Side Plank Variation, Prep for Vasisthasana B

First, come into plank pose. Start to lift your hips very high in space. Your body will feel lighter if your hips are higher. Come into side plank on the right side. Firmly ground down into the pointer finger, knuckle, and thumb between the points. Rotate your bicep towards that thumb into external rotation. Lift up on your back body. Try to lift the back scapula onto the ribs, drawing the shoulder blades together on the back. The same rules in mountain pose apply here: lengthen the tailbone! Lift those hips higher so you can potentially get the inner arch of the grounded foot into the floor. This is the prep part of this pose. You need to achieve that rotation of that ankle in order to get this part. Sometimes, you may need a block or wedge against the wall to assist with grounding the arch. Then, float the top knee. Flex the hip and bring the knee towards the shoulder. Strongly flex into the upper hip. Scoop the tailbone, push down into the hand and the foot simultaneously. Try to focus on grounding the grounded side and lifting higher on the elevated side. High lunge is a good transition from this posture. The top leg would swing in between the hands to come out. You can also transition into Vasisthasana and lower down to the belly. Always take child’s pose after this prep pose as it is very intense!