Wide Squat is a great pose that opens your hips, but if you want to open your shoulders, chest, and increase flexibility in your spine as well, then you're going to love doing Bound Wide Squat. The prep for this pose makes you feel an incredible sense of openness in your heart and lungs. Since you put weight in your bottom hand, it also gives you a great wrist stretch which allows you to shift weight into your heels so you can stretch your calf muscles.
Sanskrit Name: (Prep pose for) Bada Malasana
English Translation: (Prep pose for) Bound Garland Pose
Also Called: (Prep pose for) Bound Wide Squat
Want to know how to do this pose.
'Tis the season for tight hips. If it's snowy where you live, and you're doing all kinds of Winter sports like skiing and snowboarding, I'm sure your whole lower body is feeling tight. The onset of Winter often causes people to exercise less, and not moving around can cause tight muscles, too.
In a time crunch, you need to find exercises that work many body parts with one exercise. That is why I am loving this variation on squats I found over at
ExerciseTV. It incorporates side bending as well as an overhead press into your basic squat.
If you love
squats, hiking, climbing stairs, and other exercises that make your thighs and buns burn, then this is the sequence for you. It starts with
Fierce pose, which you'll recognize from
Sun Salutation B, and moves on to some variations that are sure to strengthen your lower body.
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Music: "Devata" by Material
Sitting at your desk for countless hours in one position can really tighten up your lower body. So why not do something to open up those hips, quads, and calves?
You could always do a
Wide Squat on the floor, but if you squat down on top of your chair, you can still get a little work done (I'm all about the multi-tasking).
Stay like this for a minute or two, or as long as you'd like.
