नौकासन
Naukasana — Boat Pose
naukā = boat — the body balanced as a boat
Legs up, chest up, only the seat on the floor — the whole middle of you holds the boat.
In the simplest words
Sit, lean back a little, and lift your legs so your body makes a V — like a boat on water! Arms point forward like oars. If your tummy shakes, the boat is working perfectly.
What it is
Balance on the sitting bones, float the legs up, lean the straight-backed torso to meet them, and stretch the arms forward: the body becomes a V — a boat riding its own keel. The abdomen and back share the work of not capsizing, which makes naukasana the tradition's most direct core-builder, no equipment required. Trembling is not failure but the exercise itself; a boat with bent knees floats just as well as one with straight legs.
Before you practise — health first
Skip in pregnancy, after recent abdominal surgery, and with hernia; low blood pressure keeps holds short. Lower-back pain means bend the knees and hold the thighs — or rest.
Getting into it
Sit with knees bent, feet flat, hands behind the thighs.
Lean back to balance on the sitting bones, spine LONG — never rounded.
Float the shins parallel to the floor; stay here happily, or straighten the legs.
Reach the arms forward beside the knees, palms in.
Hold with even breath, then exhale the feet down and rest.
The breath
Never hold the breath here — the boat sails on steady breathing.
What it is kept for
Core and hip-flexor strength, posture support, the steadiness sitting practices quietly rely on.