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Hannah Cole

Hannah Cole writes and looks after the yoga.com pose library - the guides that walk through each posture step by step, what it asks of the body, and how to make it kinder. She came to yoga the way a lot of people do, through a body that complained: years of desk work and running left her hips and shoulders asking for something slower. More than a decade of steady practice later, the poses are still her favorite teachers. Her rule for the column has not changed. Every claim about what a pose does for the body has to trace back to a named source at the end of the piece, and where the research is thin, the piece says so. Most weeks you will find her on the mat, testing a modification before she recommends it, or back in the library re-checking an old guide against newer research.

Hannah Cole

By Hannah Cole

Half Moon Pose with Stretch (Ardha Candrāsana) - by Hannah Cole
Body, Mobility & Posture Half Moon Pose with Stretch (Ardha Candrāsana)
One added quad catch turns classic Half Moon into Half Moon Pose with Stretch, building single-leg stability and hip-flexor length together.
Hannah ColeMarch 9, 20265 min read
Half Moon Pose (Right) (Ardha Candrāsana) - by Hannah Cole
Body, Mobility & Posture Half Moon Pose (Right) (Ardha Candrāsana)
Balance on your right foot, lift the left leg parallel, and Half Moon Pose (Right) builds single-leg stability and lateral strength.
Hannah ColeMarch 8, 20264 min read
Half Moon Pose (Ardha Candrāsana) - by Hannah Cole
Body, Mobility & Posture Half Moon Pose (Ardha Candrāsana)
The whole lateral chain gets stronger in Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana), an intermediate standing balance that opens your hips and chest...
Hannah ColeMarch 6, 20264 min read
Half Lotus Pose with Left Leg Up (Ardha Padmāsana) - by Hannah Cole
Body, Mobility & Posture Half Lotus Pose with Left Leg Up (Ardha Padmāsana)
Half Lotus Pose (left leg up) places the left foot on the right thigh for a stable, hip-opening meditation seat - an accessible step toward...
Hannah ColeMarch 5, 20264 min read
Standing Split - Forward Stretch with Left Leg Up (Ūrdhva Prasārita Eka Pādāsana) - by Hannah Cole
Body, Mobility & Posture Standing Split - Forward Stretch with Left Leg Up (Ūrdhva Prasārita Eka Pādāsana)
Fold over your right leg while lifting your left leg toward the ceiling - this standing split-variant forward bend builds hamstring length a...
Hannah ColeMarch 4, 20265 min read
Greeting Pose (Añjalāsana) - by Hannah Cole
Body, Mobility & Posture Greeting Pose (Añjalāsana)
Greeting Pose (Añjalāsana) is a kneeling prayer position that centres the palms at the heart and establishes upright spinal alignment. Perfe...
Hannah ColeMarch 3, 20264 min read
Great Plow Pose (Mahā Halāsana) - by Hannah Cole
Body, Mobility & Posture Great Plow Pose (Mahā Halāsana)
Great Plow Pose (Mahā Halāsana) deepens standard Plow by extending the arms overhead and spreading the legs wide - an advanced inversion for...
Hannah ColeMarch 2, 20264 min read
Fish Pose in Lotus Pose (Padma Matsyāsana) - by Hannah Cole
Body, Mobility & Posture Fish Pose in Lotus Pose (Padma Matsyāsana)
Padma Matsyāsana pairs full Lotus hips with a thoracic backbend, crown to floor, hands gripping the feet - an advanced shape for open hips a...
Hannah ColeMarch 1, 20265 min read
Fish Pose with Straight Legs (Matsyāsana) - by Hannah Cole
Body, Mobility & Posture Fish Pose with Straight Legs (Matsyāsana)
Matsyāsana opens the chest, extends the thoracic spine, and stretches the anterior neck in a supine backbend with straight legs - ideal near...
Hannah ColeFebruary 28, 20264 min read
Fish Pose with Straight Legs Up (Matsyāsana variation, Uttāna Pādāsana) - by Hannah Cole
Body, Mobility & Posture Fish Pose with Straight Legs Up (Matsyāsana variation, Uttāna Pādāsana)
Fish Pose with Straight Legs Up pairs a deep chest-opening backbend with vertical legs for a challenging core and front-body stretch.
Hannah ColeFebruary 27, 20264 min read