Baddha Konasana #1 (Bound Angle)
Benefits: One of the tightest areas in most people is around the hip area. Poses that work on the hip muscles to loosen up the area are called, appropriately, hip openers. Baddha Konasana is a hip opener. Baddha Konasana works specifically on the muscles of the inner and back of the thigh. This pose is particularly beneficial for women during menstruation and pregnancy.
How To: Place a double-folded blanket under your hips and sit in Dandhasana (Staff Pose). Fold one leg in at a time, placing the soles of your feet together. Notice the height of your knees. If your knees are above your pelvic rim (at your waist), then you need to prop your hips up on another blanket or two. Prop yourself on as many blankets as it takes to get your knees to be below your waist. (If you can't get the knees down, bring the hips up!!)
Next give yourself a lift up on top of your hips: Put your hands on the floor behind you, cupping your hands and using your fingertips facing in towards your hips, and lift yourself up. If you have propped yourself so high that you have nothing to ground your fingertips on, use blocks behind you. Use your hands to open your heart center as well. Feel the lift in your sternum as you drop your shoulderblades.
Press the outer soles of feet to the floor. As you do so, feel the thighs open and knees drop out. Hold your ankles and lift your sternum. (Do not push your knees down; let gravity work for you.) In this pose, focus on the softness of the belly and your breath. Mr. Iyengar recommends this pose for meditation. Use the wall to support the back if holding this pose for an extended period is hard for you.
This pose is also excellent for its variations. Add a forward fold to deepen the stretch by keeping the elbows back (to keep the shoulders back), and lean into the pose. Keep the spine long. Another relaxing variation is Supta Baddha Konasana: Lie back in the pose over stacked blankets and support under the thighs and legs with folded blankets. Ensure the forehead is higher than the chin and the chin is higher than the chest.
Enjoy the fruits of Baddha Konasana!!
Laura Erdman