to your body, by placing them below your hips, and as you inhale raise the lower body away from the floor and place the legs stretched out behind you close to 30 degrees off the floor. Remain on the floor with the chin, chest, and upper abdomen on the floor. Balance the body keeping the hips and the lower abdomen tight and remain in this pose for about 6 breaths or more. With every exhalation take the legs higher up and balance the body while you feel the stretch at the lower back and the entire legs. The tightening of the hips and the entire legs will help to take the pose to a deeper level. The practice of this pose will help in the balance of the body along with the opening of the lower back and hence ready for Vyaghrasana. To release, inhale and slowly bring the legs down, releasing the arms from the lower abdomen and come back to Makarasana.
• Dhanurasana or Bow Pose: After taking a few breaths in Makarasana, bend the legs at the knees and hold the ankles from behind as you inhale. Place the chest on the floor and make sure the hips are in alignment while holding the ankles. Inhale and raise the upper and the lower body grabbing the ankles with the hands and balancing the body on the lower abdomen. Exhale completely here and hold the ankles to get a better posture and as the exhalation happens expand the body deeper upwards raising the legs high and taking the chest high up, bending the back backwards. Hold on in this position for about 6 breaths or more. Watch for the stretch at the shoulders, lower back, thighs, and hips. Release by exhaling and bringing the legs down and releasing the arms and come back to Makarasana. This pose is a must to practice before the practice of Tiger Pose as it works on the entire body including the shoulders.
• Bitilasana Marjaryasana or Cat Cow Pose: This pose becomes a must to open the entire back with conscious breathing. From Makarasana, come back to Vajrasana. Bring the body forward placing the palms on the floor in front of you at shoulder distance apart while the knees too are placed on the floor at hip distance apart. Make sure the alignment is perfect before starting the breathing. As you inhale, bring the chest out and raise the neck upwards taking the lower back at the tailbone outwards. As you exhale, bring the neck deep inside and pull the tummy in raising the lower back upwards and the chest thrown inwards pushing the upper back upwards. The movement of the spine and the muscles around the spine creates a great improvement in muscle strength. Repeat this process of breathing for about 12 breaths while creating awareness around the lower back. Release and sit in Vajrasana relaxing the entire spine.

As always, breathing is considered an important element for the practice of yoga poses and more so when the pose requires you to balance the body. Given below is a detailed note on the awareness of the breath with the movement of the body:

1. Inhale, bring the left knee close to your chest.
2. Exhale, expand the left leg, and take the knee stretched out behind you expanding the lower abdomen.
3. Inhale and exhale, while in the posture. As you inhale loosen up the muscles and as you exhale extend the left leg behind you deeper and stretch the left foot deep behind you.
4. Inhale, bring the leg back down.
5. Exhale, completely relax the body bringing the neck down.
6. Inhale and exhale, relaxing the body here.
7. Inhale, raise the right knee up close to your chest.
8. Exhale, extend the right leg behind you, stretch the right thigh, raise the right foot, and bring it towards your head.
9. Inhale and exhale, while in the pose taking the posture deeper with every exhalation.
10. Inhale and exhale, releasing the leg, bring the neck down, and relax completely.
11. Inhale and Exhale, come back to Vajrasana and begin a slow deep breathing of inhalation and exhalation relaxing the spine and the shoulders completely.

Please click on the link below to listen to Sanskrit pronunciation of Tiger Pose:
Play Sanskrit audio pronunciation for Vyaghrasana