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Natarajasana: Lord of The Dance Pose: Step-by-Step Instructions

Natarajasana, or Lord of the Dance Pose, is described with step-by-step instructions. There are two variations of the pose. In the first variation, the practitioner reaches back with one hand to grasp the foot or ankle of the lifted leg while extending the other arm forward. In a more challenging variation, both hands grasp the foot from different sides. For the full pose, the lifted leg is parallel to the floor while the opposite arm bends at the elbow to grasp the foot, requiring extreme shoulder flexibility.

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165 views2 pages

Natarajasana: Lord of The Dance Pose: Step-by-Step Instructions

Natarajasana, or Lord of the Dance Pose, is described with step-by-step instructions. There are two variations of the pose. In the first variation, the practitioner reaches back with one hand to grasp the foot or ankle of the lifted leg while extending the other arm forward. In a more challenging variation, both hands grasp the foot from different sides. For the full pose, the lifted leg is parallel to the floor while the opposite arm bends at the elbow to grasp the foot, requiring extreme shoulder flexibility.

Uploaded by

Ravinder
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Natarajasana

Well start with a modified version of the pose. The full pose will be described in the
Variation section below.
(not-ah-raj-AHS-anna) nata = actor, dancer, mime raja = king

Lord of the Dance Pose: Step-by-Step Instructions


Stand in Tadasana (Mountain Pose). Inhale, shift your weight onto your right foot,
and lift your left heel toward your left buttock as you bend the knee. Press the head
of your right thigh bone back, deep into the hip joint, and pull the knee cap up to
keep the standing leg straight and strong.
There are two variations you might try here with your arms and hands. In either case,
try to keep your torso relatively upright. The first is to 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.

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.
The second option with the hands is to sweep your right hand around behind your
back and catch hold of the inner left foot. Then sweep the left hand back and grab
the outside of the left foot. This variation will challenge your balance even more.
Then raise the thigh as described in step 3. This second variation will increase the lift
of your chest and the stretch of your shoulders.
Stay in the pose for 20 to 30 seconds. Then release the grasp on the foot, place the
left foot back onto the floor, and repeat for the same length of time on the other side.

Full Pose
For the full pose, perform step 1 as described above. 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. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds, release, and
repeat on the second side for the same length of time.

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