 We'll
start with a modified version of the pose. The full
pose will be described in the Variation section below.
(not-ah-raj-AHS-anna)
nata = actor, dancer, mime
raja = king
Step by Step
Stand in Tadasana (Mountain Pose). Inhale, shift
your weight onto your right foot, and lift your left
heel toward your left buttock as you bend the knee.
Press the head of your right thigh bone back, deep
into the hip joint, and pull the knee cap up to keep
the standing leg straight and strong.
There are two variations you might try here with
your arms and hands. In either case, try to keep your
torso relatively upright. The first is to reach back
with your left hand and grasp the outside of your
left foot or ankle. To avoid compression in your lower
back, actively lift your pubis toward your navel,
and at the same time, press your tailbone toward the
floor.
Begin to lift your left foot up, away from the floor,
and back, away from your torso. Extend the left thigh
behind you and parallel to the floor. Stretch your
right arm forward, in front of your torso, parallel
to the floor.
The second option with the hands is to sweep your
right hand around behind your back and catch hold
of the inner left foot. Then sweep the left hand back
and grab the outside of the left foot. This variation
will challenge your balance even more. Then raise
the thigh as described in step 3. This second variation
will increase the lift of your chest and the stretch
of your shoulders.
Stay in the pose for 20 to 30 seconds. Then release
the grasp on the foot, place the left foot back onto
the floor, and repeat for the same length of time
on the other side.
Full Pose
For the full pose, perform step 1 as described above.
Then turn your left arm actively outward (so the palm
faces away from the side of the torso), bend the elbow,
and grip the outside of the left foot. (You can also
grab the big toe with the first two fingers and the
thumb.) The fingers will cross the top of the foot,
the thumb will press against the sole. Inhale, lift
the left leg up, and bring the thigh parallel to the
floor. As you do this, rotate the left shoulder in
such a way that the bent elbow swings around and up,
so that it points toward the ceiling. It requires
extreme flexibility to externally rotate and flex
the shoulder joint in this way. Reach the right arm
straight forward, in front of the torso and parallel
to the floor. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds, release,
and repeat on the second side for the same length
of time. |
