yoga

28

december 2018 / january 2019

yogajournal.com.sg

Experience stability in your legs and mobility in your torso in these

prep poses for Ardha Matsyendrasana.

INSTRUCTIONS

1 Sit in Dandasana (Staff Pose) with your legs stretched out in front of you. Bend your left leg,

bringing your calf against your thigh. Lift your hips slightly off the mat, and place your

left foot under your buttocks so your foot is horizontal and your toes point to the right. (The

outside edge of your left foot will be on the mat.) Sit on your left foot. (You can think of this

foot as a small saucer and your buttocks as the teacup.) If balance is too precarious or if your

foot hurts, place a folded blanket between your foot and seat.

Cross your right leg over your left, and place your right foot beside your left thigh so that the

outside of your right ankle is close to the outside of your left thigh. Your right foot and left knee

should point forward. Keep your hands by your sides with your fingertips pressing down until

you feel balanced. Once you feel stable, place both hands on your right knee, and press down

through your hands and right foot.

Ardha Matsyendrasana

BENEFITS Massages your lower abdominal organs; strengthens your lower back

1. UTTHITA MARICHYASANA
   Extended Pose Dedicated to the Sage Marichi,
   variation

BENEFITS Brings balance and stability to your

legs and pliability to your hamstrings; prepares

your torso for deeper twists

INSTRUCTION Place a chair against a wall. Put a

block or sandbag on the floor, about 1 foot to

the right of the chair legs. Stand with the right

side of your body close to the wall, and face

the chair. Raise your left heel on the block with

your toes extending toward the chair and the

ball of your foot on the floor. Bend your right

leg, and place your right foot on top of the

chair back (or seat). Bring your hands to your

hips, press down through your feet, and draw

your left thigh muscles up from your outer

knees to your outer hips, drawing back your

outer right thigh—this is how you learn to

compact, or stabilize, your hips.

Strengthen your lower back as you move

step by step into Ardha Matsyendrasana.

Ardha = Half · Matsya = Fish · Indra = Lord · Asana = Pose

Half Lord of the Fishes Pose

Check that your hips are level and both sides

of your waist and trunk are extending upward.

Take normal breaths. Appreciate how you can

find more extension and freedom through

the front of your hip now that your left heel is

supported above the ball of your foot. Continue

to lengthen through your hips and the sides

of your torso. Like a climbing vine that grows

upward and winds around a vertical support,

extend your spine from the bottom to the top,

and turn yourself from left to right. Bring your

left hand to your outer right thigh and your right

hand to the wall, rotating your torso farther.

Spread your elbows out to the sides, move

your back-left ribs inward, and rotate until your

abdomen and chest are parallel to the wall.

Stay in this position for 5–10 seconds, breathing

normally. Exhale, release your hands, turn back

to center, and lower your right leg. Move to the

other side of the chair, and repeat on the other

side.