Dhanurasana (Bow Pose)

Back bending pose = heart opening pose

This can be a challenging pose, not only for the amount of bending in the back that happens but also how your breathe. Before going into the full pose. Lie belly down on the mat and bend into your right knee, take your right hand and help press the top of the foot down towards your hips. You just want to find your edge not go beyond and hurt yourself. Then switch sides. If you have knee issues, this may be a pose you avoid. Then once you have stretched the quads a bit, try to go into the pose on a lower level basis. Bend into both knees, be careful not to let the knees open out, keep the knees hip distance apart. Take the hands to the tops of the feet or grab the ankles. Begin to press the feet into the hands and lift up. Let the neck be in line with the spine. Heart reaches forward and breathe in the chest area. Lift a little bit more on the inhalation and on your exhalation release from the pose. Relax and take a couple of breaths, when ready go into the pose again. See if you can work up to 3-5 breaths while holding the pose.