Stretch your spine, open your hips, and calm your mind in Star Pose…

Star Pose (Tarasana) is a simple yoga pose that derives its name from it’s star shape, as well as the Sanskrit word tar, which translates as star or “protection.” This pose is a seated hip-opening pose which is also a variation of Butterfly or Bound Angle Pose. This pose stretches the legs, hips, and spine, and is believed to open the Root and Sacral chakras, providing a sense of security, stability, and groundedness. It is also believed to boost the creative and sexual energies. Star is thought to be a calming pose, so it’s good to do when you are feeling stressed, anxious, or unsettled.

Those with recent hip, knee, or spinal injuries should avoid this pose.

To deepen the pose, allow your muscles to relax and focus on settling into your breath as you settle into the pose. You do not need to touch your forehead to the floor. If you have trouble coming all the way forward, you may also rest your forehead on a block, or simply go as far as you can. You’ll be able to go farther as your flexibility increases.

How to Do Star Pose:

• Begin seated with your legs extended wide. Inhale to extend your spine long and exhale to bend your knees somewhere between a 45- and 60-degree angle, soles of the feet not quite touching, with the knees falling to the outside.
• Inhale, taking your ankles into their respective same hand, and spread your toes, feeling the outer edges of your feet pressing strongly into the mat.
• Exhale and settle into your seat.
• Inhale to stretch your spine long and forward, extending your heart out over your feet, and exhale to bow your forehead toward the floor.
• Focus on taking long, slow breaths, and stay here as long as you like, then slowly round the spine back up to sitting.

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(Image by Mr. Yoga, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.)