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| Flying Lizard Pose - Fun and Funky Rolled Into One |
Utthan Pristhasana is far from the mental image that its English translation portrays. It's a fantastic gateway to deeper hip openers, as it warms up the inner thigh muscles and hip rotators, stretches the hamstrings, groins and hip flexors.
Flying Lizard Pose is a creative extension of its cousin. It combines the hip opening, with the element of an arm balance. The result? A Fun and Funky Flight!
Step 1 - Warm the Lizard Up
Here are some of my go-to poses to warm up the hip rotators, quads and IT Band. Begin with 8-10 rounds of Surya Namaskar, add in these hip openers, and fire up your core with poses like Navasana (Boat Pose), Dolphin Pose and Bakasana (Crow Pose).
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| Gomukhasana (Cow Face Pose) |
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| Pigeon Prep |
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| Hoist Your Backpack |
Step 2 - Lizard Pose (the Vanilla version)
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| Utthan Prishtasana (Lizard Pose) |
From Downward Facing Dog, step your right foot forward and place it outside of your right palm. Snuggle your right shoulder under your right leg, and just like the Backpack warm up pose above, place the leg as high up the arm as possible. If it's accessible to you, place both forearms down onto your mat, and powerfully extend through the back leg. Keep extending the chest forward, engage your Mula and Uddiyana Bandha, and stay here for 9-12 breaths before switching sides.
One option is to place the back knee on the mat. If you're unable to comfortably place your forearms on the floor, prop your forearms up on yoga blocks, continue practising Step 2, and keep your flight plan in your back pocket for now.
Step 3 - Take the Flying Leap
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| Ready, Steady, Fly |
It's now time to piece all of that together, and fly! From Utthan Pristhasana in Step 2, grab hold of your right heel with your right hand, and lift your right heel off the mat. Squeeze the right leg into the arm/shoulder, and keeping your core engaged, lean forward until the back leg lifts off. Power through that straight leg, and keep extending it strongly up and back to maintain your balance. An alternative is to bend that back knee. Lower down after a few breaths, and switch sides.
If you'd like to practise with me, I'll be teaching a 2-hour Special Class on 29 March 2015, at 9.15am, entitled "Root To Rise". We will be exploring the techniques of Foundation Asanas before rising up to Inversions and Arm Balances. Suitable for Advanced Beginners and Up. More details can be found here.
See you on the mat! xx
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| "Root to Rise" at Prana Yoga KL, 29 March 2015, 9.15am |
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