Makarasana or crocodile pose is a yoga pose that involves lying on your stomach. It's a restorative pose that can help reduce back pain and stiffness, release tension, and improve blood flow to the back muscles. Makarasana is however often used as a relaxation asana, an alternative to the supine Shavasana, and both head and legs are resting on the floor.

Here Is How To Perform Makarasana

This yoga pose reduces stress and tension, promotes sleep, regulates blood pressure and reduces anxiety.

1. Lie on your belly with arms crossed under your head

2. Close your eyes and let your whle body relax on the floor. Let the heals turn out and let the legs flop open.

3. Breathe deeply, pressing the belly down into the floor with each inhalation and hold for 6-10 breaths. With each exhalation allow your body to relax deeper into the floor.

4. To release bring the palm under your shoulders and slowly press up into table or child pose or roll over your back.

Meanwhile, here are some exercises that help you with your back and spine.

5 Yoga asanas can help you strengthen your spine and fix your posture

Cobra Pose

It is a great pose that relaxes the upper body and enhances the core stability. It also strengthens the spine, improves posture, and helps ease back pain.

How To Do It?

Lie on your stomach with your hands near your chest.

Inhale and lift your upper body while keeping your lower body relaxed.

Keep your neck raised and your stomach pressed to the floor.

Hold for 10-15 seconds and then exhale and return to the starting position. Repeat this three times.

Cat-Cow Pose

This pose improves spinal flexibility and posture while strengthening the core and stretching the spine.

How To Do It?

Get on the four limbs. Inhale, lift your head towards the ceiling and arch your back.

Exhale and tuck your chin in and round your upper back.

Hold each pose for 3 to 5 seconds and repeat for five times.

Superman Pose

this can strengthen your upper and lower back and keep the spine strong and flexible.

How To Do It?

Lie on your stomach and lift both your arms and legs off the ground.

Hold this for a few seconds and come back down.

Repeat this for 8 to 10 times.

Child's Pose

A restorative pose that stretches the spine, hips, and thighs.

How To Do It?

Start with sitting on your heels and lean forward. Place your body flat on the ground.

Stretch your arms forward and hold this for a minute.

Move your hands to left and right, while holding each pose for 30 seconds.

Bird-Dog Pose

This can help with core stability and alleviate upper-body tension.

How to Do It?

Get on all fours and extend your right arm forward and your left leg backwards.

Hold this for 3 to 5 seconds, then switch sides.

Repeat this for 10 times.

High blood pressure is a common condition that many people deal with throughout the world. Can yoga help with the same?

Yoga is one of the best ways to ensure that your health stays in the best condition. Not only does is it a form of exercise that helps us make our body more flexible, but it also helps us strengthen it and ensure our bodily functions work properly.

Yoga is an ancient practice that consists of poses, breathing exercises, and meditational practices. Many people believe that it is more than just exercise, it is a way for you to connect with your mind and body, leading to a wide range of benefits for your overall health. From making your body stronger and more flexible to calming your mind and reducing stress, yoga offers a holistic path to feeling better and living healthier.

Does Science Support Yoga For Hypertension

High blood pressure is a serious condition, and while there are many ways to manage it, what works for one person might not work for another. Researchers are always looking for the most effective treatments and extra therapies to help control blood pressure. A 2023 pilot study, published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, explored whether yoga could be one of those helpful additions.

While both groups saw improvements in their resting blood pressure and heart rate, the group that did yoga had more significant improvements in these areas. The yoga group also showed better Reynolds risk scores, which are measurements used to predict the risk of heart disease and other serious heart problems. These findings suggest that regular yoga could be an effective extra therapy to help improve blood pressure levels.

Yoga poses That Can Help With Hypertension

Stick Pose

This simple pose, also known as Dandasana, involves sitting tall with your legs stretched out in front of you. It helps calm your mind and can contribute to lowering your blood pressure by promoting relaxation and good posture.

Extended Hand to Big Toe Pose

Known as Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana, this pose involves balancing on one leg while extending the other. It improves balance and focus, which can help reduce stress and bring down blood pressure by calming the nervous system.

Chair Pose

Chair Pose, or Utkatasana, strengthens your legs and core. While it builds heat, the controlled breathing and mindful movement can help regulate your heart rate and improve circulation, contributing to better blood pressure control.

Butterfly Pose

Also called Baddha Konasana, this seated pose involves bringing the soles of your feet together. It gently opens the hips and inner thighs, promoting relaxation and easing tension, which can be beneficial for managing high blood pressure.

Fish Pose

Matsyasana, or Fish Pose, gently arches your back and opens your chest. This pose is known for its calming effects on the brain and can help relieve stress and mild depression, indirectly aiding in blood pressure reduction.

Child’s Pose

Balasana, or Child's Pose, is a gentle resting pose that calms the brain and helps relieve stress and fatigue. Its soothing nature can significantly contribute to lowering blood pressure by promoting deep relaxation.

Bound Angle Pose

Similar to Butterfly Pose, Baddha Konasana focuses on opening the hips. It's a very grounding and calming pose that can help reduce anxiety and stress, factors often linked to high blood pressure.

Seated Forward Bend

Paschimottanasana is a relaxing pose where you fold forward from a seated position. It calms the brain and helps relieve stress, which can directly help in lowering high blood pressure by promoting a sense of tranquility.

Every year on June's first Wednesday, Global Running Day is observed to encourage people to run and to embrace its benefits. This year, it is being observed on June 4.

While running every day may sound intense, but studies show that even short, consistent runs can offer major health benefits. According to research, running just 5 to 10 minutes a day at a moderate pace (about 6 miles per hour) can significantly reduce your risk of death from heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular diseases.

Interestingly, researchers found that benefits tend to max out at around 4.5 hours of running per week, so there’s no need to overdo it. Overtraining can lead to injuries like shin splints and stress fractures.

What You Gain From Running

The benefits of daily running aren’t limited to just heart health. Some other science-backed perks include:

• Lower risk of developing certain cancers
• Reduced chance of neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease
• Better mood, sleep, and focus

A study on adolescents who ran 30 minutes each morning for three weeks showed improvements in sleep quality, mood, and concentration compared to non-runners. These same benefits can be seen in other daily activities like walking, cycling, swimming, or even yoga.

But Is It Safe to Run Every Day?

While the benefits are clear, running daily can increase the risk of overuse injuries if you're not careful. These injuries often occur when someone starts too fast or doesn't give the body enough time to recover.

To reduce the risk:

• Use proper running shoes and replace them regularly.
• Increase your mileage gradually.
• Always warm up and cool down properly.
• Run with good form and posture.

If you start to feel pain or fatigue, take a break. Use the RICE method (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) and consult a doctor if needed.

The Importance of Mixing It Up

Running alone isn’t enough for overall fitness. Cross training—such as cycling, swimming, yoga, or strength workouts—can help balance your routine. Benefits include:

• Reducing injury risk
• Activating different muscle groups
• Improving core strength and flexibility
• Keeping workouts fun and varied

Experts recommend adding cross training one to two times a week and incorporating strength training for best results.

How to Start and Stick With It

Beginners should aim to run every other day for 20–30 minutes, gradually increasing frequency. A “couch-to-5K” program can provide helpful structure.

Essentials to start running include:

• Good running shoes (ideally two pairs to rotate)
• Sweat-resistant clothes
• Reflective gear if running early or late

Plan your runs according to your schedule—mornings, lunch breaks, or weekends. Join local running groups for motivation.

For experienced runners, weekly plans can include a mix of:

• Long runs
• Speed training
• Hill workouts
• Recovery jogs or pool running

If you are looking for a low-impact exercise that doesn’t leave you feeling drained after every session, try doing yoga. This gentle and flow-based exercise is one of the best ways to rejuvenate yourself and help you regulate your health. Doing yoga regularly not only makes you stronger, but much more flexible, fleet as well as well-balanced. Many people also do yoga as it brings you mental clarity as well as helps them regulate their mood better.

Why Should You Do Twisting Poses?

Twisting yoga poses are incredibly beneficial for your overall well-being, especially for a healthy spine and relaxed body. These poses involve rotating your torso, which helps to increase the flexibility and movement range of your spine.

Beyond the spine, twists can also stretch and strengthen the muscles in your back, core, and shoulders, helping to release tension that often builds up from daily stress or sitting. This release can calm your nervous system, boost your mood, and even help with digestion by gently massaging your internal organs.

Supine Spinal Twist (Supta Matsyendrasana)

Lie on your back, hug one knee to your chest, then gently drop it across your body to the side. Keep your shoulders down and gaze in the opposite direction. This relaxing twist is great for releasing stiffness and improving upper back mobility.

Revolved Chair Pose

Stand and bend your knees as if sitting in a chair. Bring your hands to prayer at your chest. Twist your upper body to one side, hooking your elbow outside the opposite knee. This builds strength in your back and core while twisting your upper spine.

Revolved Triangle Pose

Stand with feet wide apart. Turn one foot out and twist your body towards that leg. Reach one hand to the floor or a block, and the other arm up. This standing twist strengthens your core, legs, and deeply rotates your upper back.

Thread the Needle Pose

Start on hands and knees. Slide one arm under your other arm and body, letting your shoulder and ear rest on the floor. This gentle twist opens your upper back and shoulders, releasing tension and improving movement.

Seated Spinal Twist

Sit tall with legs out. Bend one knee, placing that foot outside the other knee. Twist your body towards the bent knee, using your opposite arm to help. This pose gently twists your spine, making your upper back stronger and more flexible.

Revolved Crescent Lunge Pose

Start in a lunge with one knee bent forward. Bring your hands to prayer and twist your upper body over the front leg, hooking your elbow outside the knee. This strong pose builds balance, core strength, and deeply twists your upper back.

Bharadvaja's Twist

Sit with both knees bent to one side. Twist your torso towards the opposite side, placing your hand behind you. This pose helps improve digestion and flexibility in your middle and upper back, while gently strengthening the spine.

Revolved Head-to-Knee Pose

This pose offers a deep stretch along the side body while incorporating a twist. It helps to open the chest and shoulders, and the effort to rotate your ribcage upwards as you fold towards your leg engages and strengthens the muscles of your upper back and obliques.