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chest and straighten the arms.

      Vinyasa Eight

      Exhaling, fold forward over the inside of the left leg. Continue to medially rotate the thigh here. While the right knee keeps contact with the floor, the left sit bone sinks down to meet the floor. Continue to flex the right foot, drawing it deeper into the left groin. The heel should press into the lower abdomen. In females the heel presses into the uterus. This posture is especially therapeutic for the female reproductive system, just as Janushirshasana B is therapeutic for the male reproductive system.

      The left foot is between a flexed and a pointed position, with the underneath of the leg actively working. The right femur reaches out of the hip joint. Reaching outward along the inside of the right thigh will release the adductors.

      As with all postures where the drishti is up to the toes, it is essential not to kink the neck. With correct alignment the chin will eventually meet the shin. Never compromise the alignment of the spine to meet illusionary goals; rather, always retain the inner integrity of the posture, and the real goals of yoga will be attained. Stay here for five breaths.

      Vinyasa Nine

      Inhaling, lift your chest while still holding the foot. Exhaling, take the right leg out of position and place your hands down on the floor.

      

      Vinyasa Fourteen to Twenty

      Repeat the posture on the left.

      Marichyasana A

      POSTURE OF THE RISHI MARICHI A

      Drishti Toes

      Vinyasa Seven

      Inhaling, jump through to Dandasana. Fold the right leg and place the right foot outside the right hip, as far back as possible. Keep about two hands’ width, or enough space to fit your torso, between the right foot and the left inner thigh. The right foot is parallel to the left leg and not turned out. With the right arm, reach forward until your shoulder is in front of the knee. Wrap your right arm around the shin, ideally half way between knee and ankle. As your forward bend progresses, you will be able to wrap the arm lower down your shin. Work toward binding the left wrist with the right hand. Inhaling, lift the heart high. The right buttock deliberately leaves the floor.

       PRACTICAL TIP

       The Gift

      Marichyasana A is like a forward bend with a handicap. It is very challenging for those with tight hamstrings. The tendency here is to avoid taking weight into the bent leg, but to be propelled instead over onto the straight leg. This defeats the very challenge of the posture: to soften the hip of the bent leg. This posture prepares the hips for the Kurmasanas. Such flexibility is needed to perform the action of placing the leg behind the head.

      The action of forward bending is performed solely by the hip flexors and is supported by the feet, legs, and trunk. With our hands bound, the temptation to use our arms for assistance to fold forward in the Marichyasanas is removed. Marichyasana A offers the therapeutic benefit of strengthening these muscles. The handicap becomes the gift.

      Vinyasa Eight

      Exhaling, tip the pelvis forward and lengthen out your trunk. Keep weight, and thereby action, in the foot of the bent leg. Use both feet, both legs, and both hip flexors to propel yourself forward. Continue to lift your heart and place the chest squarely down on the straight leg. To soften deeper into the posture, once forward ground the right buttock down toward the floor and lift the right knee away from the floor. The heel of the straight leg continues to press down into the floor.

      Marichyasana A

      

       MYTHOLOGICAL BACKGROUND

       The Rishi Marichi

      Here we start a new group of postures, called the Marichyasanas, which first and foremost are hip openers. They are dedicated to the Maharishi Marichi (meaning ray of light). Marichi is one of the six mind-born sons of Lord Brahma and father of the Rishi Kashyappa, who is the ancestor of gods, demons, humans, and animals. Marichi appears several times in the Mahabharata, where he celebrates Arjuna’s birth and visits Bhishma at his deathbed. In the Bhagavata Purana we learn that Marichi performed a ritual to purify Lord Indra from the sin of slaying the Brahmin Vrtra. After the conclusion of his earthly life, Marichi is said to have become one of the stars of the constellation Ursa Major.

      Lift your heart away from the knee, but forward toward the left foot. This action not only prevents hunching your back, but also strengthens the back muscles as the trunk extensors are engaged. Hold this posture for five breaths.

      Vinyasa Nine

      Inhaling, come up and release the hands. Exhaling, place the hands down to the floor, keeping the knee behind the shoulder if possible.

      

      Vinyasa Fourteen to Twenty

      Repeat the posture on the left.

       Marichyasana B

      POSTURE OF THE RISHI MARICHI B

      Drishti Nose

      Marichyasana A and B are almost identical, the only difference being that the leg that is straight in A is in half lotus in B.

      Vinyasa Seven

      Inhaling, jump through and straighten your legs. Bend up the left leg and place it into half lotus in the way described in Ardha Baddha Padma Pashimottanasana (page 74). Bend up the right leg, lifting the right sit bone off the floor and drawing the left knee down to the floor. Place the right foot so that the right ankle is in line with the greater trochanter of the femur (the bony outside of the hip joint).

      Draw the left knee out to the side until an angle of 45° is reached between both thighs. Be sure to maintain this angle when folding forward. With the knee far out to the side, this posture is a very effective hip opener. Otherwise, it becomes just another forward bend.

      With the right arm, reach up to stretch the right waist and then far forward inside the knee, until the right shoulder is in front of the right knee. Stay as low as possible, ideally hooking the shoulder half way between the knee and ankle of the right leg. Now, touching the right outer ribs against the right inner thigh, wrap the arm around the leg and if possible clasp the wrist of the left arm with the right hand. Holding on to the wrist, inhale deeply and lift the chest high.

      

      Right, Marichyasana B, vinyasa seven Below, Marichyasana B

      

      Vinyasa Eight

      Exhaling, fold forward, placing your torso in the center between the right foot and the left knee. At

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