Crescent Lunge Modification

Mod-i-fy: to make partial or minor changes to something, typically to improve it or make it less extreme.

 Sometimes in yoga, you would think this term was one of George Carlin’s 7 words you can’t say on television. As a beginner, we tend to jump right into a class, attempting to do the most challenging poses or pushing our bodies past their current limit. We try to run before learning to walk. The truth is, whether it’s your first class or your two thousandth class, IT’S OKAY TO MODIFY! Notice that the definition of modify didn’t mention anything about weakness.

If you can’t touch your toes, bend your knees. If you can’t touch the ground, use blocks. Modifying poses helps prevent injury while still building strength. Every week I will take a pose and demonstrate the modification options that you can use at your next class.

First up, Crescent Lunge – Anjaneyasana.

This can be a challenging pose. In all honesty, one of my least favorite. It takes flexibility in your hip flexors and strength in your legs and core. A wonderful modification is just simply releasing your back knee down to the mat. To get the most benefit of the pose, I recommend placing your front foot forward more and stacking your knee above your ankle. Lift the front of your pelvis as your tailbone descends and hug into your center line.