‘Parsva’ means side, ‘Upavista’ means seated and ‘Kona’means an angle. The side angled leg stretch involves flexing the hips as well as stretching across the groins, with an added intense lateral stretch.
Organising the Pose:-
1. Sit in Dandasana.
2. Then stretch your legs sideways out one at a time, stretching them as wide apart as you can. Tighten the muscles of your legs and keep your toes pointing upwards. Sit erect.
3. Reach both your arms upwards with a big breath in. This is the starting position.
4. Twist the body to face right. Exhale as you come down towards the left leg. Both hands grasp the left foot. The left elbow rests on the floor inside the left knee. Look up, and hold for 10-30 seconds. For intensifying the stretch, place your left arm on the floor reaching towards the right inner thigh. This is ‘Parsva Upavishtakonasana’. Repeat on other side.
5. Then come up straight to starting position, join the legs coming into Dandasana.
DO:
-Spread your legs as wide as you can.
-Use your breath to deepen the pose and rotate the torso more.
DON’T:
-Don’t drop your top shoulder forward.
-Don’t bend your knees
BENEFITS:
• Improves circulation in the pelvic region.
• Makes the hamstring muscles elastic.
• Helps to increase flexibility in the spinal coloumn and stretches it laterally.
Namaste!
Neelanjana Bharadwaj– Yoga Expert