The following steps have to be followed to complete this pose -
To start this pose first kneel upright and place your knees a bit apart. Place your right foot forward about a foot or so in front of your left knee and turn your right thigh outward. You can do this by lifting your inner sole away from the floor, so that your foot rests on your outer heel.
Now breathe out and then bend your torso forward and press your fingertips to the floor.
After this gradually move your left knee backwards. Then straighten the knee and simultaneously, lower your right thigh towards the floor. Stop straightening your left knee when you feel you have reached the limit of your stretch.
The next step is to start pushing your right heel away from your torso. Start turning your leg inward while you straighten it and bring your kneecap towards the ceiling. Now start pressing the left knee backwards once again as your front leg becomes straight. Now drop the front of the left thigh carefully and along the back of the right thigh toward the ground. The centre of the right knee should point directly towards the ceiling.
While doing this ensure that your back leg is extended straight out behind from the hip without being angled out to the side. The centre of the kneecap should press on to the floor.
Extend the heel of the front leg and lift the ball of the foot towards the ceiling. You could either stretch your hands straight up, towards the ceiling, or bring them together in the Anjali Mudra or the Salutation Seal.
Once you have attained this pose, hold on to it for about a minute and then release. To release the pose press your hands on to the floor and turn the front leg out slightly. Slowly return your front heel as well as the back knee to the starting position.
After this repeat the exercise from the other side using the other leg.
There are several benefits of this pose. Some of them are as follows -
This pose is very good for your legs. It makes them strong, supple and flexible. It will also help you reduce the risk of injuries while engaging in activities like jogging, sprinting, cycling or climbing.
This pose helps to stimulate various organs of the abdomen and keeps them healthy and strong. It improves the overall functioning of the abdomen and makes the abdominal muscles stronger.
This pose helps to open up the hips and makes them stronger. It also helps to improve the overall balance, flexibility and alignment.
Even though this is a very beneficial pose there are certain cautions and precautions that you need to take. It is best to avoid this pose if you are suffering from any injuries, especially in the hamstring or groin area. It is also important to be slow and careful while practicing this pose. Be careful and do not push your body beyond its limits of comfort as it might cause injuries. Practice this pose only upto a point you feel comfortable and do not push yourself too much.
Initially it might be a little tough for the beginners as this pose can be quite complicated, however with regular practice and patience everything will get better. Before beginning this pose learn how to proper align your body and warm up properly, especially your legs. Also make sure that your hips are squared to the front. Another thing that you can do to make yourself easy is to press your back foot firmly into the floor and lift your shoulders blades into your back. This helps to increase the length of your torso and your spine which makes it easy to do this pose.
Regularly performing this pose helps to prevent Sciatica and also helps to cure and control it. It helps to improve the flow of blood to all parts of the body, mostly to your abdomen and your skin. This in turn helps you to improve digestion and keeps your body free of toxins. It helps to keep your body fresh and young. This pose also helps you to get rid of insomnia and is also a great stress buster. It helps to improve the sleeping patterns.
Here are some of the variations you can bring in this pose to make it more interesting and sometimes easy. Use yoga blocks to place your hands and support your body to bring your torso more upright. Use a block under your hamstring in case your front legs are not able to reach the floor. Support your pelvis using a yoga bolster or a firm blanket.
Some of the preparatory poses to try out to make this pose easy to perform are - Seated Forward Pose or Paschimottanasana, Head to knee pose or Janu Sirsasana, Wide Legged standing forward bend (Prasarita Padottanasana), Fixed firm pose or Supta Vajrasana, Reclining Big toe pose or Supta Panduguthasana among others.
Some of the follow up poses for this asana are - One legged King pigeon pose, Dancer pose, Seated forward bend and Wide angled seated forward bend.