‘Parsava ’ means sideways, ‘Tadasana’ is the Mountain Pose. This pose is like Tadasana but it specially massages, loosens and stretches the sides of the waist. It is generally used as a warm-up practice as the deep lateral stretches open and loosen the spine.
Organising the Pose:-
1. Stand with the feet shoulder width apart. Fix your eye gaze to a point in front of you.
2. Inhale and raise your hands towards the ceiling.
3. As you exhale, slide your hip and rib cage left as you lean your body to the right to form a standing sidebend.
4. Firmly rot both the feet into the floor. Relax your shoulders and stay in the stretch for 3-5 breaths.
5. Return to the centre and and repeat on the other side.
6. Do each side 3 times and then return to Tadasana.
DO:
- Keep both the legs straight and bend only from the waist, giving a ‘C’ shape to your spine.
DON’T:
- Don’t bend forward or backwards or twist the trunk.
BENEFITS:
- Improves elasticity of the spine by loosening the sides of the waist.
- It balances the right and left groups of postural muscles.
VARIATION:
For deepening the stretch you can interlock the fingers and turn the palms outwards as you raise them up and bend sideways.
You can also try balancing on your toes for this practice.
Since the action of bending the spine in both directions resembles that of a swaying tree this practice is also known as ‘Tirayaka Tadasana’ or the swaying palm tree pose.
Namaste!
Neelanjana Bharadwaj- Yoga Expert