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STANDING HAND-TO-TOE POSE<br />
(utthita hasta padangushthasana)<br />
is an adductor stretch that activates<br />
the secondary action of the<br />
laterals. Press into both heels.<br />
Both sides of the waist lift. While<br />
pressing the inner thigh of the<br />
lifted leg forward, rotate the torso<br />
in the opposite direction.<br />
Hint: Inhale, expand the back body.<br />
Exhale, stabilize the standing leg<br />
and the sacrum.<br />
2<br />
ing is stabilizing the hips and then, while<br />
rotating the torso, maintaining length in the<br />
spine. Avoid overarching the lower back,<br />
collapsing the chest, or insufficient rotation.<br />
Proper alignment and maintaining a balance<br />
among stability, rotation, and elongation<br />
allow us to create a deep and dynamic<br />
lateral stretch. If necessary, go halfway in<br />
any or all of the postures in order to maintain<br />
that specific intention and to get the<br />
most benefit.<br />
What is the result of doing asana masterfully?<br />
Patanjali mentions nothing about<br />
physical accomplishment. According to<br />
yoga’s greatest sage, the culmination of<br />
asana is that duality (good/bad, happiness/<br />
disappointment, success/failure) no longer<br />
affects us. Asana done in the right spirit<br />
leads to being less and less at the mercy of<br />
the ups and downs of everyday life. Thus,<br />
the ultimate achievement in asana is boundless<br />
freedom—a state of being so present<br />
and at ease with who we are that we are able<br />
to masterfully shape destiny itself.<br />
LATCH POSE (parighasana) is deepened by<br />
emphasizing its asymmetrical component. To<br />
do this, expand the upper-side body (i.e., arch<br />
the upper-side waist, the intercostals, and the<br />
lung toward the sky).<br />
Hint: Inhale, lengthen the side, the back, and the<br />
front bodies. Exhale, draw the tailbone into the<br />
body, applying enough rotation so that the shoulders<br />
are stacked.<br />
HEAD-TO-KNEE POSE (janu shirshasana)<br />
stretches the back for the sitting twist: parivritta<br />
janu shirshasana. Press the inner thigh toward<br />
the floor and the extended heel forward. Externally<br />
rotate the inner thigh of the bent knee—<br />
gradually working that knee away from the<br />
straight leg. Elongate both sides of the waist.<br />
Hint: Inhale, lengthen the sides and lift the collarbones.<br />
Exhale, flatten the lower back.<br />
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