Crocodile Pose: Nakrasana Yoga Pose and its Benefits

This article is a part of Soulful Arogya’s Yoga 101 series where we explore beginner and intermediate level yoga poses. You can check out other articles in the series here.

Nakrasana or crocodile pose is a beginner-level yoga pose which has several benefits including reducing stress and anxiety, regulating blood pressure, and reducing lethargy of the body and fatigue of the brain.

Nakra in Sanskrit means crocodile. This posture includes several dynamic movements resembling those of a crocodile stalking its prey, and hence the name.

Crocodile Pose: The Technique

1. Lie flat on the follow, face downwards.
2. Bend the elbows and place the palms by the side of the waist.
3. Keep the feet about one foot apart. Exhale, raise the whole body a few inches above the floor, balancing it on the palms and the toes. Keep the body stiff and the knees taut. The body should remain parallel to the floor.
4. Take a few breaths and with an exhalation lunge the whole body a foot forward, lifting the hands and feet simultaneously off the floor. After going a foot forward, take a few breaths. Then exhale and lunge forward again.
5. Repeat the forward lunges four or five times. At the end of each lunge, the position of the body should be as described in the picture above. These movements resemble the lunges made by a crocodile stalking its prey. After each lunge, rest a few seconds taking deep breaths.
6. Now reverse the movements and with exhalations jump back about a foot at a time until you return to the position from where you started.
7. Rest the trunk on the floor and relax for about a minute.

Also read: 3 Pranayama Breathing Exercises for Beginners

Crocodile Pose: Benefits

1. Crocodile pose rejuvenates the whole body and makes one feel lively and vigorous.
2. It develops powerful wrists
3. Reduces lethargy of the body and fatigue of the brain
4. Reduce stress and anxiety, regulates blood pressure

Also read: 3 Simple Yoga Poses for People Who Suffer From Anxiety

We’ll be exploring more beginner and intermediate-level yoga poses in the Yoga 101 series in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.

If you have any questions regarding this yoga pose, please let us know in the comments section.