This pose is as difficult as it is Awkward. Only the very limber can get thighs
parallel with the floor on the first attempt, and then one must be careful not
to allow the knees to creep together. Remember to keep them 6 inches apart.
Keep a frequent check on your arms too – they might rise higher than parallel.
Please don’t wiggle your fingers and toes!
We know it seems an
impossible at this point that you will ever be able to curve your spine and
shoulders backward and sit straight up and down over your hips as though your
back were against wall, instead of thrusting your body forward as though
about to dive into a pool for an Olympic relay. But you will, you will! And you’ll never again have to wear socks
to bed because of cold feet, since this post sends fresh blood and oxygen to
knees, ankles, and toes. 
This second part of the Awkward Posture is a killer! Give it
all you’ve got. It is the best posture
to shape your legs, thighs! There is always a “higher” and a “forwarder.” Work harder and harder each second until
your legs are trembling with a strain. Eventually you’ll rise nearly to a
ballet point without the aid of toe shoes, and your legs will be the envy!!
Also – Don’t lean forward. (But you will; we all do, even when we think we are
perfectly straight.) Feel as though you are leaning just slightly backward. The farther forward and upward you roll the
insteps and heels, the farther backward you must lean to be anywhere near
straight-backed.
The moment of rest will be an unparalleled relief for your
quivering thighs. And those arms will be feeling leaden by now.
Some of you might not be able to do a full knee bend at
first, but balance is really the task of
this one. The best of us still occasionally topple over backward. The
tendency - once you’ve squatted down,
gotten your buttocks in contact with your heels, lowered both your arms and
your knees a couple of inches, and are leaning backward with your spine – is to
let the arms and legs raise once more and to let the torso lean forward again.
That is when you fall over. Concentrate
on reinforcing the square, pressure always backward and upward with the spine,
and you’ll keep your balance.
The Awkward Pose gives some of
Yoga’s fastest results. It is positively
inspiring to watch your legs change from day to day, to discover muscles,
tendons, and definition that were never there before. We have seen people
take twenty pounds off their thighs in a month with this; no exercise in the
world is more effective for shaping legs!
Benefits
The Awkward Pose strengthens and
firms all muscles of thighs, calves, and hips, and makes hip joints flexible.
It also firms the upper arms. It increases blood circulation in the knees and
ankle joints and relieves rheumatism, arthritis, and gout in the legs, and
helps to cure slipped disc and lumbago in the lower spine.
Read more about this poses benefits, pictures, video
and tips from here
Drawings and info from
"Bikram´s Beginning Yoga Class " Book, 1978.
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