Halasan (Plough Pose)

Procedure 

• Lie flat on your back with both your legs together and touch the outer sides of the thighs with your palms, i.e. Simple Supine Pose.
• Place both arms by the sides of the thighs with the palms flat on the floor.
• While inhaling (Radhey), raise your legs till they come into a vertical position.
• While exhaling (Krishna), slowly raise the buttocks, letting the legs go over the head, and then lower the toes to the floor—a bit away from your head.
• Either interlock the fingers or keep the palms on the floor, behind your shoulders and facing downward.
• Straighten your arms firmly for support; straighten the legs and try to push the buttocks as much forward as possible.
• Remain in this posture for as long as you are comfortable with normal breathing.
• While returning to the central position, again inhale (Radhey); then slowly lower the buttocks to the floor, bringing the legs to vertical position; while exhaling (Krishna), lower the legs down to the floor.
• This finishes one round; do two more rounds.
• Finally, come into Shavasan and relax.

Awareness

• On breathing in and out along with the different movements
• On the pressure in your abdomen
• On relaxing the muscles
• On mentally chanting the Holy Names “Radhey Krishna” with your each breath

Benefits

• The movement of the diaphragm in Halasan massages all the abdominal and chest organs, activates digestion, increases insulin production in the pancreas, and also improves the function of both—the liver and kidneys.  
• A healthy and flexible spine indicates a healthy nervous system.  If the nerves are healthy, a person is comfortable both—physically and mentally.  Therefore, along with strengthening the abdominal muscles, it tones the spinal nerves.
• It is found to regulate the activities of the thyroid gland, which balances the body’s metabolic rate and stimulates the thymus gland—thus helping to increase immunity in the body.
• It also helps increase height.

Contraindications

• Persons with high blood pressure, hernia, arthritis of the neck, spinal problems like cervical spondylitis, and slipped-disc should not do this asan.