Utthita Parsvakonasana
Your Monthly Yoga Pose
Sometimes, life seems as though we are stretching or giving our final reach to achieve. The month of May is the final reach for so many students graduating or finishing off this odd 2020-21 school year. As we all searched for grounding and familiar footing, we felt bound by the parameters set to keep us safe from the virus. The school year was a way to feel normal, but it still is so different because of the adjustments made to keep everyone safe.
That is this posture. Bound extended side angle, or utthita parsvakonasana, is a posture where you reach with your strongest and longest muscles – your legs and side body along with the spinal reach toward the forward foot. The arms, however, traditionally extended overhead, are bound between the body. The binding gently rotates the chest to allow maximum breath throughout the lungs. The arm in front of the bent leg keeps the knee from caving in toward the big toe, allowing the same hip to gently open.
Meet Pam. As a graduate of her 500-hour registered yoga teacher certificate, she is a veteran instructor. She is effective when cueing a class as they shift from posture to posture and maintain the importance of the breath throughout. Seen above, Pam’s legs are strong and stable while her whole bodily reach is toward the light, easy and gentle.
As with everything in life, there are many ways to achieve the same goal. A variation of coming into bound extended side angle is as follows:
- Start in a forward fold.
- Extend the left toes and come into a low lunge with the right foot forward.
- While in a lunge, open the left leg so the left foot is perpendicular to the right foot.
- Press the feet into the earth but maintain the bend in the right knee, all while pressing the hips forward.
- Bring the right arm under the right thigh.
- Open the chest and bring the left arm toward the bound right hand.
- If you cannot catch the left wrist with your right hand, use a strap to hold each arm to each other.
- Open the chest a bit more and extend the whole body from foot to head.
Catch Pam at Sunlight Yoga on Wednesday at 6:15 p.m. for Sunset Flow and on Fridays at 6 a.m. for Rise and Shine. Lake Nona residents can also catch Pam at Dockside on Mondays at 6 p.m. for Power Yoga or 7:10 p.m. for Restorative.
Namaste.
