Hanumanasana is a simple yoga pose that takes its name from the Hindu God Hanuman. Half man, half monkey Hanuman was Rama’s saviour when he leaped from Sri Lanka to the Himalayas to gather a herb that would save Rama’s life after he was wounded in battle.
One giant leap from the south to the north of the Indian subcontinent is immortalised in a yoga pose that looks like the splits. Simple but empowering, Hanumanasana is about grounding, strength, and expansiveness.
It speaks to the leap of faith we must take in order to live empowered lives, the openness we must express in order to empower others, and the simplicity of grounding ourselves so that we can enjoy this moment.
In speaking about Hanumanasana, Sarah Dharamraj-Stein says that, “This is the one pose that comes naturally to me. The only time the splits were unobtainable since childhood, was really only after a hip injury last year. So this pose is more about having patience when being held in a motionless state than anything else.”
“It’s about remaining still and not fidgeting when the itch or need to move arrives. Even here I felt the need to quickly move into a shape rather than stay in this beautiful asana as it is in it’s traditional form. Because it is not difficult to get into this pose, it is also one of the hardest as well. I have to work hard to find areas to engage in. This is similar to life”
“Often we do things because they must be done time and time again, but we have this need to spice it up, make it more exciting, because perhaps it’s not challenging enough. I am working on not always needing to make the beautiful, simple things more, and just sit back and enjoy the simplicity and power of the now.”
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As with any exercise program you must know yourself and understand your own health before attempting.
