Side Angle :: Parsvakonasana
Parsva means side and Kona means angle, so this is called the side angle pose. It is a stretch of the lateral flank of your torso.
The feet are wide apart. The back foot points to the side and the front foot points foward. The back leg is straight and the foot is flat on the floor. The front leg is bent at the knee and the foot is flat on the floor. You must have the feet far apart enough so that when you lower the front thigh parallel to the floor, the front knee is just above the foot and not forward of it. You should be able to do this pose with your front toes touching a wall and not bang your knee on the wall.
Keep your pelvis and chest facing to the side as you put your front arm down and line up the forearm with the shinbone. The upper arm reaches overhead and with your bicep alongside your ear, you extend the arm So that you form a "side angle" as a continuation of the line from your heel, up the side of your leg and torso and on to the end of your arm. Your palm faces to the floor.
Finally, you turn your face to look up to the sky past your arm.
This is not an easy pose, but the strength and stretch benefits make it worth the effort. It tones up and corrects defects in the ankles, calves, knees, thighs. It helps relieve sciatic and arthritic pains in the hips and also improves digestion and elimination by stimulating paristaltic activity.