Thunder pose helps you relax and get in shape

When you practice thunderbolt pose, you can not only exercise your back, chest and core muscles, but also improve your body shape in daily activities. This is also an easy yoga pose so you can practice smoothly almost anywhere, even if you’re new to the subject and don’t have a lot of equipment.

Thunder pose ( Thunderbolt pose – Vajrasana ) is a basic yoga pose for beginners often used for meditation purposes. This pose does not require you to stretch your muscles but can help strengthen the back and core muscles very well. Moreover, you can also widen your chest and shoulders to make breathing easier.

Let’s find out the benefits of the thunderbolt pose so that you can be more motivated to learn how to practice this pose at home!

Benefits of Thunder Pose

Thunder pose offers both physical and mental benefits such as helping you to have the correct sitting posture to avoid hunchback, improving core muscles and relaxing the mind.

• Physical health: Thunder pose requires you to keep your spine straight, thereby helping to strengthen your back. This can also help you improve your daily posture.

Thunder pose can help you correct the posture of hunchback or bending forward too much when sitting at a desk for a long time, thereby reducing neck and back pain caused by sitting a lot. This pose also helps to improve core strength, so it will help you be more stable when performing advanced yoga poses that involve the core muscles.

• Mental health: Thunder pose is often accompanied by deep breathing exercises and meditation. These exercises, when combined, can help clear your mind and reduce stress. You’ll feel more at ease after spending time practicing breathing, meditating, and listening to yourself.

How to practice thunder pose

Thunder pose is quite easy, so it will be suitable for those who are just starting to practice yoga. The satisfaction you get from successfully practicing this move can motivate you to try other poses and keep doing it for a long time. The steps to do this yoga pose for beginners are:

• Step 1: Kneel on a yoga mat or a soft surface to relieve pressure on your knees and hamstrings. When kneeling, you bring your weight down to your knees and relax your feet. Remember to kneel so that the soles of your feet do not touch the ground.

• Step 2: You cross your big toes to create a comfortable seat.

• Step 3: You put your hands on your knees and relax your arms, not stretching this area. You can face up or palm down as you like. If you wish, you can also clasp your hands in front of your chest, as in prayer.

• Step 4: You straighten your spine so that your back is perpendicular to the floor, pull your shoulders back and squeeze your core muscles. Then, exhale and draw your belly in.

• Step 5: You keep your head straight, eyes facing forward.

• Step 6: You focus on your breath, take a deep breath and exhale slowly. As you inhale and exhale, your chest will also expand and contract with your breathing. When practicing breathing, you still pay attention to keep your back straight, not leaning forward.

• Step 7: You close your eyes and focus on your inner self.

• Step 8: You try to hold the pose for 1-2 minutes. If you want to incorporate meditation, you can hold the pose for 5-10 minutes as you like.

Thunder pose requires flexibility in the legs so if you find it difficult to do, change the pose by stretching your legs straight out in front of you like when doing staff pose (Dandasana) to Helps relieve pressure on the knee and hamstring tendons.

If this yoga pose makes you feel uncomfortable, start your session with other poses like:

• Perfect sitting posture (Siddhasana)
• Seated Forward Bend – Paschimottanasana
• Head-to-Knee pose (Janu Sirsasana).

If you want to enhance the thunder pose, you can bring your hands behind your back and clasp them together as in prayer. When performing this advanced pose, rotate your shoulders and elbows slowly to avoid injury.

If you want to make the exercise even more difficult, bend your back so that your head rests on the floor like when doing Little Thunderbolt Pose – Laghu Vajrasana. This will help you stretch your back, core, hamstrings, and chest more.

Common mistakes when practicing

Although the thunderbolt pose is quite easy, you can still make some mistakes if you don’t pay attention to the adjustment. You need to avoid the following common mistakes:

• Back arch: The state of arched back when doing thunder pose can help you relax a little, but cause neck and back pain in the long run. So, you need to keep your spine straight to get the most out of this pose.

• Bowing: Another common mistake when doing thunderbolt pose is not distributing the weight of the head evenly across the neck. To better support your head and not put pressure on your neck, look straight ahead instead of looking down.

• Overstretching your body: You will need to squeeze your core, shoulders, and back when exercising, but don’t strain your entire body. If you feel your body is not relaxed and comfortable, end the pose and relax your body.

• End the pose too soon: Some yoga poses can only be held for a few seconds or minutes, but the thunder pose can last longer. To experience the full benefits of this pose, try to stay in the pose for at least 30 seconds. If you want to incorporate meditation, aim for at least 5 minutes.

Thunder pose will help those who are new to yoga get used to this subject more easily. When you practice this pose, you can also improve your posture in daily life as well as protect your physical and mental health. If you want to try this beneficial pose, pay attention to good body control to avoid injury and enjoy more practice time.

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