POW! This week's Pose: Ardha Padmasana - because we're half way there!
August is half way over, can you believe it? The second half of summer always flies by much faster than the first half for us schoolteachers...
I think that Ardha must Sanskrit for "Half" (Half moon is Ardha Chandrasana, Half lotus is Ardha Padmasana - seems logical, right?). This week, I've chosen to build upon last week's pose, making a progression in the last few weeks of summer (Ardha August, anyone?). Last week, I shared Sage Pose with you, and you'll notice the biggest difference between Sage and Half-Lotus is the width of the knees. Half-Lotus positions the knees ever so slightly closer together, but in doing so, you'll open the hips quite a bit more. See the picture, above left, featuring Siddhartha, the ultimate Yoga Celebrity! Transition from one pose to the other, and you'll notice the difference I'm talking about.
Half Lotus is a super posture to take for meditation or to use for breath work, but it also has intrinsic benefits of its own: It will open hips, lubricate knee joints, tone the abdomen (when you sit up tall!), and magically, it actually is regarded to prevent arthritis and osteoporosis! So keep popping those Viactiv all the while taking this posture ;)
Begin with your legs out in front of you (from the side you'll look like a capital letter "L". Draw your right foot to your navel, rotating the leg outward, then gently place the top of your foot in the hip crease of your left leg. Sitting up tall, gently tuck your left leg under the right, and relax into the pose. Enjoy the benefits!
Until next week:
Be the change you wish to see in the world!
No comments:
Post a Comment