Yoga Pose
Flying Splits / Eka Pada Koundinyasana II
Technique
1. Perform Visvamitrasana with the right leg over the back of the upper right arm.
2. Exhale, place the left palm on the floor. Move the head and trunk towards the floor. Bend both the elbows, keep the body parallel to the floor, stretch both the legs straight and keep the toes off the floor. Balance the body on the hands as long as you can. The left leg will
be stretched straight back while the right leg is stretched on the right side. The inner side of the right thigh rests on the back of the right upper arm.
3. The pose is very strenuous and requires persistent effort to master. Breathing will be fast and hard. Stretch the neck and keep the head up.
4. Lower the left leg to the floor, remove the right leg from the right arm and relax for some time.
5. Repeat the pose on the other side, this time keeping the left leg on the back of the upper left arm and the right leg straight behind. Stay for the same length of time on both sides.
6. Advanced pupils may do the pose from Salamba Sirsasana II by following the technique of Eka Pada Koundinyasana I, but placing one leg on the back of the upper arm of the
same side as in Plate 444 and then lifting the head off the floor, keeping both legs straight and parallel to the floor.
7. Repeat the pose on the other side and then go back to Sirsasana II, perform Urdhva Dhanurisana and stand in Tadasana (Plate 1) or perform Viparita Chakrasana.
Effects
The pose strengthens the arms and abdominal organs and the thigh muscles.
Source : Light on Yoga by BKS. Iyengar.