TUTORIAL
Monkey Pose (Splits)
Kiana Ng Yoga
Hanumanasana
Let me tell you a quick story about this pose and how it came to be…
There was a king, Rama, who lived in Ancient India and a demon king who lived in Sri Lanka. This demon king kidnapped Rama’s wife, so in effort to get her back, Rama and his troop set out to battle. During the battle, Rama’s brother was deeply injured and could only be saved by a magic herb in the Himalayas. With the Himalayas being so far away, there was no hope.
However, Hanuman, Rama’s greatest devotee said that he will be able to get the herb in time. So he took one giant leap that reached from India to the Himalayas and retrieved the herb needed to save Rama’s brother.
You can see in this pose the resemblance of Hanuman stretching his limbs to accomplish a task. They say that it was through Hanuman’s devotion that enabled him to do so. So as you practice this pose, practice love and devotion in the journey towards finding your split!
Alignment Principles
- Start in Anjaneyasana (Low Lunge)
- Exhale to straighten the front leg into half split
- Using your breath, start to edge the legs further away from each other
- Keep the hips square!
- Hold for 10-15 breaths each side
Prep. Poses:
- Happy Baby Pose (Ananda Balasana)
- Lizard Pose (option to pull the back heel in to stretch the quad) (Utthan Pristhasana)
- Forward Fold (Uttanasana)
- Seated Forward Fold (Paschimottanasana)
- Pyramid Pose (Parsvottanasana)
Modifications/Variations:
- Stay in half split with the hips stacked over the back knee and the front leg straight, focus on folding forwards
- Place hands on blocks
- Place block underneath front hamstring
- ADVANCED: Over splits – if comfortably down, place front heel on height (ie. block)