EssentialSequence:OpenintoHanumanasanaDoyourememberslidingeasilyintoHanumanasana(whichyoulikelycalled“thesplits”)whenyouwereakid?Ifyoudon’t,nottoworry—Idon’teither!It’saposethatcanstillgivemeachallengedependingontheday,butovermanyyearsofpractice,I’velearnedtofindasafe,comfortable,andexhilaratingplaceformybodytoland.WhenyoufirstattemptHanumanasana,youmightfocusalotonyourfrontlegandhowtightitfeels.Youmightthinkyouneedtospendexorbitantamountsoftimestretching,stretching,stretchingyourhamstrings.ButHanumansanarequiresflexibilityinboththefrontandbacklegs.Thefrontlegrequireshamstringsuppleness,andthebacklegrequiresopennessinthehipflexors.WhenyoucanfindabalancestretchedbetweenthefrontandbacklegsinHanumanasana,you’llfindabalancedpose.Ialwaystellstudentsthatitdoesn’tmatterifyourpelvistouchesthefloorinthispose—infact,itdoesn’tmatterifyourpelvisismilesawayfromthefloor!Insteadofjammingyourbodytowardthefloor(arecipeforbackpainandothermiseries),trytofindalevelpelvis,whereyou’renottuckingoroverarchingyourlowerback.Supportyourselfwithpropsasyoudothis—youcanstackblocksorabolsterorcouchcushionsunderneathyourpelvisforsupport.Anddon’tforgettouseyourlegmusclestosupportyourendeavor—hugtheinnerthighsintowardeachotherandpressyourlegsdownintothefloortohelpyouliftthepelvisandengageyourhamstrings.Itmayseemcounterintuitivetouseyourmuscleswhileyou’restretching,butitwillhelpkeepyourjointsandtheposemoresupported.Havefunandthinkofembodyingthespiritofthepose’snamesake,theHindumonkeyGodHanumanasyouliftyourarmsandbreathedeeplyinthepose.SeealsoTwistIntoEkaPadaKoundinyasanaITolearnhowtocreateessentialsequencesofyourown,Iencourageyoutocheckoutmye-course,TheArtofYogaSequencing.And,asalways,pleasesignupformymailinglistifyouwanttogetamonthlyreminderwhennewsequencesgoup.Havefunpracticing!HANUMANASANA(MONKEYPOSE)SEQUENCE{illustrationsbyMCKIBILLO}Wantafreee-bookwithallouronlinesequences?Signupforournewsletterandwe’llsendittoyou!WantaccesstoallofJason'sblogsequencesinoneplace?Subscribetoournewsletterandwe'llsen