Adho Mukha Mandukasana or Downward Facing Frog Pose

Adho Mukha Mandukasana at a Glance

How to Do Adho Mukha Mandukasana?
Follow the Step-by-Step Procedure

Adho Mukha Mandukasana or the Downward facing frog pose, is a variation of Mandukasana and is practiced to open up your tight hip muscles. Do some warm-ups before you start this pose.

1. Sit in the Vajrasana pose, take a deep breath, relax your body, and come to the tabletop position (walk on your hands forward and knees).
2. Now spread your knees apart, more than your hip width, or as wide as comfortable, and let your ankles behind your knees and your feet turn to the sides and your toes pointing to the sides.
3. Inhale and by exhaling place your elbows and forearms on the mat in front of you.
4. You can place your palms on the floor or keep your fingers interlocked creating a fist.
5. You can also extend your hands forward, resting your chin or forehead on the floor.
6. Exhale and broaden your lower back slightly raise your tailbone and feel the deep stretch in your thighs and hips.
7. Gaze onto the floor and keep breathing relax your mind and body and feel the calmness in the Downward-facing frog pose.
8. Take a few breaths here, relax the spine completely with full deep breathing.
9. When you are ready to release, inhale and come back to the table pose cool your body in the child’s pose, and breathe gently.

What are the Benefits of Adho Mukha Mandukasana?

Downward-facing frog and downward-facing dog yoga postures may have the same words but the Downward-facing dog is a more active pose that is used to stretch the entire body, while the frog pose is more restorative.

• This pose, helps to relieve the stressed lower back and helps to strengthen it.
• It is beneficial for people sitting for a long period and experiencing tight hips.
• It helps to improve your self-awareness and mindfulness with your breath.
• It helps to activate the Muladhara chakra, which helps stability.
• This pose also helps to relax your pelvic floor muscles.
• It also helps to reduce your stress anxiety and depression levels if practiced regularly.
• This can also help to regulate your blood sugar level and reduce the risk of diabetes.
• It helps to improve blood circulation and keeps your high blood pressure in check.
• This is also helpful to improve your digestion process and relieves you from gas and constipation.

Health Conditions that Might Benefit from Adho Mukha Mandukasana

There are many health benefits, and here are some you can experience, if any specific health concerns, consult your healthcare professional for better guidance.

• For people with stiff and stressful hips, while practicing regularly, this pose would be beneficial as it gives an intense stretch.
• This can be helpful to people with tight groin areas, and help to deep stretch to groin muscles.
• Regular practice can help people with high blood sugar.
• If you have any tension or mild pain in your lower back, practice this pose regularly.
• People with everyday stress and anxiety can practice this pose coordinating with the breath, which will help to relieve stress, and anxiety and help keep your calm.
• You can practice during your menstrual cycle, if you find it comfortable and it can help some women, with cramps and pain.
• People with digestion issues can practice this pose, which helps to improve their digestion, bloating, and gas.

Safety and Precautions

• Do some gentle warm-ups and stretching before doing this pose, as it loosens your muscles.
• People with knee or ankle injuries should avoid doing this pose.
• Keep a check on the pain or cramps in your body, any lower back pain just avoids the pose.
• Avoid forcing your body into the pose, keep it gradual.
• Avoid during your menstrual cycle if you feel any discomfort or pain.
• Pregnant women should be cautious while doing this pose and do it under the guidance of the prenatal yoga teacher.

Common Mistakes

• Avoid overarching your lower back, try maintaining a gentle stretch in your spine.
• Don’t strain your neck, use a block or folded blanket to support your forehead and arms.
• Avoid collapsing your chest.
• Avoid forcing your knees too wide, it can strain your knee.
• Follow the physical alignment principles.
• Avoid holding your breath.
• Avoid tensing your shoulders and keep it away from the ear.

Tips for Adho Mukha Mandukasana

• Start by doing some stretches and warm-up poses to loosen your muscles.
• Do this pose on an empty stomach or 4 to 5 hours after the meal.
• Do this yoga pose, on the yoga mat.
• Focus on the proper alignment.
• Use props (folded blanket or yoga block) under your forehead.
• Keep the core muscles activated, in the Adho Mukha Mandukasana pose.
• Don’t lift the head too high, this may strain your neck.
• Keep your shoulders away from the ears.
• Any discomfort, modify the pose to keep it smooth.
• Regular practice can help you to get a proper pose and add more flexibility.
• Don’t rush into the pose, feel the sensations be slow, and follow it with breathing.

Physical Alignment Principles for Adho Mukha Mandukasana

• Your spine should be neutral in the Downward-facing frog pose.
• Keep your core engaged for the frog pose Adho Mukha asana.
• Knees should be horizontal in line with the hips.
• Keep your forearms parallel to each other or keep the cushion or block under the forearms.
• The feet should be pointing outward and the inside of the sole on the floor.
• Don’t hunch or overextend your spine.
• Keep a steady gaze at a particular point.
• Keep breathing breathe deeply throughout the Downward-facing frog pose.

Adho Mukha Mandukasana and Breath

Breath will be the guide to the Adho Mukha Mandukasana pose as in for all yoga poses. Take some relaxed breaths while in the Vajrayana pose inhale deeply and come on to the forearms, keep breathing and keep your knees apart, and inhale and maintain a neutral spine. Keep breathing and feel the stretch in the Downward facing frog pose, and at every exhale let go of your stress and anxiety and bring in calmness within.

Adho Mukha Mandukasana and Variations

• People with sensitive knees can keep a folded blanket under their knees to keep them away from strain and pain.
• You can keep the Block or folded blanket under your forehead for support.
• Wide leg Child’s pose variation.
• Mandukasana.
• You can also place a block or a cushion under your stomach for support initially.
• Half frog pose variation, lie on your stomach and bring one knee up bending the leg, but the toes should be pointing out.

The Bottom Line

Adho Mukha Mandukasana or the Downward facing frog pose, is a wonderful pose that has many benefits and is accessible to even beginners. This stretches your hips, lower back, and inner thighs, and strengthens your pelvic floor and core muscles. Use props according to your physical limitations and support your body initially. Any health concerns should be consulted with your healthcare provider.

Breath will be the guide to this yoga pose and will help with a better stretch and balancing of this pose. This pose can be done playfully for kids. This pose helps to reduce the tension in the body and helps to achieve calmness.

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