Extended side angle (hold)
Utthita Parsvakonasana
Yogaintermediatetimedno equipment
From Warrior II legs (front knee bent 90 degrees, back leg straight), the torso tilts sideways over the front thigh with the lower hand flat on the floor beside the outer (little-toe) edge of the front foot (or the forearm on the thigh), and the top arm extends over the ear so one straight diagonal runs from the back heel to the top fingertips.
How to do it
- Set up Warrior II: feet about 1.2 m apart, right foot out 90 degrees, left foot slightly in, both flat.
- Bend the right knee to 90 degrees over the right ankle; left leg straight, outer edge of the left foot pressed down.
- Lean the torso sideways to the right and place the right hand flat on the floor just outside the right foot (little-toe side), level with the foot: wrist by the heel, fingers toward the toes, never ahead of them; right arm straight under the shoulder, outside the right knee (easier: right forearm on the right thigh, or the hand on a block).
- Sweep the left arm up and over the left ear, palm facing down, making a straight diagonal from left heel to left fingertips.
- Chest rotates open toward the camera; gaze up under the top arm.
Muscles worked
adduttori, glutei, dorsali, quadricipiti, obliqui