Why I love Anjaneyasana
Once in a while, a student will ask me if I have a favorite yoga pose. While I am working really hard at learning how to fully embody the words of Seng-T’san, “The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences,” I absolutely have a favorite yoga pose.
Anjaneyasana is both a chest opener and a hip opener (who doesn’t love a good hip opener?) It opens the heart chakra and helps to clear chest congestion, and also stretches the hips— especially the iliopsoas muscle. Anyone with tight hips, low back discomfort or SI joint pain could greatly benefit from practicing some version of this low lunge.
On a deeper, energetic level, the hips are said to hold onto our emotions— the unprocessed emotions that have gotten stuck in the body like fear, worry, anger and sadness. Some spiritual traditions refer to the psoas muscle as “the muscle of the soul.” Similarly, the psoas is believed to hold onto our emotional experiences at the cellular level.
Physically, the psoas muscle is attached to the diaphragm. This means that if your psoas is tight, most likely your breathing is also impacted, disconnecting you from the full potential of your use of breath in your practice and in your daily life.
The story of this pose has always been fascinating to me. Without getting too deep into the mythology here, Anjana is Hanuman’s mother, and in many ways this pose is dedicated to her. Anjaneya means “son of Anjana,” which is actually another name for Hanuman. This pose is such a beautiful reminder of Hanuman’s maternal influence, and a reminder that the Divine Feminine and Masculine work in tandem, always, guiding us toward wholeness, oneness and universal love.
To practice this pose, the legs must be steady and grounded while they also stretch to find length in the lunge. The arms stretch and reach up to the sky. Open arms, open hands, open heart. Full of willingness and trust, and ready to soar. I can’t help but smile as I take a deep breath and look up through my finger tips toward the heavens in this pose. Sometimes I let out a big sigh, letting go of whatever I’ve been holding onto. I bask in this low lunge. I include it in just about every single class I teach so that I can share my love of it with my students (and so that I can practice it all the time!) I just love it. Practically speaking, it’s a great prep for Hanumanasana, too!
The next time you practice Anjaneyasana, I invite you to notice: Does it feel different after reading this? (It’s ok if the answer is no, but somehow I have a feeling you will say yes.)
Follow up question, what’s your favorite yoga pose?