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Create Space in Your Lungs and Throat with Fish and Rabbit Pose

written by Emily Garrettfor Venus Rising Magazine

Sagittarius 07 Issue

Late fall gifts us with crisp air and brilliant light. Outside, the quality of the air changes, becoming lighter and cooler. Inside, the air becomes manufactured, as we close the windows and turn on the heaters. The tenderest organ in the body, the lungs, are the first to be affected by the air around us. They pick up on the subtle changes both in the quality of the air and the prana inherent in the air. 

Prana is our vital life force, or the sparkly energy that makes us feel alive. Most yoga practices are designed to open up the flow of this life force and encourage its movement through our systems. Because breath is the major vehicle for prana, when our breathing is constricted, so too is the movement of prana through our bodies. It is important to keep the lungs healthy and nourished this time of year to prevent colds and to keep a healthy flow of prana moving through us. 

Breathing practices help to increase our lung capacity and certain yoga poses create space around the lungs so that they can breathe more easily and our bodies can absorb more prana. I recommend fish pose and rabbit pose to help nourish and open the lungs. Both poses work with the throat, which feeds the lung meridian. In chakra theory, the throat is connected to our inner truth. The open throat required for fish pose also mirrors the expansive truth-seeking nature of a Sagittarius. The closed throat in rabbit pose will help balance a Sagittarius when she becomes impatient and excessive in her words. 

FISH POSE / MATSYASANA

Begin lying on your back with straight arms and legs. Walk your arms in close to the sides of your body and sit on the top of your hands with your hips. Energize your legs by squeezing them together and flexing both feet. As you press firmly into your elbows and forearms, lift your chest toward the sky and allow your head to hang back. If you have a neck injury, keep your chin in toward your chest slightly, or place a pillow under your head to protect the tissues until your neck heals. If your neck is healthy, you can allow the back of your head and eventually the crown of your head to rest on the floor. Actively draw your elbows in toward each other and your shoulder blades in toward your spine. Press your forearms into the floor to help raise your chest and keep your legs active to protect your lower back. Make sure to keep your hips on the floor. Imagine a hook attached to the center of your chest and someone above pulling the hook up toward the ceiling. Breathe and feel the opening across your throat and chest. When you are ready to come out, tuck your chin and slide down onto your back. Hug your legs into your chest for a counter pose.

Fish is normally practiced after shoulder stand and plow. Whether done in this sequence or not, I recommend doing a few forward bends before fish in order to warm up and lengthen your lower back. You can counter pose with a gentle supine twist.

RABBIT POSE / SASANGASANA

Begin kneeling with your knees together and your hips on your heels. Reach for your heels with your hands and tuck your chin deeply into your chest. Begin to round forward, reaching your forehead as close to your knees as you can. Keeping this attraction between chin and chest and forehead to knees, bring your head to the floor. Get a firm hold of your heels and begin to press your hips away from your heels, rounding your back. Work to straighten your arms as you continue to pull with your hands, and at the same time, reach your hips away from your hands. It is this tension between your hands pulling and your hips reaching away from your heels that creates the pose. The pull of the hands on the heels will also prevent you from resting too much weight on your head. The breath may become a little shallower. Try to stay with it and keep your breath flowing as best you can. After five breaths, begin to release the pose by first bringing your hips back to your heels. Relax the grip of your hands, and roll up slowly keeping your head heavy as you rise. Allow your head to lift last. Kneel quietly for a few breaths and feel the effects.

Avoid injury! When practicing yoga, listen to your body and take responsibility for your safety. Always move gently into poses, and do not push too hard.

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