Sanskrit Name: Virabhadrasana III
Good for: Ankle, legs, shoulders & back
Benefits
- Builds up strength in the ankles and legs
- Builds up strength of the shoulders and muscles of the back
- Tones down the abdomen
- Enhances your balance and posture
Guidelines
- Stand in Tadasana (Mountain Pose)
- Exhale and fold foward to Uttanasana
- From Uttanasana, exhale and step your left foot back into a high lunge position.
- Your right knee should be more or less at a right angle
- Lay the midline of your torso (from the pubis to the sternum) down on the midline of the right thigh (from the knee to the hip crease)
- Bring your hands to your right knee, right hand to the outer knee, left hand to the inner
- Squeeze the knee with your hands
- Lift your torso slightly
- Turn it slightly to the right with an exhalation
- From the lunge position, stretch your arms forward, parallel to the floor and parallel to each other, palms facing each other
- Exhale and press the head of the right thighbone back and press the heel actively into the floor
- Synchronize the straightening of the front leg and the lifting of the back leg
- Resist by pressing the tailbone into the pelvis as you lift the back leg
- As you straighten the front knee, think of pressing the head of the thighbone back
- Release the hip [of the raised leg] toward the floor until the two hip points are even and parallel to the floor
- Energize the back leg and extend it strongly toward the wall behind you
- Reach just as actively in the opposite direction with the arms
- Bring the head up slightly and look forward, but be sure not to compress the back of your neck
- Stay in this position for 30 seconds to a minute
- Release back to the lunge on an exhalation
- Bring your hands to the floor on either side of the right foot
- On an exhalation, step your left foot forward to meet your right
- Stay in this forward bend for a few breaths
- Repeat for the same length of time on the other side
Good to know
- Harmonizing in this pose can get really challenging for beginners
- Get ready for the pose with a chair placed in front of you (Should be in front of your mat facing the back towards your face)
- In step where you stretch your arms forward hold the top of the chair
- When you rise for full pose, push on and slither the chair away from you
- Use the chair to support your arms
- Try to hold the chair lightly so that it doesn’t slip further and disturbs your position
By : Natural Health News
