Vasisthasana

For the past few weeks I've been working on side plank or Vasisthasana. (Don't you just like saying Vasisthasana?) Part of my interest in this posture came from doing a core exercise that is essentially side plank but with leg lifts. While I was doing it as part of the core plan, I started playing around, finding that place where I could maintain the posture long enough to do leg lifts. 

Arm balances can be intimidating at first, especially if you think it's all about having big biceps. But there's actually a lot going on in the posture and proper alignment makes it much easier.  Align your shoulders over your wrists, open your heart, engage your core, flex your feet and elongate through your legs and arms. Bring your hips up and SMILE. 

We practiced it in my All Levels class last Wednesday night and will explore it again this week.  It's an interesting posture with a lot of variations for beginners and experienced yogis alike. That's one of the things I love about yoga, you work with your own body,setting your own limits. There's always somewhere deeper you can go.