Dragon

Benefits:

Cues:

Place the front foot straight forward connecting to the ground with the four corners of the feet (big toe mound, little toe mound and the inner and outer side of the heel)
Have the front knee directly in line with the ankle making sure that you can see your toes in front of your knee
Place your back knee down on the mat and untuck the toes so that the top of the foot is on the mat
Heel toe the front foot to the outer edge of the mat placing both hands on the inside of the front leg
Bring the front hip back and the back hip move forward to place the hips in a neutral position - this is a subtle movement of bringing the thighs towards each other
You should feel an intense stretch in the hip flexor of the trailing leg
If you do feel this stretch you can and would like more intensity to come into the stretch you can move the back knee further back and or bring your forearms to a block or the mat

Common Errors:

Modifications:

Cautions:

Alternative Poses:

Anatomy

Lengthening:

Strengthening:

Cues:

Come into a low lunge position
For more padding under your back knee you can use a small foam block or fold the side of your mat in
Inhale bring your lead foot to the outside of the mat placing your hands on the inside of the foot
Feel the front hip come back and the back hip pull forward so that the hips come into a more neutral position
On an exhale start to bring the knee of the lead leg forward towards the toes
On an inhale turn the lead foot to a 45 degree angle pointing the toes to the top corner of the mat
Exhale and allow the lead knee drop out to the side externally rotating the hip

Cues:

Come into a low lunge
Bring your right knee approximately an inch in front of the toes
Bring your left knee back until you feel a stretch in the left hip flexor
On an inhale place both hands onto your right thigh
Push forward into your thigh with the heels of your hands and bring an arch into the back feeling an increased intensity of the stretch in the left hip flexor