Anjaneyasana: A Modern Yoga Pose with Ancient Roots
Crescent Low Lunge Pose, also known as Anjaneyasana in yoga, the name of this asana comes from Lord Hanuman’s mother, Anjani. Anjaneya is the son of Anjani Devi, a powerful deity known for his incredible strength and courage.
When performed with awareness and proper alignment, practising Anjaneyasana is believed to awaken similar qualities within us.
This pose was discovered in the 20th century, inspired by Indian martial arts. This kneeling pose is a hip-opener and a heart-opener and is often called Crescent Moon Pose due to the body’s shape in the final position. With the gentle arch of the back and the lifted arms, the pose resembles a crescent moon.
Let’s explore Anjaneyasana in more detail, such as what it is, how to do it, its other variations, and all the details so that you can practise it safely.
What is Anjaneyasana?
Anjaneyasana, also known as Low Lunge Pose, is a beginner-level kneeling yoga posture that represents the energy and devotion of Anjana, the mother of the Hindu god Hanuman.
The Low Lunge Pose looks similar to Maharaj Vibheeshana, another devotee of Lord Rama, who is often shown kneeling humbly and respectfully. This pose shows a sense of humility and surrender.
This position stretches the muscles in the front of your hips and strengthens the muscles of your thighs. It also helps you become more flexible around your hips and inner thighs. Continued practice can support good posture and improve your balance.
Benefits of Anjaneyasana (Low Lunge Pose)
Anjana pose has many benefits for the body and mind. The few that are most famous are mentioned here:
- Stretches lower body: When you lunge one leg and bend the knee, you feel a deep stretch on the front of the hip and thigh, providing proper hip flexor stretch of the upper legs.
- Strengthens Legs: When you lunge, the front leg carries the body’s weight and, therefore, builds up the muscles of the thighs and calves. This back-leg arrangement helps you gain balance and adds better muscle power.
- Improves Posture: The Anjaneyasana pose helps stretch and open the hips and chest, which is excellent for fixing the general posture.
- Relieves Stress: This soothing pose gently releases tension outward from the spine, shoulders, and neck by bending forward while holding onto both sides of the front foot. The routine practice of this pose helps reduce stress.
- Bring Balance: Engage your core and leg muscles on one leg in Anjaneyasana Pose, which helps to build balance. When your hips plunge, raise your back knee to achieve strength, stability, and body awareness.
- Grounding: Grounding means creating a strong connection to the earth by pressing gently through your feet. These deep stretches help calm the mind by relieving mental and physical tension, allowing for a relaxing, grounding impact on muscles.
- Prepares for Other Poses: Anjaneyasana Pose opens the hips, training the body for other poses, like the triangle pose, warrior ii, and standing breaks. People use it before their high-powered yoga practices.
How to Perform Anjaneyasana?
First, you need to warm up before performing Anjaneyasana. You can activate your glutes by sitting in the centre of your mat, with your legs bent at the knees and your soles touching each other.
When performing a spinal side stretch, it is necessary to warm up your side of the body. You can get your body ready by doing Surya Namaskars and poses like Downward-Facing Dog, Standing Forward Fold, and Bound Angle Pose. These help warm up your muscles and prepare you for deeper stretches. Afterwards, you can follow the steps below to start ‘Anjaneyasana.’
1. Stand in Tadasana: Take a few deep breaths and roll your shoulders forward and back to attain flexibility. Stand with your spine straight, relaxed shoulders, and chin in line with the floor. Make sure your feet are grounded and positioned side by side.
Your legs should be straight, with your arms resting. In the centre of your body, you can feel the power in the calves’ feet and the forces in the lower legs.
2. Breathe: Inhale and raise your arms straight out, parallel with one another. Try to keep your upper body relaxed while breathing, like performing Hasta Uttanasana.
3. Be careful not to do too much arching and bending, which can make you uncomfortable. This movement pushes the abdomen forward, which may put a strain on the neck and lower back, potentially leading to injury.
4. Now, maintain core concentration as you bend your upper body evenly from the waist to the head, ensuring balance throughout the movement. Exhale slowly and bend forward for the standing-on-fold pose. Then, step back with your right foot, ensuring it’s properly aligned with your hips and heel.
5. Remember to lengthen the spine and bend at the lower back when you bend forward. Do not slouch or lower your back, and bend towards the mid-back.
6. To maintain core strength, put your palms on the sides of your feet. Let your head hang freely. Straighten the legs from the ankles, calf muscles, and hamstrings and extend to the back of your hips. The hips need to be aligned so that the tailbone is pointed upwards.
7. Now inhale and keep your hands on the ground. Retract your right leg and place it on the floor to the maximum distance you can go. Keep your left foot flat on the mat, and ensure the top of your left foot stays in touch with the mat to help you stay balanced.
8. That’s how an athlete should appear before beginning to run: knees on the floor, toes turned to the side, and feet firmly seated on the floor.
9. Next, you must fold your left leg and flatten your feet on the mat, ensuring the front foot is firmly pressed for balance. The angle of your left leg should be 90 degrees, which means that your chin, ankle, and knee must be straight while maintaining your left hip parallel to the floor.
10. Avoid shifting the left knee forward, which may lead to injury. In this low lunge, Crescent Pose Variation with the knee on the floor (Ashwa Sanchalanasana), the body leans forward with the shoulders drawn back, hands grounded, and the neck gently lifted.
11. The practitioner should be looking towards the sky, not downwards, and the spine is in a relaxed state while your chest expands.
12. Camly breathes in this posture and brings your hands to your heart centre. Feel the stretch on your hamstrings and spine muscle groups. Also, notice the abdomen’s pressure pressing on the folded left leg. You should stay here for around 4 – 6 breaths. Concentrate on the muscles in your thighs and gluteus maximus.
13. Inhale, lift your arms over your head and extend them smoothly above your armpits. Then, bend your back according to your ability. Your palms should be in the Namaskara Mudra. Then, bend your neck and look at the Namaskar Mudra. Hold your breath in this final posture.
14. Every time you exhale, attempt to lower the hips, keeping the 90-degree angle of your left knee and providing proper alignment. Extend your arms out and be aware of the backbend.
15. To complete the flow, exhale deeply, then gently bring the right leg back toward the left, transitioning smoothly into a Downward-Facing Dog before continuing.
16. Move into Standing Forward Fold Pose, then slowly back to Tadasana. Take a few deep breaths here. Repeat the process with the left leg inwards, fully extended, and your front knees on the mat. Follow the exact steps on the right side.
17. Repeat this four to five times, depending on your capacity. After that, relax into a standing position. You can align yourself in the Three-Part Breath Mountain Pose (Dirga Pranayama Tadasana). Anjaneyasana deeply stretches and strengthens the lower body, enhancing flexibility and focus. This pose is excellent for opening the hips, lengthening the thighs, and activating the core muscles.
Also Read – Tadasana: Mastering the Mountain Pose for Optimal Posture and Balance
Variations of Anjaneyasana
Anjaneyasana has multiple variations of poses that are also very beneficial for the body’s flexibility. Some famous ones are mentioned below:
- Utthana Pristhasana: This variation is called Lizard Pose, and it involves bringing the forearms down to the floor for a deeper stretch.
- Parivritta Anjaneyasana: In this asana, the opposite elbow rests outside the front knee, while the back knee stays on the floor. This is preparing for Parivritta Parsvakonasana, in which the back knee is lifted.
- Pigeon Pose Transition: In Anjaneyasana, you can transition into Rajakapotasana by moving the front foot to the side and lowering the knee. This is a deep backbend and hip-opening pose.
- Crescent Moon Pose: Some teachers refer to a high lunge with both arms lifted (similar to Virabhadrasana I) as Crescent Moon Pose.
- Naming Differences: Some use Parivritta Anjaneyasana for the twist with the back knee down and Parivritta Parsvakonasana for the version with the elbow touching the knee and the back leg lifted.
Conclusion
Now you know about the Yoga Lunge Pose, including steps, benefits, variations, and a little about its roots. The only step you need to take is to practise it regularly to achieve its health benefits, which you read here. If you need more information, a suitable environment, or experienced yoga practitioners, you can join our Rishikul Yogshala Rishikesh Yoga school because our dedicated team ensures that students receive extensive guidance and personalised attention to perfect their practice of the Yoga Lunge in a safe and nurturing environment.
