Welcome to yoga workshop Fridays! Don’t know what I am talking about, check out this post.
This series will be each Friday explaining how to do a particular pose leading up to a peak pose on the last Friday of the month. Throughout this series, I ask that you listen to your body to prevent injury and warm up for a pose when needed.
Disclaimer: Though I am a certified yoga instructor, please consult your doctor before you begin practice and note that everyone’s practice may look a bit different as you align the pose to your body.
It’s the beginning of a new month. I hope you enjoyed all the backbends last month, now it’s time to work on balance and twists.
We will begin with revolved lunge pose or parivrtta anjaneyasana in sandskrit. Twists are great for the body with aiding in digestion and with constipation. Revolved lunge is not only a great twist, but also challenges us with balance. I used to take my balance skills for granted and then I stress fractured my right foot and was in a shoe for a few weeks. After getting permission to take off the shoe and return to my sneakers, I saw a physical therapist and she had me stand on one leg and boy was I wobbly. It took some work but I am still a little wobbly on my right side in lunge these days. Practicing yoga has really helped me to regain my balance skills. Some days you have off days and your balance may not be there as it was yesterday, but that is why yoga is a practice.
Revolved lunge can get deep into the hips, so it is important to warm up with a few sun salutations and warriors.
How to do the pose:
Begin in high lunge, exhale to lower your hands down to frame the front foot. Then move your hands so that they are both inside of the front leg, pressing evenly through the fingers. Inhale as you lift the outer arm up towards the sky, stacking the shoulders and bringing your gaze forward or towards the top hand. On an exhale try to lift the chest towards the sky, twisting more deeply. Take a breath here.
Then to exit the pose, exhale as you lower the top arm down to the mat. Frame the front foot with both hands. Step back to plank and take downdog or flow through a vinyasa. Then repeat on the second side.
Using Props:
If you are having trouble twisting when you lift up your top arm, you can also use a block under the bottom hand to raise it above the ground as I show in the below photo.
Benefits:
- Strengthens the quadriceps
- Improves balance
- Improves digestion
- Stretches the abdominals, hips and thighs
Share your pose on Instagram, tagging @bridgesthroughlife and hashtags #bridgesthroughlife #yogaworkshopFridays
I hope you enjoy this series. If you have any suggestions for what poses you would like me to break down, I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment or send me an email [email protected]
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