Parsvottanasana - Intense Side Stretch

HELLO HAMS!
There is something very humbling and respectful about this Parsvottanasana/Intense Side Stretch. As you bow forward, whether your arms are in prayer or not, it feels like you are paying homage to the practice of yoga. I would take that a step further and add that you are bowing with appreciation and reverence to yourself too for turning up for yourself to your practice! For this reason this is definitely not a pose to be rushed.

Parsvottanasana/Intense Side Stretch is more of an intense back body stretch, mainly the hamstrings and the glutes, rather than a ‘side stretch’ as the name suggests! The front leg is extended and straight, which immediately brings a stretch into the hamstrings when the upper body hinges forward. When you compare Parsvottanasana/Intense Side Stretch to Baddha Virabhadrasana/ Humble Warrior the stretch is not as intense in the latter, because the hamstring is contracting to bend the knee. For this reason, if you find you hit a ‘hamstring wall’ in Parsvottanasana/Intense Side Stretch, bend the front knee as much as you need to, to give you more room to hinge forward over the extended leg. Bringing the feet slightly wider, left to right, will also give more space to extend forward with the upper body. If you are inclined to hyperextend your knees, keep a soft bend in your front leg as you fold forward.

THE BENEFITS OF PARSVOTTANASANA/INTENSE SIDE STRETCH
Parsvottanasana/Intense Side Stretch strengthens the legs, hip flexors, core and quads. It stretches the whole back body, including the shoulders, wrists, spine, hamstrings and glutes. It helps you find your connection to the earth and ground down to grow roots. As a forward fold it gently massages the organs of the abdominals; aids digestion; eases headaches, fatigue, stress & anxiety. Not only is it a forward bend but it is also an inversion, as the head is below the heart, which increases circulation and boosts the immune system.

EXPLORING PARSVOTTANASANA/INTENSE SIDE STRETCH IN YOUR PRACTICE
As with all intense poses there are plenty of versions for Parsvottanasana/Intense Side Stretch. Bringing the arms into reverse prayer can be challenging for most. It requires a lot of internal rotation and extension of the shoulders, and deep wrist extension too. If this is not for you, take one of the following options – hold your elbows behind your back; extend your arms back; bring your hands to prayer position in front of you or bring your hand to the ground or bricks either side of your front foot. Regardless of which arm position you take, remember to expand the chest and elongate both sides of your waist as you fold forward, to ensure you don’t collapse the spine forward instead of hinging from the hip joint. If you find you have very little forward rotation of the hips, simply stay more upright and work on maintaining the integrity of the spine and keeping the hips level and hugging to the midline.

There are plenty of opportunities to prepare all the strengthening muscles and stretching muscles. The sequence starts with some hamstring and glute warm ups to help release any tightness in the back of the hips. The first standing flow preps for your peak pose with the back heel lifted, and the second standing flow has the back leg grounded ready for Parsvottanasana/Intense Side Stretch. If you encounter a pose that hits a particular part of the back body that needs extra attention, take a few more breaths in there.

ALIGNMENT CUES
Ground down into both feet as you hinge forward into Parsvottanasana/Intense Side Stretch. Feel a solid connection to the ground beneath you.

Have a read of the tips below and either print out the sequence or save it onto your device:

• From Virabhadrasana I, step your left foot forward slightly, inhale, bring your arms behind your back and clasp your elbows, or draw your palms together in reverse prayer position. Broaden through the collarbones, lengthen through your spine.

• Exhale, hinge forward from the hip joint over your right leg, hips level, right hip draws back, left hip draws forward.

• Inhale, broaden through the collarbones, reach the chest forward, exhale, fold forward, release your head towards the front leg, keep the legs firm, gaze to your shin.

To save the images for personal use click and hold down the image until the ‘save image’ option appears; on Mac hold down ‘control’ and click the image to get the option box; on PC right click on the image to get the option box. Scroll down in the ‘option box’ and click ‘save image’.

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru

Anatomy 101 - The hips

THE HUB OF ALL MOVEMENT
The hip joint is a ball and socket, synovial joint, designed for heavy duty usage and weight bearing. The hips are the joint with the most bony structural differences person to person – making them the joint with the most variety in mobility potential person to person too. Tightness in the front of the hips (hip flexors) pulls the pelvis forward into an anterior tilt – causing the lower back to overarch, the upper chest to puff and the head to tilt back. Tightness in the back of the hips (hip extensors) pulls the pelvis backwards into a posterior tilt – causing the lower back to flatten back, the upper back to overarch forward and the head to tilt forward. Balance and harmony in the hips unifies the upper and lower body and attributes to better fluid movement of the spine too. The hips like to be perfectly stacked over the foundation of our feet, to avoid unnecessary stress on the spine and allow the natural curves of the vertebrae to function properly as a shock absorption system.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE HIPS
The hips are made to be durable and to absorb the forces of gravity and body weight. The socket is much deeper than the shoulder joint which gives it slightly less mobility but much greater stability. The socket is made of several layers, each with their own important job. Starting with the deepest layer of the socket you have the bone of the hip. This bone is covered by a ‘c’ shaped fibrous lining which facilitates gliding called the cartilage. Around the edge of the socket is a rim, which creates a seal and deepens the socket, called the labrum. Then there is a tube like fibrous connective tissue, attached to the rim of the socket and around the head of the femur, which secretes synovial fluid, called the capsule. Next you have the ligaments, holding bone to bone to stabilise the joint. Finally you have many layers of tendons and muscles which facilitate movement of the hip joint.

The hips are made up of two bones – the pelvis (illium, pubis & ischium) and the leg bone (femur). The ball and socket joint is made up the top of the leg bone, called the head of the femur, and the socket which sits on the lower part of the pelvis, called the acetabulum.

THE MOVEMENTS OF THE HIPS
Below there is an illustration of the six movements of the hip joint:

Flexion – where the leg lifts forward and up.
Extension – where the leg reaches back and up.
Abduction – where the leg moves away from the midline.
Adduction – where the leg moves towards the midline.
Internal rotation – where the leg rotates inwards.
External rotation – where the leg rotates outwards.

THE MUSCLES OF THE HIPS
For those of you who love to go deeper into the actions of the hip joint I have also listed the six movements with their assisting muscles in the chart below. Grouping the muscles to the action rather than looking at each muscle in isolation gives a more experiential understanding.

EXPLORING THE HIPS IN YOUR PRACTICE
If you observe your habitual postural habits, in standing and sitting, you most probably find you are inclined to tip your pelvis slightly forward or back. Working with your hips in your practice will help you become more aware of your posture and help release the muscles of your hips that might be tight, and strengthen the muscles that might be weak.

This sequence will mobilise your hips in all directions and leave them feeling strong and stable, with lovely freedom of movement too. Bring your full attention to the hips as you move through the sequence. Notice what your strengths and weaknesses are with regards to the six different movements. It is very normal to have one movement that you move more freely in and one that feels a bit more sticky or challenging for you.

ALIGNMENT CUES
This sequence will bring you through the six movements of the hips – flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, internal and external rotation. Focus your full attention on your hips throughout this practice and move slowly into and out of each pose. See can you notice what areas of the hip are being stretched and which are being strengthened as you move. The sequence is numbered to highlight sample poses from each movement of the hips to give you a better understanding of the role of the hip joint in the pose. Below are the six asana which are highlighted in the sequence where you will feel the six movement of the hips:

1 – Flexion - Standing lifting the leg forward, front leg in Ashta Chandrasana/Eight Crescent Moon, Knee to chest.
2 – Extension - Standing lifting the leg back, back leg in Ashta Chandrasana/Eight Crescent Moon.
3 – Abduction - Half kneeling leg lifts, Parsvakonasana/Side Angle, Utkata Konasana/Goddess.
4 – Adduction - Ardha Matsyendrasana/Half Lord of the Fish, Gomukhasana/Cow Face. 
5 – Internal rotation - Back leg in deer pose.
6 – External rotation - Virabhadrasana II/Warrior II, Parsvakonasana/Side Angle, Utkata Konasana/Goddess, Gomukhasana/Cow Face.

To save the images for personal use click and hold down the image until the ‘save image’ option appears; on Mac hold down ‘control’ and click the image to get the option box; on PC right click on the image to get the option box. Scroll down in the ‘option box’ and click ‘save image’.

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru

Marjaryasana & Bitilasana - Cat & Cow

ANIMAL MOVEMENT
Marjaryasana/Cat and Bitilasana/Cow go together like two peas in a pod and are perfect at any stage of your sequence to warm up, or ease out tension in the hips, spine and shoulders. I start off all of my own yoga practices and lots of my sequences with a few rounds of Cat & Cow. Even though they are often referred to as Cat & Cow it makes more sense to me to practice them as Cow first, with an inhale, and Marjaryasana/Cat after, with an exhale. In Bitilasana/Cow, when we inhale, the top of the pelvis tips down, the shoulder blades retract and draw together on the back, and the back of the shoulders reach towards the back of the hips. While in Marjaryasana/Cat, when we exhale, the pelvis tips up, the shoulder blades protract and spread apart on the back, and the front of the shoulders roll forward. All these opposites, in this simple two pose movement, make it a very good way to stretch and strengthen the hips, spine and shoulders joints. They are also very accessible with minimum scope for injury.

THE BENEFITS OF MARJARYASANA & BITILASANA - CAT & COW
Bitilasana/Cow strengthens the spine, and back of the shoulders, and stretches the front of the shoulders, chest, core and back of the hips. In Marjaryasana/Cat the opposite is happening – it stretches the spine, and back of the shoulders, and strengthens the front of the shoulders, chest, core and back of the hips. Bitilasana/Cow is a good prep for backbends while Bitilasana/Cow is a good prep for forward bends and poses like Bakasana/Crow. They are also very good poses for spinal health and massaging all the organs of the abdominal region. As we move from one pose to the other we are also linking the breath with movement, which is a valuable method for reduces stress and anxiety.

EXPLORING MARJARYASANA & BITILASANA - CAT & COW IN YOUR PRACTICE
Marjaryasana/Cat and Bitilasana/Cow can be added at pretty much any stage of your practice. You can even add it into other sequences to counterpose from a mini flow with lots of spinal, hip or shoulder work. In this sequence I have added them in as much as possible and added versions of Marjaryasana/Cat and Bitilasana/Cow to show how versatile they can be too. If you find your wrists are uncomfortable, place a rolled up blanket under the heels of your hands to reduce the angle at the wrist. If this doesn't relieve the discomfort, place your forearms on one or two bricks.

ALIGNMENT CUES
Below you will find the alignment cues for both Marjaryasana/Cat and Bitilasana/Cow. Even though these two poses partner together perfectly, take your time to get familiar with what you are looking for in each pose.

MARJARYASANA/CAT – EXHALE

• From all fours, hips stacked over knees, shoulders stacked over wrists.

• Exhale, arch your spine up, pelvis tips back, shoulder blades spread apart.

• Press into all five knuckles of your hands, the tops of your feet and your knees.

• Back of the neck long, gaze at the ground under your navel.

• Inhale, into Bitilasana, repeat 5-10 rounds to warm up the spine.

BITILASANA/COW – INHALE

• From all fours, hips stacked over knees, shoulders stacked over wrists.

• Inhale, dip your navel down, pelvis tips forward, sit bones spread, broaden your collarbones, move your sternum forward and up, shoulder blades draw together.

• Press into all five knuckles of your hands, the tops of your feet and your knees.

• Back of the neck long, gaze forward to the front of your mat.

• Exhale, into Marjaryasana, repeat 5-10 rounds to warm up the spine.

To save the images for personal use click and hold down the image until the ‘save image’ option appears; on Mac hold down ‘control’ and click the image to get the option box; on PC right click on the image to get the option box. Scroll down in the ‘option box’ and click ‘save image’.

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru