As Westerners, we lose so much mobility in our hips and knees by sitting in chairs for hours on end. This Yoga Pose reclaims our natural mobility and closeness to the earth by opening the hips and stretching the knees, thighs, groins, and ankle joints, plus lengthening and strengthening the spine. It has also been known to promote elimination and fertility by energizing the organs, and is great preparation for sitting in meditation.
QUALITY Grounding EFFECT Flexibility, stability PROPS Block GAZE Forward and down
1 Begin in Mountain Yoga Pose Pose with your feet about hip-distance apart. Inhale your arms up above your head and exhale to fold over your legs, hinging at the hips into a Standing Forward Bend Pose. Bend your knees deeply and lower your hips toward the earth between your heels, turning out your feet slightly.
2 Draw your hands together as if in prayer, with your elbows pressing your knees apart as you widei your thighs. If this is uncomfortable in your knees or ankles, place a block under your sit bones.
3 Exhale to release your hips, and inhale to lengthen your spine and widen your chest by drawing yo shoulders down and away from your ears.
4 Soften your chin down slightly to lengthen the back of your neck. Gaze forward and down toward t earth to connect you to the moment.
5 When you’re ready, place your hands down on the ground and lengthen your legs into a Standing Forward Bend before you roll back up, vertebra by vertebra, into Mountain Yoga Pose.
