Pose of the week ~ Standing Splits

~ Standing Splits ~

Sanskrit Name: Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana
English Translation: One Foot Extended Upwards Pose

Just saying 'splits' makes my face cringe. I'm always in awe whenever I see someone do full splits. The one thing I always need to remember is that all of our bodies are different, some of us can the do the splits, others of us can do pigeon (one of my favorite poses) and others of us are still working on both of these, but there is something else amazing we can do like the (runners, chefs, bean counters, etc that I know.).

That being said, standing splits is something all of us can do....below are a few pictures I've found to show some various stages of the standing splits.

Picture credit: Yoga Journal

Picture Credit: Mind Body Green

Picture Credit: sarahbyoga

Tips:

• Warm up your hamstrings before coming into standing splits, maybe by practicing half splits 1st
• Push hands into the ground
• Keep hips even/squared (although, sometimes it just feels good to open the hips up a bit more for deeper hip opener)
• Think of the pose as a forward fold
• Toes can be pointed down (i.e. foot flexed, this usually helps me keep awareness in my leg and I can focus on pushing through my heel), toes can also be pointed as Iyengar recommends
• Use a wall ~ as shown above
• If your hands do not reach the floor, press hands into a block for stability
• To lift extended leg a bit higher, bend your standing leg slightly, lift extended leg more, then straighten standing leg
• To advance begin to take one or both hands around standing ankle, draw nose towards shin
• *Remember to switch sides* :)

Benefits:

• strengthens legs
• stretches hamstrings, calves, thighs and groin
• improves balance
• opens thighs and hips

Sequencing ideas ~ move into Standing splits from the following poses

• High or low lunge
• Half Moon
• Warrior 3
• Forward fold