NATARAJASANA – DANCER is my favorite pose. I’m showing two variations of this pose. The second variation is more advanced and it took me years to accomplish it. You must be careful with your shoulders as you could really hurt yourself trying to do the advanced pose improperly.
Variation 1
Stand in Tadasana Mountain Pose. Inhale, shift your weight onto your right foot while reaching back with your left hand to grasp the outside of your left foot or ankle. To avoid compression in your lower back, actively lift your pubis toward your navel, and at the same time, press your tailbone toward the floor. Begin to lift your left foot up, away from the floor, and back, away from your torso. Extend the left thigh behind you and parallel to the floor. Stretch your right arm forward, in front of your torso, parallel to the floor. Hold for as long as desired. Release and switch sides.
Dancer Variation 2
Natarajasana Dancer Full Pose
Inhale, shift your weight onto your right foot, Reach back with your left hand and grasp the outside of your left foot or ankle. To avoid compression in your lower back, actively lift your pubis toward your navel, and at the same time, press your tailbone toward the floor. Then turn your left arm actively outward (so the palm faces away from the side of the torso), bend the elbow, and grip the outside of the left foot. (You can also grab the big toe with the first two fingers and the thumb.) The fingers will cross the top of the foot, the thumb will press against the sole. Inhale, lift the left leg up, and bring the thigh parallel to the floor. As you do this, rotate the left shoulder in such a way that the bent elbow swings around and up, so that it points toward the ceiling. It requires extreme flexibility to externally rotate and flex the shoulder joint in this way. Reach the right arm straight forward, in front of the torso and parallel to the floor.
Benefits:
The benefits of this pose are many. Dancer stretches the chest, shoulders, stomach and hip flexors. The pose increases ability to balance and focus. This pose also stretches the thighs and groin area while strengthening your legs and ankles. Energetically, you will open your sacral, solar plexus and heart energy centers.
