Standing Forward Fold or Uttanasana

Uttanasana has two lines of energy radiating outward from your center. Your hips will be in dog tilt, and the spinal column will be your primary line of energy. The idea is to elongate the spine outward through the crown of your head as you fold into the pose. This is a basic forward fold. Everything you learn here will be applicable to all forward folds. DANGLING UTTANASANA 1. Stand in Tadasana (Mountain Pose) with our !eet hi"#width a"art. Look down at your feet and check that they are parallel with one another, that the inner edge of each foot is pointing straight ahead, and that your toes are spread. Snuggle your feet into the floor. ait until you are ready, then breathe in deeply. $. As ou e%hale& slide our hands down our legs and !old !orward !ro' our hi"s. !o slowly. "lasp hold of your elbows and let your head and arms dangle, or clasp you hands around your legs and let your arms slide down the back of your legs. (. )ela%. #o nothing. Simply become thoroughly limp. Let go inside and surrender to the pose. *. The idea here is to let go of all effort, all resistance to being in the pose, and simply to be thoroughly rela$ed. Scan your body at a leisurely pace and mentally encourage your cells, nerves, muscles, and skin, everything, to rela$ and soften. %elease every sense of holding on. %ela$ your belly, buttocks, back, shoulders, face. &llow your neck to soften, your head to dangle, and your arms to be limp. Especially elongate your core. 'ang from your hips. #angle. Let go, fall. Let go everywhere. Practice letting go. The more you let go and release tension, the better you(ll get at it. %ela$ in this bent)over position. "onsciously, deliberately surrender. +. Especially feel where your spine is, your core, from coccy$ to fontanel, and allow the spaces between vertebrae to e$pand. You(ll feel your spine elongate as you core clarifies. #o this by letting go, releasing. You(re letting go of tension, contracted energy, pain. ,. *rchestrate softness with a soft breath. +reathe smoothly in a rela$ed, strain free manner. -. ,f dangling from your hips is too intense, then either bend your knees or place your hands on your shins and brace yourself further up. +ending your legs will reduce the strain considerably, and bracing yourself with your arms will prevent you from folding too far. Stay within your comfort -one. .ind a place in which you can rela$. +e farther up if necessary. .. "ontinue letting go, over and over. Letting go is not something you do /ust once. &s you rela$ inside and release every sense of tension, your muscles will become less hard, less contracted. !radually they will soften, lengthen, and you(ll find yourself folding deeper into the pose, effortlessly. .rom there, let go more. "ontinue letting go, and see what happens. herever the stretch is, be there mentally. Soothe any part of your body

that is resisting the stretch, holding on due to fear, or unnecessarily tense and clenched. "oa$ all of yourself to soften and rela$. You(ll find yourself going deeper when your body is ready for a deeper stretch, not before. You have no say in the matter. This is what makes this techni0ue so safe. /. The only 1control2 is to stay in the pose long enough for a change to occur. Everything else is a let)go and surrender. Stay here as long as five minutes, but do not force yourself to stay longer than feels right. "ome out of the pose when you have had enough. Later, it may feel appropriate to challenge your endurance edge by willingly staying in the pose even if you are e$periencing some degree of discomfort. This will be voluntary, however, and it will not feel as though you are attacking yourself. ,t will be attractive and pleasurable. 10. *ccasionally, vary the distance between your feet. ,t is often easier to rela$ when your feet are farther apart. 11. To 1o'e out o! the "ose& 2end our 3nees and slowl 1o'e down into a s4uatting "osition. +e here several breaths, then stand erect in Tadasana, 3ountain 4ose. 1$. "lose your eyes and practice standing perfectly still. #o not move a muscle. #on(t even think. +ut don(t hold yourself still, either. %ela$ yourself still. +e as rela$ed as you can possibly be, and simply be aware of how you feel. ,mmerse your awareness in the natural rhythm of your breathing and e$perience your own uni0ue feeling)tone. En/oy this part. UTTANASANA IN SI5 STAG6S 5. Stand in Tadasana with our !eet hi"#width a"art. Look down and check that the inner edge of each foot is pointing straight ahead so your feet are parallel to one another. Spread your toes, lift your kneecaps, and stand tall by lifting upward through your spine, chest, and head. 6. +reathe smoothly, making an even, pleasant sound in your throat as you wait for the inner cue to begin. hen you are ready, breathe in deeply. ST&!E *7E 8. As ou e%hale& hinge !orward !ro' our hi"s and "la1e our hands either on our thighs 7ust a2o8e the 3nees or at the to" o! our shin2ones 7ust 2elow the 3nees 9photo 55:. The idea here is to flatten your back and elongate your spine. ;. Turn your hips towards dog tilt and feel where your three lines of energy are< one down the legs, one through the arms, and one outward 9and eventually downward: through the spine. =. "larify the leg line. .irst snuggle your feet into the floor and feel your connection with the earth. 3ake sure you are grounded. Then pull the kneecaps up by tightening the 0uadriceps 9thigh muscles:, press both feet into the floor, and turn the sitting bones upward. %oll the thighs inward as you do this, spreading the buttocks apart, and make sure your weight is coming down through the center of each foot>

not too far forward or backward, nor toward the inner or outer edge of either foot. These actions will establish and increase the dog tilt. ?. "larify the arm line. 4ress your arms straight, making them long, and lift upward with the back of your head and neck. #o not lean into your hands or sag into your shoulders. Lengthen your arms, lift up, and stay lifted. &s you do this there will be some weight on your hands in the form of palm pressure, but minimi-e it. @. Elongate your spine hori-ontally forward. 4ress backward through the buttocks, and stretch forward through the crown of your head. #o not shorten the back of your neck by lifting your head and looking forward. Softly tuck your chin without tightening the throat, roll the back of your head forward, and shrug the shoulders away from your ears so the shoulder blades slide down your back. You will feel like a turtle sticking its head out of its shell. !a-e at the floor. This is Stage *ne. A. The forward fold is initiated by turning the hips into dog tilt. This segments the body in two opposite directions from your center. The key to folding deeper in this pose, as in all forward folds, is to increase the pelvic rotation toward dog tilt, so you hinge from the hip /oints, and to lift the rib cage away from the waist as you stretch forward through the crown of your head. &s you direct the stretch outward, your spine will form an indented groove down your back. "heck with your fingers to make sure there are no protruding vertebrae. B. Your breathing, remember, is the most important aspect of yoga techni0ue. ,t is the life of the pose. Therefore, savor the air as it flows in and out and listen to the sound you are making. +reathe smoothly, generate the perfect degree of current through your lines, and wait for the initial sensations of stretch to diminish before folding deeper. STAG6 T9: 5C. Slide our hands to our an3les. hen the initial sensations of stretch diminish in Stage *ne and you notice your elbows wanting to bend, slide your hands farther down the legs. 55. .old deeper into the pose slowly, with care, breath by breath. Elongate the spine hori-ontally forward as you in hale and fold deeper as you e$hale. Deep your arms and legs straight. 56. hen you reach your ankles, check the alignment of your lines once again< 4ress your feet into the floor and turn the sitting bones up, bringing in our lower back downE press your arms straight, making them as long as you can, and lift upward with the back of your head and neck so you(re not sagging into the shouldersE then press backward through the sitting bones and forward through the crown of your head, shrugging the shoulders away from the ears. These three lines work together beautifully.

58. The better your spinal e$tension now, the deeper your stretch later. "reate the degree of stretch that feels perfect>not too much, not too little. +reathe deeply, keeping it

smooth. ait for the sensations of stretch to diminish somewhat at this edge before proceeding further.

STAG6 T;)66
5;. <end our ar's and rest our el2ows on our shins. Your hands are still at your ankles. "ontinue lifting upward with the back of your head and neck, lifting upward out of the shoulders, and attempt to further elongate your spine forward in the direction it is now pointing. .atten your back by turning the sitting bones up and bringing the lower back down, spreading the buttocks sideways away from one another, and then press backward through the buttocks and forward)outward through the crown of your head. 5=. +reathe smoothly. +e here several breaths. ait for the sensations of stretch to diminish somewhat at this new edge before proceeding deeper.

STAG6 F:U)
5?. =las" hold o! our el2ows and then slide our el2ows down the shin2ones toward the an3les. Deep the elbows in contact with your shins, if you can, and do not frustrate yourself by thinking you are not as deep as you should be. #o what you can do. Then stay where you are and breathe, waiting for the musculature to open and the sensations of stretch to diminish. hen you can reach your ankles with your elbows, stretch deeper by sliding then across the top of your feet toward the toes. Lower your head and look straight backward through your legs. 5@. You are now the same shape as #angling Uttanasana, but you are not limp. You are actively stretching. +e deliberate about this, and gentle. To intensify the stretch, push into your elbows and pull down with your hands. 5A. +reathe smoothly, deeply. %ela$ with the intensity. #o and not)do at the same time. &llow the stretch to penetrate.

STAG6 FI>6
5B. <end our 3nees until our 1hest and thighs tou1h& interla1e our !ingers 2ehind our 2a13& and straighten the ar's. 'old a strap if you have difficulty clasping your hands or straightening your arms. 6C. ,mmerse yourself in your breathing and gently go after the stretch. &s you inhale, stretch outward through your arms in the directions they are pointing. &s you e$hale, make your hands heavy and gently s0uee-e them toward the floor. .rom there, inhale again and stretch outward through the arms, then e$hale and s0uee-e them toward the floor. #o this with each breath. ,mmerse yourself in what you are doing. !et involved. 4articipate. +e here several breaths.

STAG6 SI5
65. Slowl straighten our legs. #o this in two parts. .irst, keeping the arm line active and your hands heavy and, keeping the chest and thighs pressed together, slowly allow your hips to rise toward the ceiling. Let them float upward all by themselves> no effort or doing on your part. Then, gently press both feet into the floor and delicately try to straighten the legs>allowing the chest and thighs to separate, if necessary. Your hips will more upward as your feet press downward. Stretch the sitting bones toward the ceiling. This can be intense, so proceed slowly, with sensitivity. 3ove your head inward toward your legs as you straighten them, and continue s0uee-ing your hands down. 66. Eventually, at this point, your chest will be in firm contact with your thighs, your legs will be straight, and your hands will be touching the floor behind you. +e here several breaths working the arm line outward and down. Note? These si$ stages are not easy. They may take years to master. +e patient, therefore, but persistent. #o what you comfortably canE no more than that is necessary. 68. To come out of the pose, release your hands from behind your back, place them on your ankles and return to Stage Two< arms straight, legs straight, back flat, ga-ing at the floor. +e here for a breath or two. The place your hands on your hips and come to a standing position. Lower your arms. 6;. You are now in Tadasana, 3ountain 4ose. "lose your eyes and practice standing still. +e aware of your feet on the floor and allow the weight of your body to sink downward. Let the soles of your feet be soft. +e sensitive to your connection with the earth, merge with the floor, become grounded. Then let the crown of your head float upward, without becoming ungrounded, and e$perience the inner feeling coming upward through your spine, chest, and crown. "hest up, shoulder blades down, navel backward toward the spine. .ind the perfect point of balance. This, remember, is where you feel most weightless, light. +e aware of how you feel. +e still. E$perience what(s happening.