1. The Basic How-To
Begin in a forward standing position with your hands on your hips and bend forward from the hip joints. Stretch and lengthen the torso as you bend over. Bring your head as close to your knees as you can while placing your palms flat on the floor. Alternately, you can also place your hands on the backs of your ankles for a slightly harder stretch. Let your head hang down toward the floor as you press your sitting bones up toward the ceiling. Hold the position as you breath in and out in a deep, slow rhythm. Slowly bring your hands back to your hips and, keeping your back straight, raise up from the hip joints to return to a full upright position.
2. Bend Over for Your Health
The standing forward bend stretches the spine and encourages healthy digestion and endocrine functions. Regular practice can relieve some types of back pain and provide increased flexibility in the hips. The position goes against the body's natural alignment, pulling on the lower body when the weight of the trunk moves forward and down. This increases the strength and stability of the leg muscles, which aids in most daily activities.
3. Don't Blow Your Top (and Other Yoga Warnings)
As with many inverted or partially inverted poses, people with high blood pressure or women in the later stages of pregnancy should not perform the standing forward bend. Inverted poses that place the heart above the head can increase blood pressure and cause problems for those with hypertension or during the third trimester in pregnant women. Yoga practitioners who have back trouble should be cautious practicing this pose. Keeping the knees slightly bent throughout the stages of the pose will ease the tension through the low back and hamstrings, preventing injury to weakened muscles.
4. Simplify the Pose
If the stretch is too much for you, try modifying the pose by spreading your feet hip width apart. Keep your feet parallel and bend from the hips (not the waist). You can also lessen the intensity of the stretch through the buttocks and hamstrings by bending your knees slightly.
5. Take It Up a Notch
If you're limber enough to pull it off, try placing your hands or even your forearms behind your calves or ankles. This increases the stretch throughout the legs and back and allows you to pull slightly with the arms to deepen the fold at the hip joints.
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