HERO’S POSE
(veer-AHS-anna)
Virasana
Vira = Man, Hero, Chief
Steps:
- Kneel on the floor with your thighs perpendicular to the floor and touching the knees together. Place your feet to the sides of your buttocks (tops of feet on the floor). Angle the big toes into the body.
- Exhale and sit back slightly, take thumbs and move calve muscle from behind knees towards feet. Sit down between feet.
- If your buttocks don’t sit directly on the floor, you can place a bolster or block between your legs…making sure both sit bones are evenly supported. Allow a thumbs width space between the inner heals and outer hips. Lay your hands in your lap, one on top of each thigh, palms down.
- Lifting from the lumbar spine, open chest and relax shoulders away from ears.
- Stay in the pose 30 seconds to 1 minute. To come out of this pose, raise the buttocks up above the knees, cross the ankles under you, sit back over the feet and stretch the legs out in front or bounce the knees to the floor gently.
Modifications and props:
If your ankles are painful in this pose, roll up a towel and place it underneath them before you sit.
Variations:
Clasp your hands in front and extend by lengthening the arms. Flip the hands over so that the palms are facing forward. On the inhale, bring them up over your head…elbows behind ears. Straighten the arms as much as possible and breathe up the obliques and under the arms.
Benefits:
Stretches the thighs, knees and ankles; strengthens the arches; improves digestion and relieves gas; helps relieve the symptoms of menopause; reduces swelling of the legs during pregnancy (through second trimester); therapeutic for high blood pressure and asthma
Contraindications:
Heart problems; headache: practice this pose lying back to a bolster; knee and ankle injury