Camel Pose: Its Holistic Benefits

When I think of moving into Camel Pose or Ustrasana, I can’t help but notice a little something deep in my belly — it’s as if my body is conditioned to feel all the emotions my mind knows Camel will invite. Perhaps the power of visualization really is all they say it is.

Close your eyes, and imagine yourself reaching back with your hands to clasp your ankles. Imagine a golden thread reaching up from your heart. Does the pose affect you emotionally or spiritually in any part of your body? Take a few moments to observe what the visualization does for your body.

Sign up for our 30-day free yoga challenge. This pose has many benefits. Learn how to perform it correctly and enjoy its holistic effects for a more meaningful yoga practice.

Camel Pose and similar backbends can be both physically challenging and beneficial. They can also create an emotional vulnerability that we normally avoid. Ustrasana is like a camel traveling through the Sahara. It requires endurance and inner awareness. This pose is not a final destination but a journey. When you arrive at your unique location after crossing the Sahara, this journey will be worth it.

Please find out the benefits of Camel Pose and why it’s a great pose to incorporate into your yoga practice.

Physical Benefits

Camel Pose has many benefits. It increases the flexibility of the spine, stimulates the nervous system, opens the chest and shoulders, improves digestion and circulation, and stimulates the thyroid. Camel Pose is said to reduce fat in the thighs and increase energy.

Poses like Camel increase circulation, improve digestion and detoxify the body. They also boost blood flow to the face for a glowing complexion.

Camel Pose, or backbends in general, can restore your natural flexibility to the spine.

Mental Benefits

Camel Pose and other backbends are great for reducing anxiety and stress. As our minds follow our bodies, increasing flexibility in the spine and releasing tension from your neck, shoulders, and back will increase flexibility in the mind. Open your body, open your mind.

Camel Pose also increases creativity and problem-solving thanks to the change in perspective.

Camel Pose also has a fantastic mental benefit: it allows you to process your emotions. Camel Pose brings deep-seated emotions to the fore. By working with them in this position, you can recognize them and, if necessary, act on them.

You can turn intangible emotions into tangible mental actions.

Emotional benefits

Camel Pose connects directly to your Anahata chakra. This is the energy center for love and is responsible for your compassion and sense of care. Anahata, located behind the heart chakra, opens to allow energy to flow through it freely in Camel Pose. If your heart chakra is fully open and energy is flowing freely, then you can operate from a place where love permeates all of your actions and thoughts.

You love yourself. You love yourself. You love yourself. You receive love.

Camel poses can be intense depending on how you are feeling. This pose can bring up emotions that you thought were long gone. Alas, the body is always right. Camel takes only a few seconds to start bringing them in like a torrent.

This pose exposes your chest, which we usually cover by hunching forward our shoulders and rounding the upper spine. It forces you to be in a vulnerable state. The mind follows the body, as I have said before.

As soon as you expose the area that we usually protect in the heart chakra and create an open position, feelings begin to wash over the body. This pose can be painful if you are going through a difficult time in your life or have recently lost someone close to you. When you are ready, try it.

Don’t be hard on yourself — mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Ustrasana, although initially a challenging pose, is a wonderful, vulnerable posture that benefits the mind, body, and soul. As you move from the physical discomfort into the emotional pain and finally to the mental clarity and emotional cleansing that comes with perseverance, remember to breathe.