Surrender into Spring with Crescent Lunge (Anjaneyasana)

By Rebecca Merritt

Anjaneyasana will help you build strength and find flexibility but it is so much more than that. This pose encourages an open heart and surrender all at the same time. You surrender and sink into your front hip while lifting your arms and heart to the sky. It is a pose that feels like May. As we start to see Spring life all around, reaching for the sky from muddy roots, many of us will start to speed through the sun lit hours or start to plan way ahead for Summer. Instead, try to think of the focus of Crescent Lunge – surrender to the moment and open your heart to the possibilities of each day.

Benefits:

• Improves flexibility in your hips, legs, knees and back
• Strengthens the quadriceps, hamstrings and groin
• Improves balance
• Relieves tension in the hips
• Helps relieve low back pain
• Builds confidence

How to:

1. From downward facing dog, step your right foot forward between your hands on the exhale. Find a low lunge; knee directly over ankle. Bring your left knee to the floor and inch it back until you start to feel a stretch in the left thigh. Turn the top of the left foot to the mat.

2. Inhale the arms up overhead. Lengthen your torso and let your tailbone drop down towards the floor and you draw your pubic bone up.

3. Lunge forward slightly and open your heart by drawing the shoulder blades towards each other on the back. Look up to your hands to find the backbend.

4. To come out of the pose, exhale your hands to frame your front foot, lift your back knee to find low lunge and press back to downward facing dog.

5. Repeat on left side.