Revolved Wide-Legged
Standing Forward Fold
by Jennifer Arnold
parsva = side
prasarita = spread
pada = leg
uttana = stretched out
asana = pose
instructions:
1.Step your feet 3 ½ to 4 feet apart. Keeping your heels in line with each other, bring the outer edges of your feet parallel to the side of your mat.
2.Place your hands on your hip creases. Strengthen your legs by drawing up with the knees caps. On an inhalation, lengthen up through your spine and the sides of your waist. Lift your chest and draw your shoulders back and down.
3.On an exhalation, fold forward from your hip creases. Bring your hands to the ground in front of you. As you hold your fold, inhale and lengthen through your spine and the sides of the waist.
4.Bring your right hand to your sacrum (the back of your pelvis), palm down and fingers pointing toward the buttocks. As you exhale, rotate your torso to the right, bringing your left hand to the outside of your right ankle.
5.Continue to lengthen the sides of the waist. Using your left hand to create resistance and your right hand for stabilization, continue to rotate the belly to the right while gently folding toward the right leg.
6.Feel the length created on the left side of the waist while being mindful not to collapse the right side of the waist. Hold for 3 – 5 breaths. Inhale release, unwind and come back to center. Approach left side.
tips:
1. Be mindful to fold from the hips and not the waist.
2. If your hands do not comfortably reach the ground, use a block to bring the ground up to you. If you are using a block, instead of taking hold of the ankle, keep that hand centered on the block and rotate from there.
3. Sometimes as we rotate we lose our connection to the leg we are rotating away from. The hip collapses and the pelvis is no longer balanced. Be mindful to maintain equal strength in both legs and keep a lift in the hip you are rotating away from.
benefits:
Strengthens and stretches the muscles in the legs, back body, and torso; brings openness to the sides of the waist; massages the abdominal organs; flushes the spine and abdominal organs with fresh nutrients; relieves fatigue; removes sluggishness; calms the mind and brings a sense of groundedness.