Asana of the Month, Seated Forward Bend
By John Dunbar 8 July 2008 06:25:00
Sanskrit name: Paschimothanasana (now that is really a mouthful!)
General discussion
The seated forward bend is a wonderful asana of release. It is truly a posture of surrender, the more you can relax the father you will go. I have added a step in that I get guests to relax their feet completely in the second stage allowing the lower back to get more of a stretch.
The How To
1. Bring both legs together push your hands down on the mat to straighten up your back.
2. Raise the arms up over your head, parallel to the ears. Stretch the spine upwards as much as possible.
3. Point the toes back toward you, exhale and lower down with a flat back, hinging from the hips. Come to wherever you can come to. Grab onto you feet, ankles or legs. Bend your elbows, relax your head and neck and just relax. If you cannot reach your feet, you can use a strap or towel to wrap around your toes and hold onto to keep the toes pointed back toward you.
4. Now use the breath here to try and take you deeper into the stretch. As you inhale your back gets a little straighter and comes a little farther forward, and as you exhale you lower down. Keep you knees straight and try and bring your chest as close to your knees as you can. Hold in this stretch for 5 breaths.
5. Then relax the feet completely, and lower the hands to the ankles or leg. Again use the breath to take you deeper, as you inhale your back coming a little straighter and forward and exhale sinking down. We are now stretching the lower back here as the hamstrings are in a more relaxed position and we can focus more on the lower back. Relax the head and neck, bend your elbows and just relax. Hold this for a minimum of five breaths. As time goes on you will be able to hold longer and longer, reaching the optimum time of five minutes.
6. When you are ready to come up, reach your hands out in front of you, keeping your back nice and straight. Then come up slowly with a flat back until your hands are directly above your head, parallel to the ears. Slowly lower the hands down behind you.
7. Push your body up into the Inclined Plane, a counter pose for the sitting forward bend. Then slowly lower down and relax.
Potential Mistakes
Pushing yourself too much is one of the biggest problem people encounter with this pose. The more you can relax the deeper you will go into the pose. Surrender to the posture and let your breath take you there. Keep your feet together and do not allow them to rotate outward. Try to avoid holding your heels.
Benefits of the posture
Gives a complete stretch to the hamstrings, calves, back and neck. It invigorates the entire nervous system. Calms the mind. Tones the digestive organs and aids in digestion. And helps us sleep.
Additional Comments
I have to be honest and say that this was the most challenging asana I faced when I first began yoga. Men tend to really struggle with this posture. If our hamstrings are at all tight it will be a very challenging pose to come into. However if you stick with it, and learn to relax in the pose you will be amazed at how quickly you will gain ground. The key is to relax when you are in the pose. Just think surrender, release and relax.
I will never forget the day my chin touched my legs for the first time. The amount of release I felt was overwhelming and I began to weep in the yoga class. From that day forward I began to embrace the pose and come to really love doing it. It is now my favorite posture and that is why I try to help people relax in it, so they too can learn to appreciate all that it has to offer.
One trick for this pose is to purchase a little red ball from Yamuna Body rolling (http://www.yamunabodyrolling.com/). This ball has a multitude of uses in helping your body stretch more. It definitely helped me with my forward bend. The ball comes with a great book that shows all the areas of the body you can use it in to increase your flexibility.
Another way to get deeper in the pose is try it in a nice warm bath or the sauna. It may look a little strange in a public sauna or hot tub but you will be amazed at how deep you can go when the muscles and tendons heat up.
Handhi Wijaya Says
14 July 2008 10:32:00
I am proud of her, she never give up for learn something new in her live. Now she is one of a Yoga Master that Anantara, Maldives has. She always doing yoga almost everyday, sometime she teach me and always be passion for me. You are my inspiration.... Congratulation ! YOU ARE AMAZING LADY !..... I AM PROUD OF YOU..
Latest Articles
- » Asana of the Month: Locust (23 Dec 2008)
- » The Power of Breath Part II (Deep Yogic Breathing) (4 Dec 2008)
- » Graduation Bali Style! (21 Nov 2008)
- » Asana of the Month: Cobra (21 Nov 2008)
- » The fine art of vegetarianism or “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!” (14 Nov 2008)
- » The Power of Breath... (30 Oct 2008)
- » Asana of the Month, October - Tree (14 Oct 2008)
- » Temple Stays and Alternative Vacations… (14 Oct 2008)
- » Asana of the Month: Bow (25 Sep 2008)
- » Zen and the Art of the Traffic Jam (25 Sep 2008)