Padahastasana This pose stretches the front of the forearms and provides an excellent counter pose to any posture where the palms take weight. Since the spine is stretched forward to its maximum length, the hamstrings receive a great stretch.
1 Stand in Mountain Pose (page 46). Bring hands onto hips, inhale and lengthen the spine upward.
2 Exhale and, keeping the length in the spine, turn the tail up and fold forward from the hips, bringing the fingertips to the floor near the feet. Spend several breaths here warming up into the hamstring stretch.
3 Inhale, raise the head, and look forward as you lift the chest away from the thighs. Keep your fingertips touching the floor and use them like anchors as you pull your side ribs through your upper arms and flatten the back. Press the sitting bones backward and lengthen the spine forward toward the crown of the head at the same time.
4 Bend your knees, lift the balls of the feet off the floor, and one by one tuck your hands under your feet, fingers toward the heels, inner wrists in line with the top of the toes.
5 On the exhalation, once again fold the upper body deeply toward the thighs, bringing the forehead toward the knees. Bend your elbows toward your shinbones or just past them to maximize the forearm release. Draw the shoulder blades down the back, pressing the shoulders away from the ears and freeing the neck. Move the sitting bones upward as you press down more with the toes. Distribute your weight evenly between your left and right foot.
6 On the inhalation, activate Abdominal Lock (page 338) by gently squeezing the pubic abdomen in toward the spine. On the exhalation move your floating ribs farther down the thighs toward your knees and press open the back of the legs.
7 Bring your hands onto your hips, firm the lower abdominal area as you move your hips forward to stand up, and come back to Mountain Pose.
GAZE Tip of nose.
BUILD-UP POSES Deep Forward Fold, any forward bend.
COUNTER POSES Mountain Pose, Standing Half Bow Balance, any palm balancing posture.
LIGHTEN a) Bend the knees. b) Stand with a wall behind you. Have your heels one foot from the wall and lean your buttocks against the wall.
EFFECT Calming.