Anjanayasana
Steps:
- Sit comfortably in the vajra-asana (thunderbolt pose).
- Kneel up on your knees until your back, buttocks and thighs are aligned.
- Extend your left foot foward bending your left knee at about a 90 degree angle.
- Place the palms of your hands together at the heart in the anjali-mudra.
- Raise your arms stright up keeping the palms together while bending the head backward and looking up.
- Slowly bend backward stretching the arms backward and straightening out the right leg. Hold this position for as long as comfortable while breathing gently through the nostrils.
- Come back to the vajara-asana (thunderbolt pose) then reverse the posture by alternating legs.
Benefits:
- This pose stretches the gluteus maximus and the quadriceps.
- This pose helps to strengthen as well as tone the muscles in the shoulders and the arms.
- Regular practice of this pose leads to greater strength and flexibility in your legs, knees, hips, arms, shoulders, and abdomen.
- It helps one to strengthen one’s balance.
- It also stimulates the reproductive organs and helps with digestion as well.