An Easy Guide to Salabhasana, or Locust Pose
Salabhasana, or Locust Pose, is a beginners’ pose but for many it’s a tricky one – with a lift that takes practice to master. The pay-off for perfecting this pose is big as it stimulates abdominal organs - which helps relieve cramps and stomach pain, as well as stretching the shoulders, alleviating stiffness.
This paired down yoga pose is deceptively hard but stick at it – Salabhasana rewards regular practice with a stretched and strengthened spine and improved digestion. It'll also tone the liver and kidneys.
Watch a clip for this yoga pose
How to do Salabhasana, or Locust Pose, in easy steps
Step 1:
Lie on your stomach with your arms along the body and palms up. If needed, use a blanket for padding under the hips and ribs.
Step 2:
Rest your chin on the floor.
Step 3:
On an exhalation, slowly lift your head, upper body, and legs from the floor. Lower ribs, belly, and front pelvis remain on the mat.
Step 4:
Extend the legs away from you, feet moving away from your pelvis, ankles, knees and thighs touching.
Step 5:
Now lift your arms off the floor and stretch the fingers towards your feet.
Step 6:
Reach forward through the crown of the head, keeping the neck long, in line with the spine. Gaze at the floor slightly ahead of you.
Step 7:
Stay in the pose for 10-15 breaths.
Step 8:
Release down on an exhalation. Rest.
Yoga pose category: Lying Face Down
Level: 1
Although this is a yoga pose for beginners, it is more difficult than it may seem, as many yogis have difficulty holding the lift of the legs and the chest. To help you get used to the pose, try holding it for short bursts of time to start with, beginning with holding it for 5 seconds and working your way up towards 20 seconds, 30 seconds, and a minute. With practice, your stamina will build, and you will be able to perfect holding this pose for long periods of time to fully stretch your chest and legs.
Sanskrit words meaning:
Salabha - locust
Asana - pose
Yoga pose health benefits:
Like all yoga poses, Locust Pose has many health benefits. Use it to help with the following health conditions:
Back pain
Flatulence
Digestion
Constipation
Fatigue
Sciatica
Concentration
Posture
Stress
Yoga pose contraindications:
Don’t practice Locust Pose if you have any of the following health conditions:
Headache
Hernia
Serious back pain
Neck injury
Pregnancy
Back injury
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Lucy Edge
is a yoga advocate and writer with three yoga books to her name, including the beloved travel memoir Yoga School Dropout. She writes regularly for the national press, has authored over 150 guides to types of yoga and yoga poses, discovered nearly 250 proven health benefits of yoga through her painstaking classification of 300 clinical studies, and collected more than 500 personal testimonials to the real life benefits of yoga. She is also the creator of our yoga shop – YogaClicks.Store – handpicking yoga brands that are beautifully made by yogis committed to environmental and social sustainability.
