Position of the Week: Prasarita Padottanasana (Wide-Legged Forward Bend)

Benefits: This pose strengthens the inner legs, back legs, and spine. It will tone the abdominal organs, as well as ease your brain. It is especially great to practice if you have mild pain in your back, and if you are feeling tired or depressed.

There is something so wonderful about being in this particular position. I personally am prone to back pain. I'm not quite sure why, but for the last few years I have found myself often complaining (in the least princessy of ways of course!) that my back is sore. This might be one of the underlying factors responsible for my love of the Wide-Legged Forward Bend.

It can be especially gratifying to go into it once you've done a sequence of Warrior Poses followed by Triangle Pose and Side-Angle Stretch. When in these particular poses, I find most of my body's concentration is fluctuating from one side to another. Each of these poses is practiced to the right, and then to the left. By going into a forward bend, it feels as though my body can finally feel a little bit more centered in gravity- of course this is my own personal feeling. Maybe some of you feel something different?

It is such a nice pose to go into.  Your legs are spread and your feet are pointing forward with your toes at a 30 degree angle.  With your hands on your hips and your chest open, you offer your heart up right before you begin your bend from the hips.  It feels great to stop halfway and readjust slightly- maybe rolling back the shoulders or straightening the spine so it isn't rounding.  You continue to breathe, and you experiment going deeper.  This is another aspect of the pose that I love.  Breath plays such an integral role in yoga practice.  I find myself always going back to it to make sure I am fully connected with my mind and my body.  In this Wide-Legged Forward Bend, every time you inhale and exhale, you can control your actions even more.  With every exhalation, I like to go deeper, and pause while I inhale.  Sometimes I will stay at a certain level for a few breaths, but once I feel ready and able to, that one exhale that brings me deeper feels fantastic.  Once you are down you can place your hands on some blocks or the ground beneath you, underneath your shoulders.  Then, you simply hang out in the position.  It is incredible how liberating and relaxing the pose feels.  You feel alone with your breath and your mind.  You feel peaceful.  You feel strong.  Your legs are pushed so firmly into the ground, it feels like nothing can knock you down.  It's also as though any of the sad or unpleasant thoughts you had before going into it are seeping out from your head onto the ground and evaporating.  Aww, so fabulous!  I personally like to go into it twice.  Once I roll back up and go for a second shot, it's nice to change it up a bit with my hands behind my back, clasped in prayer position.  Again, another thing I love about this pose- there are different ways to go into it, and different ways to practice it.  The versatility behind it is so wonderful, and can be adjusted in so many ways to accomodate each and every individual.  FYI- be careful when you come back up, sometimes the dizzies can catch up to you!  I learned this the hard way.

Roxanne loves doing yoga with me.

Namaste,

Lady Lotus