Utthita Hasta Padangustasana
While the Sanskrit name for this pose is a mouthful, the pose is a great way to strengthen your abdominals, ankles and hip flexors. It’s also a great way to work on those hamstrings!
To start, stand in Mountain Pose (Tadasana). If you are trying this pose for the first time, it might be good to stand near a wall and place one hand on the wall to support yourself as you figure out the pose. Firmly press down one foot into the floor, and start to think about the other foot getting lighter and lighter. Slowly, with control and on the inhale, bring one knee into the chest and gain your balance. Find your drishti (your focal point) and exhale.
If you have tight hamstrings, start off by holding behind your knee or somewhere on your calf. The idea is to keep the torso upright, as this will provide the greatest stretch, but if you aren’t quite there to begin with, don’t worry. Work with what you have! If your hamstrings are a little more flexible, grab your big toe with your first two fingers. This will strengthen your hands as well, as this can be a challenging part of the pose. Then try to extend your leg until it is straight, but keep the torso as upright as you can. If your leg is bent while you do this pose for the first hundred times, that’s okay! Just keep trying.
Eventually, you will be able to extend the leg all the way out in front of you, so that if you were viewed to the side, your legs would make somewhere around a right angle (the angle will differ slightly depending on how long your legs and arms are). Try and hold your leg out in front of you for 5 inhales and exhales.
When you’ve done that, you can move on to the full expression of the pose, as seen above. Taking the leg to the side takes a lot of focus, concentrating on the breath to stay upright, and contracting your core (specifically mulabhanda and uddiyana bhanda) – not to mention flexible hamstrings! As you can see in the picture above, eventually you can hold the leg up and breath for 5 long breaths. Take a deep breath and remember to smile! You’re a yogi!
The author, Anna Ferguson, is a yoga teacher, artist, photographer and writer. She teaches weekly classes at Asheville Yoga Center and other studios in Asheville, NC. Find out more about her at ushasyoga.com.
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