Yoga posture - Anjaneyasana

Enter from the lunge pose with the hands supporting you at either side of the leading foot. Gently place the back knee down then let the front knee extend over the foot. (Not all the way after a little while passes slowly deepen forward with the knee.)

Take the hands off the mat and stretch them up above the head. If your shoulders are not very flexible you can interlock the fingers. This will allow the arms to stretch back further. (Warning! Lean forward a little to relieve pressure from the lower back if it is injured or inflamed.)
Tips
Try placing something under the knee or above it on the leg that is on the mat if your knee is injured or uncomfortable. Hyper extend the knee that is bent in front of you. Relax forward and the knee is stretched, the posture may be more comfortable.

Benefits
The quadriceps (rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, Vastus medialis and the vastus intermedius) and the gluteus maximus are stretched. Many of the smaller muscles, tendons and ligaments in the knee are also stretched.

Hip abductor stabilizers such as the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus, the adductors magnus, longus, and brevis, the gracilis, and the pectineus all become toned.

Muscles in the arms and shoulders are toned and strengthened. These include the deltoid group, triceps, a little biceps the Trapezius Muscles (Middle and lower), Rhomboids and Latissimus Dorsi. Shoulder elevation also involves glenohumeral movement in combination with scapulothoracic movement and thoracic extension.

Tadasana (Standing), The Standing Forward Bend, Triangle Pose, Revolved Triangle, Extended Side Angle Pose, Parivrtta ParsvaKonasana, Chair Pose, Virabhadrasana 1, Urdhva Virabhadrasana 2, Urdhva Virabhadrasana 2, Virabhadrasana 3, Ardha Chandrasana, Parivrtta Ardha Chandrasana, Adho Mukha Svanasana, Eka Pada Adho Muka Svanasana, Salamba Kapotasana, Kapotasana, Ardha Kapotasana, Adho Muka Kapotasana, Parsvottanasana

Yoga Teacher Tips
The order in which you give commands and verbal instruction is very important. Below are some tips in that order. Always be open to changing the order of your instructions and exploring quicker, clearer and more precise instructions. Continually monitor the response of class participants.

Instruct the flow of breath first, "on the next inhalation". (This will allow the students to keep their own rhythm in breathing.)

Instruct the name for your advanced students so they can enter swiftly. (This will allow the advanced practitioners to enter with the breath.)

Only a few seconds will have passed for the previous instructions so we can go on to describe how to enter the pose for the beginners. Start with the placement of the hands and allow them to place both on the mat. Then give them the option of keeping the hands down supporting the body and knee. Instruct those with injured knees not to over extend them if there is any pain present. Instruct others to enter slowly with caution. Instruct advanced practitioners to raise their arms above the head with the hands interlocked, palms together or shoulder width apart. You may want to give students the option.

Re-enforce good breathing.

Go on to talk about the form in more detail. The weight on the grounded foot. The alignment of the legs and hips. The torso, shoulders arms and gaze ect...

Talk about the benefits of this pose.

Talk about the energy forces in the body. (The fingers may be open or flared energy of together for more direct energy.)

Try to bring peace to the students minds and remove any suffering the posture may be causing.

"Always improve the clarity of your voice. The sound and proper tones can always be improved."

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Yoga posture - Parivrtta Anjaneyasana

Translation: Revolved Lunge Pose

From the Lunge posture above bring the opposite elbow over the front bent leg. Use the elbow to help in the rotation of the spine.

Tips
It may be tempting to bring the hands in line with the sternum. (In the middle of the chest.) If an enjoyable twist can be achieved then this will look better as far as alignment is concerned. It may be a better idea to place slightly higher. Feel the twist in the spine and stop when rotating if comfort is lost or if breathing becomes shallow and difficult.

It is easy for a posture to have negative effects if it is approached too aggressively. Finding gentle boundaries is usually more therapeutic and quite a refined art.

It is nice to blend the standing posture with spinal twists. Twisting the body many times in a yoga Vinyasa can result in a great  freedom and looseness in the spine. As a result Shakti energy (energy that moves up and down the spine) can also move more freely.

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