Type of pose: Standing
Benefits: Strengthen the legs, stretches the groins, hamstrings, hips, opens the chest and shoulders. Can help relieve back pain.
Instructions:
1. From Warrior II, straighten your front leg (the left leg in this case).
2. Begin the reach the left arm forward, drawing the left thigh upwards and tucking the hip at you come forward.
3. Drop the left hand down onto your shin or ankle, or if you are more open, onto the floor inside or outside the left foot. Do whichever one feels most comfortable.
4. The right shoulder stacks on top of the left one as you open the chest reaching the right fingertips upwards while keeping the right shoulder rooted in the socket.
5. Take your gaze up toward the right fingertips.
6. Draw the left thigh muscle upwards, deepening the left hip crease.
7. Stack the right hip on top of the left.
8. Repeat on the right side
Beginners: Bring the right hand higher up on your leg or use a block on the floor to rest your hand on. It is more important to keep the right leg straight than to bring the right hand to the floor. Do not rest the hand directly on the knee, though, as this creates too much pressure on the knee.
Advanced: Line up the right heel with the arch of the left foot. For a variation, try dropping the left arm over the left ear so it comes parallel to the floor, while keeping the shoulder rooting into the socket.
