Jane Witherspoon is our Ramblers' Monthly Fitness Challenge coach and a certified Hatha Yoga Teacher who has been practicing yoga for more than three decades. She loves sharing her passion for movement and teaching women in mid-life and beyond how to be strong and flexible.
This challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to perform the High Lunge yoga pose every day for 30 days!
Share your pics in our Facebook Group with #solesisterhighlunge.
High Lunge helps improve balance, stability, and strength in your legs, glutes, core, and arms. It also enhances joint function in the knees, ankles, hips, shoulders, and elbows.
This pose promotes flexibility by lengthening your front hamstring and opening your back hip flexor for a deep stretch while expanding the chest and shoulders.
Firmly planted feet activate the muscles in your legs and glutes and provide stability in the pose. Elevating your back foot heel causes you to focus on balancing, which is enhanced by squeezing your inner thighs and engaging your core to hold the pose steadily.
How to Do a High Lunge
- While standing, fold forward and bend your knees.
- Take an inhale, step your foot back, coming up on the ball of the foot.
- Step back far enough so that your front knee is over the ankle, forming a right angle.
- Ground through the feet, pull your lower abs in.
- Inhale, lift the upper body away from the thigh, sweeping arms up, palms facing each other.
- Lengthen through the spine, open the chest, and draw the front ribs down.
- Bend the back knee slightly, lengthen the tailbone towards the floor.
- Extend through the back leg, opening and stretching the sole of the back foot
- Stay for 5 breaths, then repeat on the other side.
Modifications
- If you have tight hamstrings or quads, you can practice High Lunge with your feet somewhat closer together. Keep a bend in your back leg and work toward straightening it as your flexibility increases. Place your hand on your hips or reach your arms up overhead.
- Using a chair for support can help you balance in High Lunge. Stand behind a sturdy chair. (Place it on a mat and/or against a wall so that it won’t slide.) Hold the back of the chair, then step back into the pose.
Ramblers' Monthly Fitness Challenges are simple exercises that enhance strength, balance, and flexibility - all crucial elements as we age. They are also activities you can seamlessly integrate into your rambles, taking a moment to breathe, stretch, and fortify your strength. We hope you continue to practice them and make them a part of your daily routine.
It's essential to note that individuals with certain health conditions, such as back injuries or knee problems, should consult a healthcare professional before attempting this or any other yoga poses. Modifications can be made to accommodate individual needs and abilities.
READ MORE > Ramblers' Monthly Fitness Challenge
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