PYRAMID POSE

Parsvottanasana

(parsh-voh-tahn-AHS-anna)

parsva = side, flank
ut = intense
tan = to stretch or extend (compare the Latin verb tendere, “to stretch or extend”)

Steps:

1. Standing in Tadasana, step your left leg three to four feet behind and turn your left toes slightly out.
2. Position two blocks at their tallest height by each side of your front foot.
3. Stand tall and steadily with legs straight, making deep footprints in the earth and letting that grounding action rebound upward through our core. Lengthen your spine wholeheartedly toward the sky.
4. Before you begin to fold forward, place your hands on your hips and balance your pelvis.
5. Point your hop bones directly forward so the pelvis does not slip around to the left.
6. Inhale as you joyfully extend your heart upward, and let an exhalation carry you into a forward bend initiated from the base of your pelvis. Your legs stay straight and stable, your pelvis rotates over the thighbones, and your spine stays long, even and steady.
7. Pause here and reach your hands toward the blocks. If this forces your shoulders to slouch, or your spine to round, then back off by keeping your hands on your hips. As your body grows more limber, you will be able to crease more fully at the hip joints and settle more completely into the pose.
8. Breathe steadily and be firm in the core of your body.
9. After a few breaths, place your hands back on your hips and come back to standing. Repeat on the other side.

Benefits:

Extends spine
Stretches the hamstrings

Contraindications:

Migraines
Back injuries