Though this is not a very difficult pose it requires quite a lot of practice, strength and flexibility to perform this pose. One can follow the following step by step process to do this pose.
Start this pose with all our fours by first bringing your right knee forward and then placing it more or less behind your right hand. Now place your ankle somewhere in front of your left hip. In this pose the more you lower leg is parallel with the front of the mat, the more intense will be the hip opener.
Now slide your left leg back and straighten the knee and point the toes. While doing this ensure that your leg is behind your body and not drawing outwards.
After this draw your legs in towards each other. This will help to keep the hips square.
Gently lower yourself down and use some support, mostly under your right buttock to keep your hips at level.
Inhale and then lift your upper body, then come to your fingertips, hand shoulder width apart. Then draw your naval in and tailbone down, this will help to open the chest.
Now exhale and walk your hands forward on the fingertips and lower the upper body to the floor. After this you can rest your forehead on the ground.
Now hold on to this position for a couple of breaths and then exhale and try to release the tension in your right hip.
Now try to balance your weight on both your legs.
After this you can change sides and repeat the pose.
This is considered to be a good pose for women who are trying to conceive. It is also good for the torso and the core as well as the lower back muscles. It helps to cure various ailments related to the pose.
This is a very beneficial pose. Some of the important benefits of this pose are as follows -
It helps to open the hips.
It also helps to increase the balance your core.
It has a soothing effect on your mind and helps to calm it down.
It stretches your thighs, psoas or hip flexors and groins and keeps them healthy and strong.
It is also beneficial for the shoulders and chest as it helps to open them and keeps them strong and flexible.
It helps to lengthen and release the back muscles through a gentle twist.
It helps to strengthen and tone the standing arm and leg.
It is beneficial for the quadriceps of the leg behind you as it stretches them and keeps them in shape.
Even though this is a very beneficial pose there are certain contraindications and cautions one has to keep in mind while doing this pose. Avoid this pose in case you have a hip or knee injury. Also do not stand on the kneecap of the bent back leg but try to keep your weight just above the knee. It is also advisable to consult a trained yoga professional before trying out any pose of yoga as every pose has its own benefits and contraindications. it is best to get an expert opinion before trying out yoga to understand its pros and cons.
In the beginning it can be tough for some people as this pose requires a lot of strength and flexibility. to make it easy you can keep the right foot close to your left hop or even place it under your right buttock so as to keep your lower leg parallel to your extended leg. If you are finding it difficult to rest your forehead on the ground you can use a cushion of your palms to rest your forehead. Or you can even use for forearm for this. You can also stay up higher and rest on your elbows or hands. Just keep in mind as not to slump and keep the base of the neck long and relaxed.
In case of difficultly in doing this pose you can bring minor variations to improve and make things a bit easy. In case your knee hurts while doing this pose you can bring the right foot closer to the left hip or even underneath the right buttock. You can also lie down on your back instead of drawing the leg in the same way without putting any pressure on the knees.
You can make minor modifications with this pose, especially with the foot and hand placement on the mat. One modification is to keep both the feet pointing straight forward and parallel to the long edge of the mat, or in case there is open hips you can pivot out your hands and foot outwards up to forty five degrees. Always try to track knee in the same direction as the standing foot.
Some easy preparatory poses for this asana are as follows - Cobbler Pose (Baddha Konasana), Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana), Dhanurasana (Bow Pose), Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana), Reclining Bound Angle Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana), Extended Triangle Pose (Utthita Trikonasana) and Reclined Hero Pose (sputa virasana).
Some follow up poses for this asana are - Eka Pada Rajakapotasana III and IV or the One legged king pigeon poses III and IV and Rajakapotasana or King Pigeon Pose.
You can deepen the pose by moving your left hip fully to the floor and keeping the hips level. Once you have become comfortable with the initial pose you can try to get the shin parallel to the front of the mat so that your ankle is behind your left hand and the knee is behind your right hand.