Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana

Steps

• Stand straight with your feet together and relax your entire body.
• Concentrate on a fixed point in front of you, keeping your head straight.
• Now, bend your right knee and bring your thigh as close to your chest as possible.
• Take the hold of the big toe of the right foot by sliding your right arm around the exterior of the bent right knee. Make sure that you do not strain the leg muscles.
• Once you have held your toe, straighten your right leg in front of your body.
• With the left arm, try and balance the body. You can perform jnana mudra with your left hand. Jnana mudra is a hand pose where you tuck the tip of the index finger under the tip of the thumb, keeping the remaining three fingers lightly extended. Hold the final leg position for as long as you feel comfortable.
• While releasing, bend the knee first, then release the toe and slowly lower your foot to the floor.
• Relax the arms before repeating on the other side.

Benefits

• This asana helps in coordinating the muscular and nervous balance.
• This pose helps in strengthening and toning the hips and leg muscles.
• This asana strengthens the hamstring and adductor muscle of the hips.
• It also acts as a good hip stretching exercise thus providing a good range of motion and blood circulation.
• The asana helps in improving balance and strength of ankles as the entire body is balanced on one leg.

Precautions

• This asana must be done under supervision.
• Patients with sciatica pain, lower back or ankle injury should not practise this pose.

By Kishore MR, Yoga coach and consultant yoga therapist