Hanumanasana

It's the concept. It's the legend. Hanuman was no ordinary monkey. When he met Lord Rama, he recognised instantly that there was a divine quality about him.

OK let me go back a step. Yoga predates as far as we can tell all the main religions. It began in India, so the religions that evolved in India in particular the Hindu religion weave yoga concepts into their Holy Scriptures. Some postures have been given names that link to Hindu gods or characters in their epics. Hindus believe that every so often, God feels it necessary to manifest Himself and live among us. Usually when He is not exactly impressed by the way human beings are behaving.

Lord Rama was an Avatar. Anotherwords he was a Divine Spirit that had come to live amongst the people. His story is told in the Ramayana which is one of the big epic stories that the Hindus all know. The tale is long and complicated but the baddie ( isn't there always a baddie?) kidnaps Lord Rama's wife and takes her to Lanka ( Sri Lanka)

How can Lord Rama reach across the sea from the Southernmost tip of India all the way to Sri Lanka?

You guessed. Hanuman comes to the rescue and makes an enormous leap to the island. It should then have been a piece of cake, but no, Lord Rama's wife Sita tells Hanuman that if Lord Rama isn't going to come and get her, she is staying put.

It does all turn out well and Hanuman makes a bridge that his monkey army can cross to Lanka to support Lord Rama.

So Hanuman is very special, courageous, perceptive, clever. And I'd love to do the posture. It looks so beautiful. Marta White is doing this pose. When I can, I have lessons from her and she always inspires me. She is setting up a yoga retreat in Poland.

Realistically with my tight hamstrings I may never reach the full posture but I am working on the lead up postures. Sometimes I can see the point in Reincarnation, maybe next time round my hamstrings would be more normal???

That's a clever technique in Hatha Yoga, by practising postures in a sequenced way, you sometimes can surprise yourself and attain a posture that you never dreamt possible. So I'm working on the sequence that should help me safely stetch my hamstrings and maybe one day enable me to do the Monkey Posture.

Uttanasana is a very good starting posture on your path to the Monkey Posture :- ) followed by low lunges with a twist.

After that the Warrior I followed by the Half Monkey and when all of those are easy-peasy it's time to try the Monkey Posture,