Tiger Pose (Vyaghrasana), or like the variation above, Raised Tiger Pose (Uthana Vyaghrasana) is a backbend which opens up the chest, as well as the hips.
Tiger Pose is first mentioned in Hatha Rentavali, which was written in the 17th century by Srinivasa. The Hatha Rentavali is the first text to actually list the 84 asanas (the prior texts only stated there were indeed 84 of them). Tiger Pose gets it's name as it resembles a tiger stretching it's body when it wakes up.
There is also a myth, that Vyaghrapada, who was a sage of Patanjali, prayed to have tiger legs. When he received his tiger legs, he practiced this stretch, and later on, the pose was named after him and his tiger legs. Whichever naming history you prefer, Tiger Pose is a good addition to your practice.
Tiger Pose strengthens the spine and abdominal muscles, and stretches the hip joints. It also tones the nerves in your spinal cord, so it is a great pose to assist with pain relief from sciatica.
When adding Vyaghrasana or Uthana Vyaghrasana to your practice, here are some tips:
Knees should be stacked under the hips, and hands under the shoulders.
Engage the core, and the quads, to stabilize the pose
Find your drishti
Reach for the outside of your foot (versus toes) for a better hold
Push the top of your foot into the palm of your hand to improve your lift
Place a towel or blanket under the knee, for extra cushion, if preferred
You will probably notice that one side of your Tiger is more flexible than the other. That is normal, and once you start looking for it, you will probably realize this is the case for almost all poses that can be done as right/left poses.
Here it is pretty easy to see my left versus right side variation. You may also note my foot/toe placement is different in each one - this is because my balance is also better on one side than the other, so having my toes there as a kickstand was supportive.
There are many other variations of this pose, such as bringing the toes all the way to the top of the head, or simply lifting the foot off the mat and holding at a 90 degree angle. There is no one variation that is better than the other - it is what your body needs/wants to do for the day, that is the best variation for you.
-Charlene