Malaika Arora challenges fitness enthusiasts into Yoga’s Matsyasana, says ‘it stretches the chest, abs, hip flexors and neck’

Every week, Malaika Arora shares a Yoga challenge with her followers in order to urge them to exercise and this week is no different. This week, the actor shared a picture nailing the Matsyasana that works on almost the entire body.

How many times do we feel that we don’t have enough hours to workout because of our hectic schedules? Our professional work and daily chores take up most of our day and exercise generally takes a back seat. However, to help fans with this situation every week, Malaika Arora shares a Yoga asana with her followers and urges them to exercise.

The asana that the Chaiyya Chaiyya girl recently taught her fans how to do Matsyasana aka the Fish Pose of Yoga. It is a special asana because it works on almost every part of the body. Matyasana stretches the abs, chest and hips among other body parts which have been jammed from endless hours of sitting stiff before computer or laptop screens.

The Bollywood diva even shared the benefits of the asana and the steps to do it on her Instagram account. “Let’s add some backbending to our Yoga practice this week. From a Chakra Perspective, the pose for this #MalaikasMoveOfTheWeek has a lot of potential. Curious? The pose is Matsyasana (Fish Pose)(sic),” her caption read.

While talking about the benefits of the Yoga pose, Malaika said, “It has multiple benefits. From stretching the chest, abs, hip flexors and neck to stimulating two important areas of the body. First is the throat chakra which relates to communication and self-expression and second is the crown chakra, on the top of your head, which is tied to wisdom & knowledge (sic).”

Steps to perform the fish pose variation:

Lie down on your back with legs straight on the floor and hands beside the thighs. Keep your palms near the shoulders and your fingers pointing towards them. Inhale, press your palms on the floor, lift your shoulders and head up and drop the top of the head on the floor.

Arch your back while keeping your hands up in namaskar mudra. Lift both of your legs at 45 degrees angle. Hold the posture for 10 seconds and release. Avoid this pose if you have a neck or back injury or even if you have a headache.

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