Opening the hips for Half Lotus
One of the first chalenges we come across when learning Primary Series in the Ashtanga Yoga system is attempting to come into Half lotus. Whether this is from standing or seated. A certain percentage of students will be able to work on this in a progressive manner slowly bringing the foot up towards the crease of the hip overtime, but for most of us we will need some help.
The best posture to add to your existing series to open the hips for half lotus / Padmasana is Agnistambhasana ( firelog pose ).
agnistambhasana
Why this Asana is so good for openeing the hips for half lotus is because it focuses so much on the deep external rotators of the hips and glutes. Especially the piriformis.
piriformis muscle
When the deep rotators of the hip are tight, it limits the ability of the femur to rotate in the hip socket fully which allows out thighs to externally rotate and present us with the necessary angle to bring the foot up into the hip crease safely without causing compression of the medial side of the knee.
Just pulling the foot up over time will work to an extent but as I said previosuly most students need help and agnistambhasana is excellent at opening this area of the hip.
How can you add this into your Yoga practice?
What I usually recommend for students is to get used to sitting cross legged in general. When you are at home, reading, hanging out on your sofa, try and sit cross legged. Use a support for your knee if you need to but try and make this your default sitting position. It’s excellent for your low back in general and will open those hips much faster.
If you are an Ashtanga practitioner I suggest adding agnistambhasana before you attempt ardha baddha padma paschimottanasana ( seated half lotus). Attempt each side before hand and spend around 8 to 10 breaths each side, and then attempt half lotus. Over time your hips will open and it will be much easier to come into half lotus and take the pressure away from your knee.
Fire log
The way to work on this is to have one leg in front of the other at first in more of a square shape for this hips. As this gets easier you can bring one leg on top of the eacher ( stacked ). You can use a block or a cushion if need be to support the knee and progressivly work towards moving forward with your head towards the floor.
This can be challenging for many practitioners, especially if you have one a lot of running / cycling over the years and have tight glutes. Go slowy and take your time and really focus on long exhalations.
For a more detailed breakdown of this asana and many more that are designed to help open your body for Primary Series check out The Better Mobility Guide link below.
