Anjaneyasana - Lunge Pose

Etymology, synonyms

Anjaneyasana (Sanskrit: अञ्जयरासन; IAST: Añjeyarāsana), Crescent Moon, or Low Lunge. Also known as The splits, Exalted Warrior, "Ashwa Sanchalanasana" (Kripalu tradition)

Anjaneya: Anjani, The mother of Hanumat or Hanuman, the celebrated monkey god of the Ramayana, who is therefore called Anjaneya (son of Anjana). In her previous birth she was a goddess, but due to a curse was born as a monkey in the Himalayas. The birth of her son, Hanuman, lifted the curse and after a period Anjana ascended to svarga (heaven).

Presentation:

The pose starts with one leg knee on the ground and the other leg stretched forward. A point is fixed in space or on a material support:

The arms are stretched along the body, fingers stretched and extending downward as much as possible. Upon exhalation, the body goes down without raising the heel of the forward food and, if possible, until touching the ground with the fingers:

The body remains arched with the chest forward. Upon inhalation, raise the stretched arms backwards as far as possible, hands facing one another. The eyes following the movement and fix an upward point, vertically from the face:

It is then possible to apply the abdominal bhastrika, or to adopt a visamavritti-type rhythm. Either way, the work focuses on extending the breathing. After a complete inhalation, enter into full-lung retention. Execute mula bandha while opening the eyes wide. Feel the energy that vibrates in the whole body.

Upon the following inhalation, lower the extended arms to come back to the previous position, with the eyes following the movement. Finally, upon an inhalation, go up to come back to the starting position. Adopt the embryo pose before executing the pose on the opposite side.

Upon completion of the pose, integrate the effects in savasana.