It is time to lie down and stretch! Be friendly with your yoga mat or find yourself a desirable location, however you do it, be ready to exercise and respire easy. Yoga is about letting go. Yoga requires a free spirit ready to dance in the charms of stretching and extending. The waves of relaxation ease out your stress points making them smooth and ready to wander away in pleasure of nature. Those benefiting from the charms of yoga have a look of ease on their faces. So fasten your seat belts to spread similar ease in yourself.
Side Recline Leg Lift: Today we have a feasible core-building asana for your pelvic region. The side recline pose called ‘Vishnu Pose’ in Hindi is a means of building up intrinsic power in legs and the back muscles. The side reclining leg lift pose in yoga is a core-balancing pose that concentrates mainly on the pelvic region.
First step: It begins rather simple. Lie on your side on your yoga mat. The goal is to line up your entire body flush with the edge of the mat. Start with your bottom heel and then continue along the line of your leg. Come on the floor to lie on your right side. Contract the ankle muscles of your right ankle and heel and press it on the outside. Press the foot on the floor and try to keep it stable.
Second step: Take support from your right arm and place it under your head. Extend it a little to stretch the armpits. At this point your right arm is parallel to the floor and also in line with right leg which is fully extended.
Third Step: Lift up your left leg and raise it to the ceiling. Take it a little on the inside such that the body makes an inward dip with the leg. Hold the foot with your left fingers specially your middle and index fingers. Stabilize the grip and let the leg move up to the ceiling.
Fourth step: At this point the curve on one side of body is formed all the way from the arm pit to the hips. The lifted leg with come a little forward at this time but the left buttock will slightly drop. At this point your leg still remains at a 90 degree but it slightly gets tilted inward.
Fifth step: Make sure that your lower back bone presses against the hip bone. The heels are actively pressing against the floor at this point. Follow the asana for thirty seconds and then release.
How it will serve you? The pose is an easy and natural way to tone your back. Your leg and arm muscles get in shape and power. Stretching exercises of legs naturally put them in a perfect tone. If you are tired of lifting up grueling tiresome weights in gym, here is a way out. The results with these yoga exercises are fast and feasible. Regular practice of this posture not only helps in toning the abdominal muscles but also strengthens and stretches the sides of the body and the back of the legs.
Contraindications: Side reclining leg life might cause back injury or pain, sciatica or slipped disc, chronic headaches or diarrhea.
Alterations:
- Use a strap around the ball of the foot if it is difficult to reach the big toe while maintaining a straight leg.
- Hold the leg under the knee and stretch toward the head while allowing the raised leg to bend.
- If at some point it is difficult to balance, place a blanket or wedge alongside the back to support the body.
- Press the sole of the bottom foot into a wall for added support.