Staying Young With Hindu Squats

Hindu Squats may be the one of the best body weight exercises you can do. Not only do they build strength and endurance throughout the thighs, calves, lower back and chest but they also build incredible lung power. Hindu squats, done properly, are an amazing cardio workout as well.

This form of bodyweight squat, like a lot of great body weight exercises, originated in India and has been practiced by Indian athletes for thousands of years. One of the most prominent of these was the Great Gama, a legendary Indian wrestler who reportedly wrestled over 5000 matches and never lost once. The source of his power? Body weight exercises like hindu pushups and squats. According to legend, he would perform 4000 bethaks (the indian term for the exercise) a day. These are most likely gross exaggerations. Still, he performed a lot of them and had tree trunk like legs to prove it.

One of the most important elements of the well executed hindu squat is the breathing. Unlike many other bodyweight squats the hindu is performed with the breathing in reverse. Instead of exhaling up and inhaling down, you exhale down and inhale going up. This is tricky for some people at first, but it's the correct way to do it. It is often helpful to imagine that you legs are like an accordion. When does an accordion exhale it's air? When it's compressed. The same thing is true with Hindu bodyweight squats and this breathing technique. As you lower yourself to the ground your diaphragm, abdominal, and torso compress. This is when you let the air out. Kind of makes sense, doesn't it?

You should never hold your breathe when doing this exercise, or ANY exercise for that matter. The more you focus on the inhale and exhale, the more endurance and strength your will bring to your body. Moreover as your breathe is closely connected to your mind and spirit, the better you breathe the more connected and grounded you will feel.

Hindu squats will also keep you young. There is a Chinese saying that states "Ren lao xian lao tui". Loosely translated, this means "When a person gets old, the legs get old first". If you think about it this is very true. Think about athletes as they age. What is the first thing to go? Almost always, it's the legs. Compare a young Mohammed Ali to the aging version. The young one dances and dances on springy legs. The older version is much more plodding. The same is true for football players, basketball players, you name it.

What's worse, as the legs get old this leads to poor blood circulation. I've heard it said that you should consider your legs to be like the heart of your lower body. I think this is actually quite profound. When your legs are strong, they can assist your heart in pumping the blood. When your legs start to go, poor blood circulation in your lower legs can lead to heart attack and stroke.

When combined with Hindu Pushups, Hindu Squats are one of the best bodyweight routines you can do. Performing 50 Hindu Pushups and 100 squats is a good target for the beginner. When practiced consistently, they will keep you young, powerful, lean and flexible. What more could you want?