Revolved Side Angle

In order to do this arm balance you need the flexibility to bend your front leg to 90 degrees in Warrior I, get your hand to the floor inside of your front leg in Side Angle Pose, have the strength to do Caturanga and have the rotational flexibility to do a twist.  I have talked about the other aspects of this pose in previous blog posts. This week, I’ll talk about twisting.

Let’s look at Revolved Side Angle as a prep pose for Astavakrasana.  In Revolved Side Angle Pose, just as in Side Angle Pose, it is important to bend the front leg to 90 degrees.   It is much easier to twist and get your elbow or arm to the opposite knee when the front leg is deeply bent. Notice, how in the picture, I have worked to get my bottom arm to the outside of the front leg

Because, Revolved Side Angle Pose is more related to Warrior I than it is to Side Angle Pose, we’ll start with Warrior I as the base.  This has to do with the fact that the hips are square to the front in Revolved Side Angle Pose and Warrior I rather than to the side as they are in Side Angle Pose.

For stability, let’s start with the back knee on the ground.  In this position it is easier to get the front leg bent to 90 degrees with the front thigh parallel to the floor.  Remember that a twist is defined as a movement between the hips and shoulders where one of those body parts stays stationary and the other part turns.  In this pose it’s the hips that are remaining stationary and the shoulders are turning.

From a low lunge position with your right leg forward, place your thumb into the hip crease of the forward leg to remind that hip to stay back and square as you rotate your torso.   On an inhalation, lift the left arm up into the air lengthening the left side of your body and on an exhalation, rotate your torso to the right brining the left elbow to the outside of the right knee.  Reach across your belly and grab your left ribs and encourage them to turn more to the right bringing your left ribs over your right thigh and trying to get your left armpit to your right knee.  Now, lengthen your spine so that the front of the body is as long as the back body, moving your right shoulder as far away from your right hip as possible.  Bring the hands in prayer in front of your heart with your left elbow or armpit outside of your right knee.  Every time you inhale create more length on the front body and every time you exhale explore your ability to rotate a little more.

Notice where your prayer hands are and lift the torso to bring the heart to the hands rather than allowing the hands to push to your right shoulder.

Stay for a few breaths with calm breathing and then try the pose to the other side. If your balance is good and you are ready, try coming into the pose a second time with your back knee lifted off of the floor in Crescent Warrior.  You can always do this version of the pose with your back heel against the wall for stability.

The rotation you develop in Revolved Side Angle Pose will help you with the rotation you need for Astavakrasana.