3 forward bends to help you deepen your poses

Yoga magazineQ archives The series is a curated collection of articles originally published in previous issues beginning in 1975. This article on forward bends first appeared in the May-June 1994 issue of Yoga magazine.

While sitting, the torso bends forward, closing the torso and head over the legs, inviting our awareness to turn inward toward the self. Physically, poses like the forward fold strengthen the abdominal organs (such as the liver, stomach, and intestines) and stretch and strengthen the legs, hips, back, and spine; Emotionally, it calms the brain and nervous system.

For many beginners, forward bends are limited by tight hamstring muscles in the back of the thighs. When moving into forward bend, the pelvis needs to rotate on the hip bones, an action that cannot happen if the hamstrings are intolerant.

Never try to impose your posture by bending at the waist and shortening the distance from the navel to the sternum.Your back won’t like it. Always keep your torso lengthened forward, even if it means staying relatively upright. Don’t expect to fold your torso over your legs like an accomplished yogi until your practice becomes more established.

How to practice forward bends

Have a thickly folded sturdy blanket and a long belt ready for your practice. The blanket lifts the sitting bones off the floor and helps free the pelvis to protect the lower back. The belt guides your forward movement and extends your reach, since most beginners cannot hold the feet comfortably in a forward bend.

The following routine of three basic positions can be performed as a short training session or incorporated into a longer session. The first position is the warm-up Stretch for legs; The second will teach you how to work on the legs and Lengthening the spine In sitting forward bends; The third will prepare you for all your deeper work with forward bends. You may want to release the spine after each pose with a slight movement.

1. Warm-up wall stretch

Lie on your back with your legs straight and heels pressed firmly against the wall. On an exhale, bring the right knee toward the chest, wrap your hands around the leg, and for several breaths, gently press the thigh toward the abdomen. Keep the left leg active by driving the heel into the wall.

Then bring Belt Around the ball of the right foot, exhale, extend your leg up, and pass your hands along the belt until the arms are straight. Grasp the belt lightly to challenge your quadriceps and hip muscles to keep the leg in place.

Stretch evenly along the back of the leg from the heel to the sit bone, and protect the knee by keeping the front thigh stable.

Start with a gentle stretch of the back of the raised leg and gradually increase the work only when you feel the muscles accepting the position. Hold for a minute or two, then exhale from the leg to the floor and pause to compare the feeling in the legs. Repeat the same time on the left.

2. Sitting forward bends

Now turn to your side and sit near the front edge of the folded blanket with your legs straight. Wrap the belt around the balls of the feet and hold firmly, keeping the hands and arms apart for a long time. Press the legs down and lift the front torso – and thus the spine – vertically, abdomen soft and shoulder blades descending to the waist. Stay for a minute or two.

If you want to go forward, release the belt and press the hands into the floor next to the hips, without losing the lift of the torso or the strength of the legs. Hold for another 30 seconds.

3. Deepen forward bends

Next, bend the left knee and pull the heel to the right thigh, dropping the knee out to the floor. If the knee does not rest on the floor, do not press it too hard, but rather prop it on a folded blanket. If you feel any pain in that knee, lift it up and bend it slightly.

Wrap the belt around the ball of the right foot, breathing calmly and evenly, and move forward as you exhale by walking the hands lightly along the belt, arms lengthwise, and lengthening the torso forward from the hips, until you feel a satisfying stretch.

When you feel confident in these poses, you can gradually lengthen the time you spend in each from three to five minutes, and you can also try some more challenging forward bends.