Lizard pose can be modified by dropping the back knee to the ground and/or staying long through the arms rather than lowering to the elbow. Options to play with include the knee slightly out away from the mid-line, or hug close to the shoulder
Stop. Do not go anywhere. Close your eyes and begin to simply asses energy around what you feel in your physical body. Open your eyes and now raise hand if your hips are whispering, talking or even shouting at you. Not feeling anything? Read on...
Lizard is a deep and intense posture that targets straight to the hips, connected to the energy of the second chakra, Svadisthana, and the right to FEEL. Sometimes we shut off this valve, not allowing ourselves to feel; happy, sad, pain, love, fear, anger...
Quite literally the seat where we store our relationships with others, parents, siblings, spouses, family, friends, co-workers, etc. Energetic thoughts and patterns are deeply tied to our hips and often times it is simply not discharged, especially if we are not actively engaging and moving our hips. Sitting at desks, in cars, or standing long periods can severely limit mobility, not just of our body but our mind and spirit. This is yoga. This is the now and it is time to let it all go.
Either way, if you are in tune with your personal space or if you may be unaware of what is happening in your body, Lizard will help you to continue this inner dialogue with your body and with your emotional ties to the past. Allow the mind to speak to the posture and in doing so allow the posture to share in the conversation with the mind using the breath as the conduit.
Consider trying this posture only after you have warmed up the body with a few sun salutations and standing asana. Since this posture is connected with Svadisthana, and the water element, go with the flow and work a few hip circles in three-legged down dog before stepping the right foot to the outside of the right hand down on the mat. Stay upright or move to your forearms to take this into a deeper seat and focus on the breath and an opportunity to open the heart. Come out of the posture mindfully and rest in down dog or continue through a vinyasa to clear out discarded trauma. Take several breaths to FEEL the shift before moving to the left side.
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Please Note: If this or any yoga pose caused direct pain, numbness or just does not feel right to you, please stop. Your yoga practice should never hurt, seek advice from a qualified instructor or a medical practitioner.