Journey Into Yoga

Utthita Parsvakonasana is our pose of the day, in english we refer to it as extended side angle. When I first did this pose I was very challenged by it. Similar in some ways to warrior 2 as it strengthens and works strongly into the legs, knees, and ankles, it also provides a deep stretch into the legs. Often just referred to as parsvakonasana, It also works the upper body strengthening the arms and opening the shoulders. This pose also provides some opening into the heart or backhanding shape, and also helps to open up the sides of the body from ankles to wrists.  

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Sitting on the floor takes us back to our roots - there was a time when we didn’t even think twice about doing so and the body could do this easily. Habits through the years creates differences in the body that can make this kind of sitting not as easy as we age. So for today’s posture, I want us to sit on the floor but also to find ease. We are going to do both variations - c crossed legs and also legs extended. We have covered these two poses previously - sukasana (episode 28) and dandasana (episode 31) but today we are going to do each of these poses a bit differently - with our backs resting into a wall.  

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The quadriceps are a group of muscles present on the front of the thigh. They consist of four distinct muscles: the rectus femoris, the vastus lateralis, the vastus intermedius, and the vastus medialis. To me, the important thing to remember is that these muscles tend to be tight…very tight in many of us. These muscles work a lot and because of this, they need to be stretched.

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Although in the warrior family, it does have some differences from warrior 1 and 2, particularly in the positioning of the feet and legs, but we will get to that in a bit. Before I do, I want to discuss some of the benefits this pose has to offer. Active warrior brings both strength and energy to the body and mind; the legs are strengthened and also stretched. There is a beautiful stretch into the hamstrings and also the hips are strengthened and stretched in active warrior. The pose does challenge our balance as well and can strengthen the muscles of the core. Turning to the upper body, the arms are active and strong which brings strength and length to the upper body as well. 

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Fire log - whether you love this pose or hate it, there is no question it provides a deep stretch to the outer hips {sound effect DEEEEEEP}. I have always liked the name firedog because this pose will, without a doubt, bring some heat into the body particularly into the hips. In addition to bringing heat to the body, it is also beneficial to do this pose after the body has been warmed so ideally this pose is does closest to the end of a yoga session or after the body has been warmed somewhat.  

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I have often referred to this pose as a front body backbend which may seem odd but that is exactly what it is - we do the pose on our front bodies but the shape of the pose is a back bending shape. As a heart opener, it opens the chest and the shoulders and can also bring heat and energy to the body. It is a wonderful counter-action to all of the forward folding postures we find ourselves in.

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Warrior 3 or Vhirabadrasana 3 is a pose with a lot to offer the body we well as the mind. As a balancing pose it helps to create stability and steadiness in the body. It helps to strengthen the muscles of the legs including ankles, abdomen and arms. It provides the hamstrings and the hips a nice stretch as well as the low back. As a pose that challenges our balance, it can also help to improve focus and concentration. 

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As a forward folding pose, head to knee pose encourage cooling and calming in the body and mind. This pose has several benefits - it helps to stretch and lengthen the entire spine. It is also a wonderful pose for the back body and can help ease any low back pain including sciatica. Janu shirshasana can also help to stretch the abdominal muscles. The hamstrings also receive this postures providing them with attention and the hips will be opened also. 

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Balance and Strength. Two very powerful words that can bring a lot to our lives. When we look at balance, many different things come to mind…for one, it is important to balance how we spend our days; we must find a balance between work and play for example. Bringing balance into our lives requires focus and attention; when we don’t pay attention to what’s going on, that’s when tend things to become imbalanced and confused. Turning attention to strength, finding this in our lives is also extremely important. Life requires us to be strong and able to handle whatever comes our way. 

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Paschimottanasana is sometimes seen as a continuation of dandasana or better put a posture that you can move into from dandasana, even though it is a stand alone pose in its own right. As a seated forward bend, in this pose the entire back of the body from head to heels, including the spinal column, is deeply stretched. As a result of this deeply stretching pose, the overall mobility and flexibility of the spine occurs in the pose - just the thought of this makes my spine happy!

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