Firefly pose (Tittibhasana in Sanskrit) is an advanced arm balance pose. This asana strengthens the wrists and forearms. It also stretches the hamstrings and tones the abdominal muscles.
To move into firefly pose, begin on your yoga mat in mountain pose and move into a wide legged squat position. Place the arms on the mat under your feet. The palms should be flat on the mat with the fingers pointing forward to the front of the mat. Move the pelvis forward so the arms and trunk of the body are positioned between the legs.
Bend your elbows and begin to shift the weight onto the upper arms. Feel your balance on the arm muscles and when you feel ready, begin to lift the feet off the floor. From here, you will first straighten the legs, so the toes are facing forward and the legs are parallel to the floor with the weight balanced on the arms.
Once you have straightened your arms, begin to straighten your arms as much as possible without losing your balance. This is an advanced asana and you shouldn’t expect to master it the first time. It is a process. On each inhalation, stretch the legs out to the sides just a little bit more.
First, begin by working on straightening the legs. This may start off gradually, with the legs crossed at the ankles and barely off the ground. With each practice, try to take the legs a little higher and straighter. Eventually you will have straight legs and can then work on getting the arms straight.
Straightening the arms is a bit trickier because your weight is balanced on the arms and it takes upper body strength and core body strength to reach the full pose. Do as much as you can each time and soon you will easily move into firefly pose.
To move out of the pose, bend the arms and lower the legs back to the floor. Return to the squatting position and then stand in mountain pose or move onto the next pose, depending on the class.