Critical elements of the asana...
1. "No bending before binding"
Bending forward before your Half Lotus is deep enough to bind, puts dangerous pressure on the knee.
2. Requires flexible hips
Realize this before you tweak a tendon or ligament by pushing your knee too far.
Full Posture: Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana
1. Stand in Tadasana
2. As you inhale, bend your right knee, grasp your shin, and bring it up to the level of your hips
* pulling the heel into your abdomen
3. As you exhale, reach your right arm around behind you and grasp your right foot
* If you're close to binding, bending your left knee can give you the movement you need to reach your foot
* If you can't hold your right foot with your right hand, stay upright
4. Once you bind, straighten the left leg completely
5. Inhale again and, on the exhalation, bend forward, placing your left palm on the floor alongside your left foot
6. Take 5 to 10 breaths here, then inhale, look up, and exhale in this position
7. On your next inhalation, push firmly into your left foot and lift your torso back to an upright position
* This can be challenging, so bending the standing leg just a bit may help you ascend
8. Once you're standing upright, exhale and release your right foot back down to the floor
9. Take a full breath cycle in Tadasana, then move into the pose on the second side
More gentle variations of Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana...
There is a modified version of Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana for people, especially athletes, with tight hips...
1. Begin in Tadasana (Mountain Pose)2. As you inhale, lift the right knee up and take hold of the right shin with both hands
3. As you exhale, pull the right ankle and heel in toward the lower left quadrant of your abdomen
* don't drop the right knee toward the ground, keep it lifted!
4. Tighten the quadriceps of the standing leg (left leg) by pulling up the kneecap
5. Lift the torso and drop the tailbone toward the ground (Mula Bandha and Uddiyana Bandha)
* this will help maintain your balance
6. Take 5 to 10 breaths in the pose, then come out of it by lowering the right led to the floor and returning to Tadasana
7. Repeat the pose on the other side
There is a modified version of Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana for people who can't balance on one foot...it is called Ardha Baddha Padma Paschimottanasana...it is basically Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana, but you are sitting down on the floor...
Benefits/Effects of the asana...
- acquire balance
- strengthens your legs
- stretches your hamstrings
- better circulation
- improves your digestive system (prevents gas, diarrhea, indigestion, and constipation)
- cleanses the liver, rectum, spleen, and esophagus
- Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana has the same benefits as Tree pose
(but allows you to open your hips and chest more fully)
I can't do the full posture because I not only have a bad right hip and knee, but I also have short arms! So, I can't bind or bend. However, holding my shin at waste level still puts pressure on my knee. As a result, I have to bring/focus my breath to my knee. Balancing on one foot isn't a big deal for me because I'm a dancer, and I'm used to it. I think that once I get flexible enough in my hips to bind and bend, I will feel a lot more in this posture...
References...
- http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/1246#
- http://laurensyogapage.blogspot.com/2008/04/benefits-and-effects-of-ardha-baddha.html
- The Complete Idiot's Guide to Yoga: Illustrated (By Joan Budilovsky, Eve Adamson)
- http://www.yogagururamdev.com/basic-yoga-aashan.html
