How to Do Lizard Pose (Utthan Pristhasana) and Variations

Lizard pose, or Utthan Pristhasana in Sanskrit, is a difficult posture as a result of it opens your hips, which may typically get tight from sitting all day.

Learn on to open your drained, tight hips and discover the problem of lizard pose!

What Is Lizard Pose?

Lizard pose is a split-leg, hip-opening yoga pose that helps you lower pressure in your physique. Opening your hips may show you how to alleviate low again ache and can improve your hip-joint mobility.

“Our hips are liable to being so tight, so this can be a posture that it is advisable to ease your means into,” recommends Ali Jehn, a 200-hour RYT yoga trainer based mostly in Boulder, Colorado. “As soon as there, it does open up the hips, which is good as a result of we so hardly ever discover the total vary of movement within the hips.”

Lizard Pose: Step-by-Step Directions

• Start in downward dealing with canine. Inhale your proper leg excessive for three-legged canine. Exhale to step your proper foot between your fingers for a low lunge.
• Shift your proper hand on the within of your proper foot. Toe-heel your proper foot to the sting of your yoga mat. Preserve your proper knee aligned over your ankle. Plant your proper foot into your mat.
• Preserve your shoulders stacked over your wrists or drop right down to your elbows (make the quantity 11 together with your forearms) for a deeper stretch.
• Lengthen your again leg lengthy and straight. Squeeze your glutes to maintain your hips squared. Push the bottom of your knee towards the ceiling to have interaction your leg muscle tissue. You may have the choice to drop right down to your again knee for a passive stretch.
• Gaze down towards your mat.
• Maintain for a number of breaths. Transfer by downward dealing with canine and repeat on the opposite facet.

Advantages of Lizard Pose

The advantages of lizard pose embrace the next:

• Stretching your hip flexors, interior groin, and hips.
• Cultivating consciousness and constructing a working relationship between the quads and the hip flexors.
• Serving to open the chest and lengthen the backbone whereas additionally opening the hips.

Lizard pose is an excellent hip-opener for anybody trying to enhance their flexibility. It’s additionally nice for runners, because it relieves tightness within the hips.

Lizard Pose Variations

Lizard pose by itself generally is a fairly intense posture, however the quite a few variations amp it as much as a downright loopy yoga pose.

Twisted lizard pose

• From lizard pose together with your proper leg ahead, relaxation your again knee on the mat and draw your left foot towards your left glute (bending your leg in half).
• Stack your shoulders over your wrists. Preserve your left hand planted and attain your proper arm again and seize your left foot. Twist your chest open and align your shoulders.
• Settle your hips right down to really feel a deep stretch in each your hips and your quadriceps.
• Launch your foot and return to lizard pose. Press again to downward dealing with canine and swap out your legs. Repeat on the opposite facet.

Flying lizard pose

• From Lizard Pose together with your fingers on the mat, hook your entrance proper knee over your proper elbow.
• Shift your weight ahead and bend your elbows to 90 levels (assume chaturanga arms). Interact your core and hover your proper foot away from the mat.
• Raise your again leg away from the mat and level your again foot. “Mess around to seek out that steadiness and switch of weight to make that raise occur,” says Jehn.

Lizard pose is enjoyable, difficult, and helps a wide range of pose choices. Mess around in your mat and observe our Yoga52 program for extra yoga inspiration.