Type of Pose
: Standing, balancing, backbending

Benefits: Improves core strength and balance, stretches the quadriceps and hamstrings.

Instructions:

1. Begin in ardha chandrasana – half moon pose, standing on your right leg with the left leg parallel to the floor and the left arm lifted straight up.

2. Bend the left knee and reach your left arm down to catch hold of the top of your left foot with your left hand.

3. Keep the left thigh roughly parallel to the floor. It’s ok if the thigh rises a bit, but raising the leg is not the primary goal of the pose.

4. Draw the left foot toward your body with the left hand, but at the same time, press into your hand with your foot. This push-pull action creates a bow shape in the spine, turning the pose into a back bend.

5. Hold one to five breaths before releasing the left foot back into half moon pose.

6. Return the left foot to the floor and try the other side.

Beginners: A block under the right hand can help you get the lift you need to explore this posture.

Advanced: Remember to keep the standing leg strong. The gaze stays uplifted and the shoulders move away from the ears. Try staying as long as ten breaths.

(pra-sa-REE-tah pah-doh-tahn-AHS-anna)
prasarita = stretched out, expanded, spread, with outstretched limbs
pada = foot
ut = intense
tan = to stretch or extend (compare the Latin verb tendere, “to stretch or extend”)
Wide-Legged Forward Bend: Step-by-Step Instructions

Stand in Tadasana (Mountain Pose), facing one of the long edges of your sticky mat, then step or lightly hop your feet apart anywhere from 3 to 4 1/2 feet (depending on your height: taller people should step wider). Rest your hands on your hips. Make sure your inner feet are parallel to each other. Lift your inner arches by drawing up on the inner ankles, and press the outer edges of your feet and ball of the big toe firmly into the floor. Engage the thigh muscles by drawing them up. Inhale and lift your chest, making the front torso slightly longer than the back.

See also More Standing Poses

Exhale and, maintaining the length of the front torso, lean the torso forward from the hip joints. As your torso approaches parallel to the floor, press your fingertips onto the floor directly below your shoulders. Extend your elbows fully. Your legs and arms then should be perpendicular to the floor and parallel to each other. Move your spine evenly into the back torso so that your back is slightly concave from the tailbone to the base of the skull. Bring your head up, keeping the back of the neck long, and direct your gaze upward toward the ceiling.