Vrksasana

Notes

Abductors on the standing leg are working eccentrically; if they are weak or tight, the hip of the lifted leg hikes up or the rotators (gluteus maximus, piriformis, and obturators) try to stabilize the pelvis and the pelvis rotates on the standing leg, rather than staying level and facing forward.

The more strength and adaptability you have in the feet and ankles, the more options you have for finding balance on the standing leg.

The action of the lifted leg, where the knee is drawn up and out to the side, is actually a very complex movement muscularly: Hip flexors are active to lift the knee, but with external rotation and abduction, hip extension also becomes involved. Then, in order to press the foot into the standing leg while keeping the knee out to the side (and without tipping the pelvis forward), the hip joint needs to adduct without flexion. Of course, the higher on the standing leg the foot is, the less it is necessary to press the foot in because the weight of the leg holds the foot in place. However, if it is necessary to use the adductors to press the foot into the standing leg, it is important to find adductors that are more posterior, such as the adductor magnus. Anterior adductors, such as the pectineus (which is short and active on many of us, in part from sitting so much), will tip the pelvis forward and internally rotate the lifted leg at the same time they are trying to adduct.

Images from the book Yoga Anatomy by Leslie Kaminoff & Amy Matthews displayed on this website are used under license.