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june / july 2018yogajournal.com.sgStretch your hamstrings and hip flexors in these
prep posesfor Hanumanasana.INSTRUCTIONS
1 Begin in Downward-Facing Dog Pose. Step your left foot forward
between your hands so your toes are in line with your fingertips. Drop
your right knee to the mat, and point your toes behind you. Pin your front
hip back and in to square your hips, and drop your tailbone toward the
floor to lengthen your right hip flexors. Draw your hands back until they
are beneath your shoulders. Come onto your fingertips (or place your
hands on blocks) so that your chest can remain lifted and open while
keeping your front ribs soft.Hanumanasana
BENEFITS Stretches your hamstrings and psoas and iliacus (hip flexors);
the dual challenges of this pose demand a level of presence and precision
that focuses and quiets your mind- UTTHITA HASTA PADANGUSTHASANA AT THE WALLExtended Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose
BENEFITSLengthens your hamstrings; teaches the correct actions of your front leg and the
alignment of your pelvis that you’ll need for the final pose—HanumanasanaINSTRUCTIONSit in Dandasana (Staff Pose) with your
heels pressing against the wall, and slide a strap beneath
your sitting bones. Then, come into Tadasana, facing the
wall with your heels on the strap. Remove the strap,
keeping your heels in the same spot. Take a moment to
find a neutral Tadasana pelvis—neither spilling forward
nor backward; one hip should not be higher than the
other; and one hip should not be rotated farther forward
than the other. Maintaining this level pelvis, place your
left foot on the wall, and raise your arms into Urdhva
Hastasana (Upward Salute). Check that your right toes are
pointing straight forward so that your second toe, the
center of your ankle, and the center of your kneecap are
all in line. To re-establish your Tadasana pelvis, direct your
outer left hip and sitting bone downward and in toward
your right heel (for most people, their left hip hikes up,
shortening the left side of their body and creating an
imbalance in their sacrum). Now turn your attention to
your standing leg and hip. Vigorously press your right
femur backward as you firm your right hip into your
midline. Press into the wall with your left big-toe mound
and into the floor with your right big-toe mound to keep
your legs alert and in a neutral position—and to help
lengthen your hamstrings. Reach up energetically
through your fingertips to create more space along the
sides of your body. Hold for 10–12 breaths; repeat on the
other side.1
3
2
Maintain a neutral pelvis, and quiet
your mind as you move step by step
into Hanumanasana.
Hanuman = Monkey God/Chief · asana = poseMonkey God Pose