Dancers Pose

Natarajasana

Dancers Pose is a glorious heart opening posture that challenges your balance while lengthening your chest and spinal muscles.

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Step By Step

Stand with your feet together. Shift your weight into your left foot. Bend your right knee behind you, and bring your right heal towards your right glute. Reach your right hand behind you (with the eye of your right elbow facing out) and take hold of the inside arch of your right foot.
Continue to balance on your left foot and reach your left arm overhead. Lift your chest as you kick your right foot upward, until your thigh is parallel to the floor or higher. Keep your hips square, and draw your right knee inward towards midline.
Look up and stretch your left arm forward and upward. Keep your eyes steady on one point of focus and breathe deeply as you hold.
Hold for 30 seconds or more. To release, gently release your grip on your right foot and return to standing. Repeat on the other side.
For a more intense variation you can reach your right hand back to take hold of the top or your right foot or toes, and rotate your shoulder so your elbow swivels outward and then points toward the ceiling. From there you can reach your left arm over your head, and then behind you to grab ahold of your lifted foot. You can also use a strap for this variation, and climb your hands up the strap until you are able to grab your toes. This variation requires a lot of shoulder mobility and spinal flexibility.

Variations

Reverse Dancer

Other Names

Lord of the Dance Pose

Benefits

Stretches chest, shoulder, thigh, and abdominal muscles
Strengthens leg, ankle, back, and gluteal muscles
Improves balance and focus
Increases energy and warms the body

Contraindications

Shoulder injury
Low blood pressure
Conditions that affect balance
Knee injury

Modifications

If you struggle with balance you can practice this posture while holding a chair or bar, or with one hand on a wall
If you are unable to reach your back foot you can loop a strap around your foot or ankle

Chakras

Dancers Pose stimulates the Heart Chakra (Anahata), and the Third Eye Chakra (Ajna), and helps the practitioner feel more grateful, forgiving, focused, intuitive, and free.