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Yoga For You
Ray Madigan and Shelley Choy
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L-shaped pose
This pose is great for stretching out stiff back muscles and brings flexibility to back of the legs, the shoulders and arms:
Stand facing close to the wall with the hands level at hip height. Spread your palms evenly into the wall.
Pressing your palms and keeping them in place, step back until your arms are straight and legs are vertical with the back of the heels in line with the buttock bones.
Keep your feet hip width apart and your knees pointed toward the wall. Balance your weight evenly on your feet without turning them outward.
Tighten your thigh muscles so that your kneecaps lift, then tilt your buttock bones up so that you get a slow, even stretch through the back of the legs.
Keeping your arms stretching into the wall, press your legs back and stretch the spine evenly. Don't let the back arch or hunch. Instead, focus on an even, long spine extension.
Hold the pose for up to minute as you breathe through your nose, balancing your effort to create length through the spine and limbs.
VAL LOH PHOTO
Robert Kay demonstrates the L-shaped pose.
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Ray Madigan and
Shelley Choy are certified Iyengar Yoga teachers and co-direct the Manoa Yoga Center at Manoa Marketplace. Visit
www.manoayoga.com or call 382-3910. Manoa Yoga Center, the authors and the Star-Bulletin take no responsibility for any injury arising from the practice of these yoga postures. Readers should seek a doctor's approval before commencing this yoga practice.