Anjaneyasana

Āñjaneyāsana (Sanskrit: आञ्जनेयासन, "Son of Anjani pose"), Crescent Moon Pose[1] or Ashwa Sanchalanasana, Equestrian Pose[2] is a lunging back bending asana in modern yoga as exercise.

Anjaneyasana, Crescent Moon pose

It is sometimes included as one of the asanas in the Surya Namaskar sequence, though usually with arms down in that case.

Etymology and origins

The name Anjaneya is a matronymic for Hanuman whose mother's name is Anjani. Hanuman is a central figure in the epic Rāmāyaṇa and an important Iṣṭa-devatā in devotional worship.[3]

Like many standing poses, Anjaneyasana was unknown in medieval hatha yoga, and was brought into modern yoga in the 20th century from Indian martial arts. It is used in schools of modern yoga such as Sivananda Yoga.[1] It is included as one of the asanas in Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga's type 1 Surya Namaskar sequence.[4]

Description

The pose is entered from a lunge, with the back knee lowered to the ground, the back arched and the arms raised and stretched over the head. The toes of the back foot remain tucked forward, the heel lifted. The front foot remains in standing position, the hips lowered close to the front foot and the front knee fully bent and pointing forwards. In the full pose, the rear foot is lifted and grasped with both hands, the elbows pointing up.[1][5]

Variations
Variation with arms down

A twisting lunge (a preparatory pose for Parivritta Parsvakonasana[6]) is sometimes called Parivṛtta Anjaneyasana. This has the opposite elbow to the bent forward knee and the rear leg straight.[7]

Moving the front foot on to its side so the knee comes to the ground enables a transition to a related back bend, Rajakapotasana.[1]

Some teachers use the name Crescent Moon Pose for a lunge with raised knee and raised hands, as in Virabhadrasana I.[8]

See also

References
  1. Lidell, Lucy; The Sivananda Yoga Centre (1983). The Book of Yoga: the complete step-by-step guide. Ebury. pp. 132–133. ISBN 978-0-85223-297-2. OCLC 12457963.
  2. Saraswati, Swami Satyananda (2003). Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha. Nesma Books India. p. 165. ISBN 978-81-86336-14-4.
  3. Gaia Staff (27 September 2016). "Anjaneyasana: The Lunge Pose". Gaia. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  4. "Surya Namaskar Variations: How it is done in these 3 popular yoga traditions". Times of India. 23 June 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  5. Steiner, Ronald (June 2015). "Anjaneyāsana - Learning devotion from Hanuman". Yoga Aktuell (in German) (92 June/July 2015). Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  6. Mehta, Silva; Mehta, Mira; Mehta, Shyam (1990). Yoga: The Iyengar Way. Dorling Kindersley. p. 36.
  7. "Revolved Crescent Lunge | Parivṛtta Aṅjaneyāsana". Pocket Yoga. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  8. "Asanas: Standing Poses". About-Yoga.com. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
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