Pose of the Week

Pose of the Week

One of my goals for the remainder of this year is to practice yoga everyday, even if only for a few minutes a day. To help encourage me to practice, I thought it would be helpful to focus on one pose a week. Also…as some added pressure for myself, I am going to try to not pick any of my ‘favorite’ poses as Pose of the Week. (This of course will be difficult, because I have LOTS of favorites).

In anticipation of this coming weekend’s summer-roof class which is focused on hamstrings and quads, I thought I would focus on a pose in one of those muscle groups. And because I believe quads are often the forgotten muscle to stretch…quads it is.

Eka Pada Rajakapotasana II - One-Legged King Pigeon Pose II

Here is what I look like in the pose...:

Picture credit: www.joga-joga

Each time I come into this pose, I tend to scrunch up my face…its funny because generally I think this pose LOOKS simple, and dare I say easy….but I think once you begin to take this pose beyond the basics and move into your edge…you will also come to realize it is not an easy pose at all. And, it’s not only a quad stretch, but also can be a very deep backbend, and for me a bit of a balancing pose as well.

I find the most effective method of doing this pose is against a wall. It provides support and also a deeper stretch to the quad.

picture credit: yogajournal.com

Here is a picture to entice you...the more you practice...the more accessible this may become over time (if our bodies allow).

Picture credit: www.dharmayogacenter.com

So...for the next week I play with One-Legged King Pigeon Pose II :) ...what will you be playing with?

Also for your reference here is a link to Yoga Journal's instructions on how to get into the pose:
http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/2493