THE ESSENTIAL YOGA POSES
- Stand and face the
left-side wall so that your
feet are wide on your mat.
Turn your right toes to face
forward and your left toes
at a slight angle toward the
left-front corner of the mat.
Line up your front heel with
the arch of your back foot.
- Bend your front knee to
a 90-degree angle. Aim it
straight ahead over your
second and third toes. Press
through the pinky side of
your back foot to straighten
through the back leg. Keep
your hips at a slight angle
toward the left-front corner
of your mat, but turn your
chest to be parallel to the
side of the mat.
3. Take your arms to shoul-
der height and reach them
forward and back. Relax
your shoulders. Keep your
torso directly over your hips.
Repeat on the other side.
GAZE: Middle fi nger of front hand
PRECEDING POSES: Warrior I,
Crescent, Mountain
COUNTERPOSES: Down Dog,
Standing Forward Fold
PRECAUTIONS: If the front knee
juts ahead of your ankle, step
your front foot forward until the
knee stacks over the ankle.
TIP: D o not tr y to square your
hips of f toward the side wall;
keep them at a slight angle
for ward so that you can bend
deeper into the front thigh.
