A continuing series offering yoga postures for men, women, and children to practice at home, school, on the road or in the office. With special thanks to Ross Pottinger of Wink Photo Design in Brisbane, Australia for the photos and the support in this project. And many thanks to Louisa Dick for inspiring and taking part in the project. If you have a posture that you would like to see in this column, or a general question about Yoga, I welcome your suggestions, comments, and queries. Namaste, Heather!

The Bound Angel

A gentle stretch that helps to lengthen, stretch, and relax the hips, groin, and inner thigh. Ensure that you maintain a long, slow, deep breath into your abdomen and low back as you practice this posture.

Bound Angel

Beginning in a sitting position, bring the bottoms of your feet together and draw your feet in towards your groin. You can move the fleshy part of your buttocks back to feel your sit bones connecting with the ground. Holding your feet with your fingers curled under the outside of your foot, focus on stretching up through your spine to create a long, flat back, and stretching out through your thighs, and allowing them to relax into the ground. As you relax into this stretch, breath deeply into your belly and low back, and draw your knees toward the ground. If your knees are quite a distance away from the ground, you may like to place a small cushion or rolled blanket under each thigh to support your thigh and knee.

Modified Bound Angel

From the Bound Angel, shift your buttocks back from your hips 18-24 inches. Take a deep breath to lift your ribcage, pressing your hips back slightly and slowly bend forward to walk your fingers out in front of your shins, maintaining a flat back, then exhale and relax into the stretch. Fingers are spread, spine is long, hips and knees are pressing down towards the ground as you feel the stretch through your hips and buttocks. Keep your chest elevated slightly to maintain a flat back, and breath deeply into your lower abdomen to relax deeper into the stretch. If you find it difficult to lengthen your spine in this position, try placing a cushion or folded blanket under your hips. To intensify this stretch, you may hold your toes and draw your elbows to the ground.