YogaJournalSingapore-February092018

27

february / march 2018

yogajournal.com.sg

2 Step your right foot forward halfway to your hands and bring
your shoulders over your wrists. Allow your right knee to bend.
Keep the ball of your right foot on the floor but lift your heel. Press
down firmly through your hands and lift your left leg into Standing
Splits. Remember to lift your left inner thigh toward the ceiling and
make your leg straight, like an arrow. Wrap your biceps forward.
Push firmly down into your hands and make your arms completely
straight, like pillars. Find a focal point, or drishti, on the ground, a
few inches in front of your hands.

URDHVA PRASARITA EKAPADASANA
Standing Splits

BENEFITS Stretches the hamstrings of your standing leg; strengthens
the hamstrings and glutes of your lifted leg; cultivates balance and shifts
perspective

INSTRUCTIONS Stand in Tadasana. Inhale to Urdhva Hastasana and then
exhale to Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend). Firmly ground down
through your standing, right foot and lift your right quadricep muscles.
Inhale and lead with your inner thigh as you lift your left leg. Make sure
you internally rotate your left leg and hug the midline with the inner
seam of your leg. Don’t let the left hip open or the left leg bend. Extend
the spine so that the back doesn’t round. Hold for 8 breaths and then
release the left leg down. Take an easy Uttanasana, then switch sides.

UTTHITA HASTA PADANGUSTHASANA

Extended Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose

BENEFITS Strengthens and stretches your legs; teaches the entry to

Handstand

INSTRUCTIONS From Tadasana, draw your right knee to your chest and yogi

toe-lock your right big toe. Point your left foot forward, lift your left kneecap,

and press your left femur back. Keep your chest lifted. Exhale and straighten

your right leg as much as possible. Roll your outer right hip down, away

from your armpit. Either keep your left hand on your left hip or extend your

arm alongside your left ear. Keep your pelvis neutral, and use your breath

to spread your chest. Hold for 8 breaths. To come out, bend your right knee,

release your toe, and hug your knee in before returning your right foot to the

floor. Repeat on the other side. The standing leg becomes the first leg up into

Handstand, so it’s crucial that it remains straight; the lifted leg, however, can

bend if necessary.

3 Keep your arms firm. Bend

your right knee deeply and take

a small hop off the right foot. It is

paramount that as you transition

weight onto your hands, you lift

up through your inner left thigh

(as opposed to reaching your left

leg behind you). Draw your low

belly in to support your pelvis. Do

not aim to get your legs overhead;

instead, aim to place your pelvis

over your chest and shoulders.

When you lead with your legs

and not your pelvis, you will

often backbend and find balance

elusive. Eventually, you will be

able to bring your right leg parallel

to the floor into an inverted Utthita

Hasta Padangusthasana. At this

stage, don’t lift the right leg

higher—it will serve as an anchor

and keep you from flipping over.

Once you have your right leg

parallel to the floor, internally

rotate your thighs, drawing them

energetically into the midline. Your legs

should feel like scissor blades: bolted

firmly into their common point (the

pelvis) and moving along, but not away

from, the midline.