Astavakrasana Yoga Pose

Astavakrasana Eight-Angle Pose

Yoga Anatomy by Leslie Kaminoff

A challenging pose, great for the inner thighs, triceps and abdominal muscles

Our Virtual Yoga Classroom 

Start by sitting comfortably on your mat, pads of your feet planted

 on the ground. Using your arms, lift your left left leg up and over your

 shoulder, as if you were putting on a backpack and your leg is a strap

With your leg still over your shoulder/upper arm, allow your left arm to come down, 

rooting the left hand into the mat. The right arm also plants into the mat for support

Before pressing up, cross the right foot/ankle over top of the left foot/ankle. Using

your balance and upper strength, slowly press up on your arms, lifting your sit bones

By engaging the inner thigh muscles while using the left triceps in 

your arm as their support, gently rotate the legs out to the side

Once steady, engage your core muscles as your slowly 

lean forward and down, as if assuming a push-up position

I used a 10 second self-timer to take these photos so bear with me. Ideally, you want

to try to lower the right shoulder blade from popping up, keeping the shoulders level