5 benefits of the king pigeon pose that Malaika Arora was spotted doing recently

Diwali is almost at our doorstep and while you indulge in the celebrations and the feast, you need to make sure you stay fit too! And Malaika Arora is here to show the perfect pose that will help you stay fit while you welcome the festival of lights!

Malaika recently put up a post on Instagram, which she captioned: “Namaste?The coming festivities have already filled us with joy and accelerated our morale. This feeling when integrated with some physical exercise and mind-calming meditations does just the right for our body to stay fit while we feel the immense happiness within us. So join along and let’s get started with #MalaikasMoveOfTheWeek.”

You can check out the post here:

For the uninitiated, she is doing the king pigeon pose also known as eka pada pajakapotasana variation. 

Also, read: Malaika Arora wants you all to try natarajasana for a strong core and better balance

This is how you can do it too

• Start with the downward dog pose and then bring your left leg forward
• Now crossover the leg and sit on your left thigh, keep the left heel touching your right hip
• While exhaling, bend forward extending your hands in front
• Keep your chest resting on your left thigh
• Now inhale and walk back with hands lifting your torso
• Bend the right leg to bring the right foot in towards the torso
• Hook the right foot in the right elbow and rollback shoulders away from your ears
• Now bring the left arm up by the ear to grasp the left hand, if you are unable to this at first you can take help from a strap
• Keep your head upright and gaze front focussing on a point

Here are the benefits of the king pigeon pose

1. It stretches your whole body

As you can see, this pose stretches your whole body. Starting from your thighs, groin and abdomen to your shoulders and neck. Since every inch of your body is getting stretched, it makes for a good full-body stretch.

Keep an idea of your risk of weight-related issues.

Check BMI

2. Tones your muscles

This pose also helps in toning muscles of the hip, thighs, calves, hamstring, pelvic, chest, abdomen, shoulders and neck region. And so, you can use this pose to tone your entire body at once.

3. Stimulates organs

Your internal abdominal organs get stimulated when you practice this pose. When you do this asanas, the digestive juices are secreted and the pancreas, liver and kidney get massaged, further improving their function. Moreover, your pelvic muscles get stretched as well, improving your reproductive health.

4. It opens up your chest and shoulders

When your chest is stretched, there’s more room for the proper functioning of your lungs and heart. So, you can expect better functioning of these organs when you practice this asana regularly!

5. Reduces your back pain

If you are struggling from backache, then this pose can come in handy as it reduces lower back pain. Moreover, it can also relieve menstrual cramps.

So, go ahead and include this king pigeon pose aka eka pada rajakapotasana variation today!