Set yourself up in Virabhadrasana II, ensure your knee does not go past the front ankle. Anchor the back foot down into the mat, switch on your bandhas and reach your front arm towards the front of the mat, lengthen and reach through the torso as you do so. Gently place the front elbow down on the bent knee without putting weight through it, allow it to float there for balance. Sweep the back arm down and around your front side (just like you're bowling a bowling ball) and reach to the front, palm faces down, roll the top shoulder back and down away from your ear to create space and open through the chest.

Reach through the top arm to create as much length through the top side of the body as possible, really open out here.

You might be wondering why it's important to roll down and around to reach towards the front rather than just lifting the arm up over head. The forward roll allows space to open up in the shoulder joint. Have a little play here to see if you can feel the difference in your reach here between just lifting your arm up and rolling it through.

If it feels good for your neck here you may like to tuck your chin slightly to keep length through the spine and look up towards your underarm.

For a stronger option here you may choose to float both arms forwards, really reach towards the front of the mat and ensure you don’t lose the alignment and length in your torso.

You may also like to have a play with taking the bottom arm down towards the mat, you can either land it on a block or if you have the reach without losing alignment place your hand on the mat.

Utthita Parsvakonasana opens through the side of the body, and creates strength through the legs and core.