CHENNAI:
Beginners can try this with their back against the wall.
Steps:
1First stand in Tadasan (upright mountain pose) now jump with your feet about 3 1/2 to 4 feet apart. You may simply widen your feet to the required stance. Turn your right foot out clockwise 90 degrees to the right and left foot clockwise to 30 degrees as shown. Your right knee cap should face right but your pelvis and chest must face forward.
2 Now inhale and raise your arms to the shoulder level, palms facing down. Look at your right hand as you exhale.
3 Using the energy of the next few inhalations stretch your upper body and torso laterally to the right. Do not bend the knees.
4 When you can’t stretch sideways anymore, bend to the right so that your right hand touches your right shin, ankle or the floor behind your ankle. (Make sure you are not bending forward at all). Now allow your left arm to continue the upswing till it points to the ceiling. The endeavour is to bring the left upper arm as close to the ear as possible.
5 Finally look up at your left fingers. The chest is open. The shoulders and the hip joint form a parallelogram. Continue opening the chest and rib cage by moving the left shoulder back. The left shoulder has a tendency to droop. This fine-tuning will give a nice stretch to the left side of your waist and torso and a contraction to the right. Keep your legs energised and leg muscles taut to hold up the pose. Maintain the pose for a few breathing cycles.
6 Exhale and inhale. When coming out of the pose bend your right knee. This helps prevent injury to the knee and back. Switch the feet and repeat on the other side substituting left for right. Realign your feet parallel to each other and step or jump back to the centre.
Benefits: This yoga asana tones the waist and hip. The lower back, ankles and calves are strengthened. This pose helps cure weakness in the legs by equalising strength in both legs. This is good for your sides, neck and chest.
(The writer is a yoga trainer at Sri Aurobindo Society, Bengaluru)