Benefits: Helps establish
deep external rotation of the femur with stability, Strengthens the quadriceps, establishes external rotation of the upper
arms which opens the chest and assists in creating balance.
Start
in tadasana (mountain pose).Separate the feet three to four feet apart.Classically,
the ankles are under the wrists.
Starting on the right side, come up onto the
back of the heel.From the top of the hip, rotate the foot and leg outward 90 degrees.Check
that the center of the heel of the right foot intersects the center of the arch of the left foot.
Externally rotate the hands and arms.Feel the chest open.Raise the arms (from the shoulder sockets) to shoulder height.Keeping the chest open, rotate the
forearms so the palms face the floor.On an inhalation, while reaching through the fingertips keeping the
spine vertical to the floor, lift the floating ribs away from the pelvic rim.Shoulder blades are descending
towards the waist.Keeping the chest and belly open, turn the head only to look over the right arm.
On an exhalation, leading with the shin, the right leg bends up
to 90 degrees with the knee behind or over the ankle (pointing inbetween the second and third toe).Press
through the ball mount of the big toe.(You can try lifting the toes to help the weight to shift to the
heel.)Feel the deep external rotation of the thigh.This external rotation opens
the space to breath into the kidneys.
Keep the left leg straight(extended
back leg).To keep the groin soft,untuck the sit bone, softening the groin and check
that the head of femur (top of thigh) is in alignment with the anklebone.Release the tailbone down (toward
the pubic bone) and draw the sit bones together. (This will bring even greater lengthen to the torso.)The
femur (thigh) is internally rotated, but the muscles are in external rotation.Internally rotate the shin
to press through the outer arch of the foot.
To come out of
the pose, on an inhalation, straighten the right leg.Exhale, coming onto the heel, rotate the leg and
foot forward so both feet are now parallel.Heel-toe the feet together and then rest in tadasana.
