Lizard pose, or Utthan Pristhasana in Sanskrit, is a difficult posture as a result of it opens your hips, which might usually get tight from sitting all day.
Learn on to open your drained, tight hips and discover the problem of lizard pose!
What Is Lizard Pose?
Lizard pose is a split-leg, hip-opening yoga pose that helps you lower pressure in your physique. Opening your hips may assist you to alleviate low back pain and can enhance your hip-joint mobility.
“Our hips are prone to being so tight, so this is a posture that you need to ease your way into,” recommends Ali Jehn, a 200-hour RYT yoga trainer primarily based in Boulder, Colorado. “Once there, it does open up the hips, which is ideal because we so rarely find the full range of motion in the hips.”
Lizard Pose: Step-by-Step Directions
- Start in downward facing dog. Inhale your proper leg excessive for three-legged dog. Exhale to step your proper foot between your palms for a low lunge.
- Shift your proper hand on the within of your proper foot. Toe-heel your proper foot to the sting of your yoga mat. Preserve your proper knee aligned over your ankle. Plant your proper foot into your mat.
- Preserve your shoulders stacked over your wrists or drop all the way down to your elbows (make the quantity 11 together with your forearms) for a deeper stretch.
- Lengthen your again leg lengthy and straight. Squeeze your glutes to maintain your hips squared. Push the bottom of your knee towards the ceiling to have interaction your leg muscular tissues. You might have the choice to drop all the way down to your again knee for a passive stretch.
- Gaze down towards your mat.
- Maintain for a couple of breaths. Transfer via downward dealing with canine and repeat on the opposite facet.
Advantages of Lizard Pose
The advantages of lizard pose embrace the next:
- Stretching your hip flexors, inside groin, and hips.
- Cultivating consciousness and constructing a working relationship between the quads and the hip flexors.
- Serving to open the chest and lengthen the backbone whereas additionally opening the hips.
Lizard pose is an excellent hip-opener for anybody trying to improve their flexibility. It’s additionally nice for runnersbecause it relieves tightness within the hips.
Lizard Pose Variations
Lizard pose by itself is usually a fairly intense posture, however the quite a few variations amp it as much as a downright loopy yoga pose.
Twisted lizard pose
- From lizard pose together with your proper leg ahead, relaxation your again knee on the mat and draw your left foot towards your left glute (bending your leg in half).
- Stack your shoulders over your wrists. Preserve your left hand planted and attain your proper arm again and seize your left foot. Twist your chest open and align your shoulders.
- Settle your hips all the way down to really feel a deep stretch in each your hips and your quadriceps.
- Launch your foot and return to lizard pose. Press again to downward dealing with canine and swap out your legs. Repeat on the opposite facet.
Flying lizard pose
- From Lizard Pose together with your palms on the mat, hook your entrance proper knee over your proper elbow.
- Shift your weight ahead and bend your elbows to 90 levels (suppose Chaturanga arms). Interact your core and hover your proper foot away from the mat.
- Elevate your again leg away from the mat and level your again foot. “Play around to find that balance and transfer of weight to make that lift happen,” says Jehn.
Lizard pose is enjoyable, difficult, and helps quite a lot of pose choices. Mess around in your mat and comply with our Yoga52 program for extra yoga inspiration.
