Yoga Dancers Pose

Video Transcript

"-This is a very fun pose. This is one that you'll find in most beginner classes, but not all, but it is one of my favorite poses and it's a balancing pose. The thing about this balancing pose is that you have to be flexible in order to achieve it. This is natarajasana -the cosmic dancer. I'm going to turn to the side to demonstrate. Oh, this is my challenging side. To come into this pose, first thing I'm going to do is standing on two feet...you know what, not on my faux sheepskin right now, flat on my mat...standing on two feet, the knees are over the ankles and the hips are over the knees. I'm engaging in my belly. I'm lifting up ever-so slightly. I'm going to shift to my left foot, grab hold of my right ankle. This would be an appropriate place for you to use a strap if you feel uncomfortable here. This is a fully-realized natarajasana. But if you feel comfortable here and you feel like a challenge, you're going to want to kick the back leg back and let it rise, inhaling and exhaling. Always keep the breath flowing. Reaching forward with just as much energy as you're pressing back with those toes. Here's the important thing about natarajasana: it's all in the hips. You've got to hinge over your standing leg and you've got to open through your top leg. So if you're hips are uneven, if you're trying to drop this hip, or if you're trying to lift this way, you're not going to be stable. You've got to keep those hips in a nice alignment while you lift. The other thing about natarajasana is you have to not be afraid to let the heart open. So lift the heart instead of reaching it forward and you'll have a lot more success in the pose. Don't be afraid to be open, keep your breath flowing, keep your alignment intact, root through that standing leg and let the crown of the head float. "