Tibetan weaponry 2 (eka pada supta virasana) shape (from reclined mountain) Bring heels flat on floor just in front of hips. Lift right foot, hold outer ankle with right hand, arm outside leg. Bring heel to hip, point foot. Hold outer edge of left foot with left hand, arm inside leg. Flex foot. Lean onto left hip, knee. Simultaneously straighten left leg to capacity, flip top of right foot to floor. Lower knee
one-leg reclined hero (eka pada supta virasana) shape (from staff) Lean to left hip, bend right knee and hold right ankle with right hand. Place right heel against right hip. Point right foot and place top of right foot and shin on floor. Point right knee straight ahead (more doable: allow bent knee to move out slightly – keep inner heel against outer hip). Keeping right leg straight, lie down on back. Extend a
The back leg in asymmetrical poses is naturally in a shadowy, hidden location. Since it’s out of our line of vision, it is often difficult to align. Because we can usually see the front leg in an asymmetrical pose, we’ll use our vision to help tune up its alignment, and it is indeed often the first thing we notice in a pose. But here’s the rub: alignment of the front leg is largely dependent upon the back leg’s posit
reclined lunge (eka pada sukha balasana) shape (from reclined mountain) Bend left knee to chest, interlace fingers around left foot – shin vertical. Flex foot. Straighten arms. Stay here or bend elbows and bring left knee to floor outside torso (more doable: bend right knee). safety Press hands, top foot together. Squeeze left hip, right inner thigh toward each other. Tighten glutes, lift tailbone, tone abdomen
holy cow pose (eka pada gomukha paschimottanasana) shape (from staff) Cross right thigh over left thigh, place right heel against outer left hip; stack knees. Hold front foot with both hands (more doable: place hands by hips with torso upright). Straighten arms – stay here, or: Place chin on right knee – forearms to floor. Round back evenly. safety Press outer edge of right foot down, squeeze heel in.
I want to talk about your hip flexors, and why they may seem to be getting tighter over time, even though you stretch them regularly. First, the anatomy: psoas is a name commonly used for the main hip flexors, and actually refers to 2 muscles, the psoas major and the iliacus, sometimes jointly called the iliopsoas. The ilicaus originates on the inner edge of the hip bones, while the psoas major originates at vetebrae