Anjaneyasana

Named for Anjaneya, the son of the wind — better known as Hanuman — the low lunge carries his quality: the great forward-reaching devotion of the leap toward Lanka, caught mid-step. Though modern in form, it serves the classical aim: it opens the hip flexors and the front of the body, the regions that must lengthen before the backbends and the deep seats can be approached. The tradition teaches that the front of the pelvis holds the residues of sitting and striving; this pose is the daily antidote, practised at the start of nearly every modern sequence.

1. From hands and knees or downward dog, step the right foot forward between the hands.
2. Lower the left knee to the floor, pad it generously, and untuck the toes.
3. Sink the hips forward and down until the front of the left hip opens; keep the front knee over the ankle.
4. Rest the hands on the front thigh, or raise the arms and lift the chest.
5. Hold for five to ten breaths, then step back and change sides.

The low lunge is one of the most effective stretches for the hip flexors, particularly the psoas, which shortens in everyone who sits for long hours. Research links chronic hip-flexor tightness to lower-back pain and reduced hip extension in walking, and regular lunging to improvements in both. The kneeling position loads the patella, which is easily managed with padding; the pose is otherwise accessible to almost every body.