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(parsh-voh-tahn-AHS-anna)
parsva = side, flank
ut = intense
tan = to stretch or extend (compare the Latin verb tendere, “to stretch or extend”)

Intense Side Stretch Pose: Step-by-Step Instructions

Stand in Tadasana . With an exhalation, step or lightly jump your feet 3½ to 4 feet apart. Rest your hands on your hips. Turn your left foot in 45 to 60 degrees to the right and your right foot out to the right 90 degrees. Align the right heel with the left heel. Firm your thighs and turn your right thigh outward, so that the center of the right knee cap is in line with the center of the right ankle.
For More Forward Bend Poses

Exhale and rotate your torso to the right, squaring the front of your pelvis as much as possible with the front edge of your mat. As the left hip point turns forward, press the head of the left femur back to ground the back heel. Press your outer thighs inward, as if squeezing a block between your thighs. Firm your scapulas against your back torso, lengthen your coccyx toward the floor, and arch your upper torso back slightly.

With another exhalation, lean the torso forward from the groins over the right leg. Stop when the torso is parallel to the floor. Press your fingertips to the floor on either side of the right foot. If it isnÂ’t possible for you to touch the floor, support your hands on a pair of blocks or the seat of a folding chair. Press the thighs back and lengthen the torso forward, lifting through the top of the sternum.

In this pose the front-leg hip tends to lift up toward the shoulder and swing out to the side, which shortens the front-leg side. Be sure to soften the front-leg hip toward the earth and away from the same-side shoulder while you continue squeezing the outer thighs. Press the base of the big toe and the inner heel of the front foot firmly into the floor, then lift the inner groin of the front leg deep into the pelvis.

Hold your torso and head parallel to the floor for a few breaths. Then, if you have the flexibility, bring the front torso closer to the top of the thigh, but donÂ’t round forward from the waist to do this. Eventually the long front torso will rest down on the thigh. Hold your maximum position for 15 to 30 seconds, then come up with an inhalation by pressing actively through the back heel and dragging the coccyx first down and then into the pelvis. Then go to the left side

Frog (Bhekasana)
To come into full Bhekasana, lie on your belly. Then inhale, separate the legs slightly, bend the knees, and reach back and grab the tops of both feet with the hands, just as you did with one leg and hand in Eka Pada Bhekasana. Then, if possible, pivot on the palms of your hands so your wrists point back and your fingers point forward, in the same direction as your toes. (If you can’t manage this hand position, just repeat the position you used in the previous pose.)
As in Supta Virasana and Eka Pada Bhekasana, make absolutely sure your feet are correctly aligned before proceeding further. Then, on an exhalation, firmly push down on the tops of the feet to bring the toes and heels close to the ground alongside the hips; at the same time, lift your chest, head, and shoulders into a backbend. Take five to 10 breaths in this position, then come out of the posture on an exhalation, slowly releasing down to the floor.
After taking a few breaths to recover, repeat Bhekasana. To bring your spine back to neutral afterward, move through a gentle Surya Namaskar before lying down on your back, bringing your knees to your chest, and giving them a hug. Then rest for a few minutes in Savasana (Corpse Pose).
In Bhekasana, the full weight of the body is pressing into the belly even as you stretch exactly the same area. The effect of this combination is to direct quite a bit of prana (vital energy) to the second and third chakras, just below and above the navel, respectively. Consequently, you may notice that the pose has a powerful stimulating and cleansing effect on the digestive, reproductive, and eliminative systems of the body.
As you become able to lift more deeply into Bhekasana, it’s likely that you will also notice that the strength of your arms helps improve the stretch in your legs. The harder you can push down with your arms, the more opening you’ll achieve in the fronts of the thighs.
As you develop strength through yoga, you’ll naturally become more flexible and open. Your strength will help you push against the walls of your limitations, expand your horizons, and test new waters. Like the frog from the well, your view of the world will become larger. But the change in your perspective won’t surprise you or make your head explode into a million pieces, because—unlike the frog from the well—you have chosen to make your way to the shores of the Great Ocean consciously and methodically, awake every step of the way.