Uttan Tadasan
STEPS: Stand with your feet hip distance apart. Maintain the ankles, pelvis, shoulders and head in one line. Keep your lower body grounded. Inhale and interlock fingers at the chest, turn palms away from you. Exhale and extend arms over the head. Hold for a few breathing cycles integrating exhalation with stretching.
Hold the finger interlock tight (and try to push the forefingers higher than the little fingers). Maximize the stretch in your torso by elevating your shoulders higher and feeling an opening in your ribs. Also pull your abdomen in and your knees locked for a good overall stretch.
BENEFITS: They are ideal for stiff neck release and for mobility of the spine. Breathing capacity increases. The wrist, elbow and shoulder joint as well as muscles of the back get a nice stretch. The carpals, metacarpals, phalanges get stretched too. Overall good for desk-workers and for keyboard users.
(AnshuVyas Seetharaman is a yoga and fitness trainer at Sri Aurobindo Society, Bengaluru)