One of the shortest postures in the Bikram Series but for most people this is one of the most challenging. Who would have thought that holding this final position for just 10 seconds could pack such a punch! I have found that with all Bikram postures, preparation is key to making your practice so much stronger and therefore more enjoyable. If you want to progress quickly from wobbling around on leg and just trying to last out until the end of the timing, it is paramount to prepare first! So before you start, take a few seconds to perform the following steps:
- Ensure your hips are level
- Straighten and lock both arms and point them to the ceiling
- Hands are gripped and palms glued together so they add to your strength in the posture
- Keep your head level, glue it between your arms and keep your chin neutral
- Step forward with the right foot and move the weight of the body to this front foot still standing up straight
- Point the toes of the straightened back leg
- Inhale, lift up then in one powerful stance PIVOT from the hips bringing the body down at and AT THE SAME TIME raise your back leg until you can feel yourself in a T shape
- Roll the hip of the raised leg down if it has a tendency to turn out – try to maintain both hips parallel to the floor
- Make sure you engage your stomach muscles to give yourself a strong core
- Expand the rib cage whilst continuously stretching your arms forward and leg backward. This helps you keep the balance
- Make sure your mind does not wander and think “strength and balance” while in the posture – this makes a world of difference!
- Once in the posture don’t forget to breathe normally to give you the stamina you require to maintain the position.
Do the same for the other leg.
Your heart may be thumping at the end of this – you’ve just done a major workout in that one posture.
- Strengthens core muscles, legs, arms, ankles and shoulders, heart muscle and lungs
- Stretches shoulders, hips, spine,
- Cleans arteries, great for circulation, stimulates internal organs such as kidneys, spleen liver, pancreas, and the nervous system
- Firms and tones the whole body
- Great for balance, posture, focus and concentration