POSE TYPE
Hip Opener, Kneeling
POSE CATEGORY
Backbend, Twist
Setup and Key Actions
Starting in a low lunge (back knee down) with your right leg forward, walk both hands to the inside of your front foot, and press all of your fingertips into the floor to activate your abdominals. Keep that engagement, and draw your right hand up onto your right thigh. Lengthen your spine and twist your belly to the right.
Lightly squeeze your left hamstring and the left side of your bottom to draw your heel in toward your seat. Catch the pinky-toe side of your foot with your right hand. Keep your toes active, and even bend the elbow of your right arm to help you draw your heel in. Shift a little more onto the outer edge of your back knee (it will tend to roll in). Continue to twist open to the right, and lean back into the pose.
Modifications
You may find a non-twisted version a little more accessible.
Set up in a low lunge. For the non-twisting version, walk your hands up onto your front thigh, interlacing your hands and pressing them down to activate your abdominals and keep you from collapsing onto your thigh. Like the twisted variation, lightly squeeze your left hamstring and the left side of your butt to draw your heel in toward your seat. If you’re not twisting, catch the big-toe side of your foot with your left hand. Keep your toes active as you draw your heel in toward your seat.
