• Legs
• Ankles
• Groins
• Chest
• Lungs
• Shoulders
• Spine
• Abdomen

• Constipation
• Infertility
• Low backache
• Osteoporosis
• Sciatica
• Menstrual discomfort

• Strengthens and stretches the legs, knees, and ankles
• Stretches the groins, spine, waist, chest and lungs, and shoulders
• Stimulates abdominal organs
• Increases stamina

• Headache
• High or low blood pressure
• Insomnia

If you have any neck problems don’t turn your head to look at the top arm; instead look straight ahead with the sides of the neck lengthened evenly, or look down at the floor.

Beginners often have two problems with this pose: they can’t keep their back heel anchored to the floor as they bend their front knee into the pose, and then they can’t easily touch the fingertips of their lower hand to the floor once they’re in the pose. To solve the first problem, brace your back heel against a wall. As you bend the front knee and then lower your torso to the side, imagine that, with your heel, you’re pushing the wall away from you. For the second problem either rest your forearm on the top of the bent-knee thigh (instead of trying to touch the hand to the floor), or use a block outside the front foot to support your hand.

You can also perform this pose with the lower arm in front of the bent-knee thigh. This will help create more stretch in the front groin. As you lower your torso to the side, bring the back of your right shoulder against the inner knee, and press your fingertips to the floor. Push the shoulder firmly into the knee and lean your torso back against the inner thigh. Lengthen your side ribs along the inner top thigh.

Here’s an exercise that will help you get a feel for the proper action of the front thighbone in this pose. Buckle a strap into a medium-size loop and slip it over your front leg. Then perform steps 1 and 2 in the main description of this pose. Snug the strap into the right groin, into the crease where the thigh joins the pelvis (make sure the strap isn’t touching the floor). Then hang a 10-pound weight from the loop, and complete the movement into the pose. Let the head of the right thighbone, which is just below the strap, sink into the weight toward the floor. Use this action to align the thigh parallel to the floor, ground the heels, and further lengthen the spine, especially along the right (lower) side.

A partner can help you get a feel for the work of the back leg in this pose. Perform step 1 in the main description of this pose. Have your partner stand at your back leg, facing you, and loop a strap around your back inner groin (she can also brace your back heel with the inside of one foot). As you bend the front knee your partner should firmly pull the strap against the inner groin, resisting it opposite to the movement of the front leg. Then as you lean to the bent-knee side, she should continue to pull on the strap, helping you to keep your weight back, on the back leg and heel.

• Adho Mukha Svanasana
• Supta Baddha Konasana
• Prasarita Padottanasana
• Siddhasana
• Supta Virasana
• Supta Padangusthasana
• Upavistha Konasana
• Utthita Trikonasana
• Virabhadrasana II
• Virasana

Utthita Parsvakonasana is an excellent standing pose to perform at or near the beginning of your standing pose sequence. It’s also a good preparation for wide-open groin poses, like Baddha Konasana, Malasana, and Bakasana.

Even for advanced students, the body’s weight tends to shift forward onto the ball of the front foot, unbalancing the pose. Once in the pose, lift the ball of the front foot off the floor and re-affirm the anchor of the back heel by pressing the head of the back femur bone deep into its socket and lifting the inner back groin deep into the leg. Then soften the ball of the front foot onto the floor again.