Posted: January 25, 2018
Wide-Legged Forward Bend — Prasarita Padottanasana (Prah-sah-REET-ah- Pah-doh-tahn-AA-SUN-aa) — is an energizing inversion that increases circulation to the brain while providing a deep stretch for the legs, back, and arms. The pose gets its name from the Sanskrit words, Prasarita, meaning outstretched, pada, meaning foot, ut, meaning intense, tan, meaning to stretch or extend, and asana, meaning pose.
Level of Difficulty: Beginner/Intermediate
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Stand in Tadasana. Step your legs apart with 3-4 feet.
- Make sure that your feet are parallel. Your toes can be pointing slightly inward creating pigeon toes.
- On an inhale, lift your arms to your sides, bringing them parallel to the floor.
- Exhale and bend your torso forward from your hip joints, maintaining a straight spine.
- When your torso is parallel to the ground, place your hands on the floor underneath your shoulders.
- Lifting your hips up, bend further as you breath out to bring the head toward the floor in between your hands.
- Engage your thighs, activating your quadriceps.
- Press your hands firmly on the floor to deepen the bend. If your hands reach the feet, grab hold of your big toes and pull on them to get a deeper bend, bending your elbows..
- On an inhale, stretch your arms out to the sides and slowly lift your torso, maintaining a flat back.
- On an exhale, lower your arms back down to your sides and return to Tadasana.
Benefits
- Strengthens the legs and feet
- Lengthens the spine
- Stretches the hamstrings
- Strengthens the abdomen
- Increases blood flow to the brain
Precautions
- Low back pain
- Hyperextended knees
Modifications and Variations
- Variations: Prasarita Padottanasana has multiple variations, and can be practiced by clasping the big toes with the peace fingers, grabbing the outer edges of the feet, clasping the hands being the back, or placing the hands on the floor
Follow-up and Preparatory Poses
- Happy Baby Pose | Ananda Balasana (Preparatory)
- Standing Forward Bend | Uttanasana (Preparatory)
- Standing Backward Bend I Ardha Chakrasana (Preparatory)
- Downward-Facing Dog | Adho Mukha Svanasana (Preparatory)
- One-Legged Forward Bend | Janu Shirasasana (Follow-up)
- Seated Forward Bend | Paschimottanasana (Follow-up)
Browse our entire yoga poses library and learn more about each yoga pose in detail.
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