** Posture: Matsya-asana - The Fish Pose ** Translation: The fish position is named after the Sanskrit word matsya, which means "fish." Matsya (seen on the left) is a celestial creature from Hindu mythology who saved humanity from a worldwide deluge. ** Pronunciation: maht-see-yah-sa-na ** Difficulty: (3) ** Instructions: 1- In shava-asana, lie flat on your back. 2- Inhale and elevate the head, shoulders, back, and upper arms off the floor, arching the back and bringing the chest up, while keeping the buttocks on the floor. Tilt your head back and flatten the top of your head on the floor. 3- Raise your elbows off the floor and connect your hands at the palms with fingers pointing straight up (create the anjali-mudra or greeting hand motion). To stay in the position longer, hold for the entirety of the inhale breath or breathe slowly through the nose. 4- Come back to shava-asana. ** benefits The matsya-asana expands and stretches the chest, which helps to ease upper respiratory congestion while also benefiting the heart. The sinuses are also emptied and opened by inverting the head, lengthening the neck, and applying pressure to the top of the head. In addition, the thyroid and parathyroid glands are activated. ** Duration/Repetitions: Because this is not a challenging position, it is suggested that you maintain it for two to four minutes while breathing. Hold the stance for the duration of the inhaled breath if you're having trouble breathing. Repeat the process two or three times more. ** Variations: The matsya-asana has one main variant that is a little more difficult than the one described above (illustrated above). It requires that you start in padma-asana, or full lotus seated posture, and then lie flat on your back with your legs still locked. The position is then performed in the same manner as stated earlier.