Stretch your hamstrings & hips, tone & stabilize your core, improve balance, & more with Side-Reclining Leg Lift Pose…

Side-Reclining Leg Lift Pose (Anantasana) – also known as Sleeping Vishnu’s Pose, Vishnu’s Couch Pose,  or Eternal One’s Pose – is a beginner-level yoga pose that offers a great stretch for the hamstrings, hips, groin, and more. This pose also helps to tone and strengthen the abdominal muscles, improves your sense of balance, and promotes good circulation – especially in the lower extremities. This is a good pose for those with arthritis or sciatica, and is also believed to be helpful for relieving certain urinary and genital disorders.

To modify the pose if you have trouble balancing, you can rest your back or the sole of your lower foot against a wall for balance, or place a folded blanket behind you for a bit of extra support. If you can’t reach your big toe while maintaining a straight leg, you can also practice this pose by wrapping a yoga strap around the ball of the foot and holding the strap instead.

Those with a slipped disc, torn or strained hamstrings, or chronic headaches should avoid this pose. Use extra caution if you have sciatica,  back pain, or a current or recent back injury.

How to Do Side-Reclining Leg Lift Pose:

1.) Begin lying on your right side with your head propped up with your right hand. Direct your right elbow in line with the torso and legs and stack your legs on top of one another.

2.) Bend your left knee in to your body and reach for it with your left hand. Grab your big toe.

3.) Begin to pull the left leg towards your left shoulder.

4.) Lift your left arm to the sky, keeping it generally above your left shoulder, angling the sole of your foot open to the sky.

5.) On the next exhale, begin extending your left leg, opening the back of your knee and bringing the tension to your hamstrings. Hold this position for up to five breaths, then reverse the steps to slowly release your left leg down.

6.) Rest in this position for a few moments and proceed with the other side when ready.

See a photo demonstration at YogaPose.com…