Steps:
- Start with your feet parallel and hip width apart apart. Spread your weight evenly over the feet, and contract your thigh muscles to lift your kneecaps.
- Inhale lift the chest open the shoulders and look up to the sky
- exhale keeping the arch in your back bend forwards and making a hook with your middle and index finger hold onto your big toes.
- Inhale keeping hold of the toes lift your body as if you were going to stand up again, lengthen/straighten your spine and look to the front. Keep the thighs engaged, and your abdominals pulled in.
- Exhale keeping the spine as straight as possible bring your elbows out to the sides. Keep the shoulders open and the kneecaps lifted. If you are flexible wrk on bringing your head towards your shins, if your hamstrings are tight just work on bringing the chest down making sure you don’t hunch (hunching in forwards bends can cause lower back prolems and doesn’t increase the flexibility very well).
- As you exhale, relax deeper into the posture, stay here as long as is comfortable.
- Inhale straighten the arms and look to the front, legthening the spine.
- Exhale bring the hands to the waist
- Inhale come all the way up
- Exhale jump the feet back together back into samastithi (equal standing posture)
Benefits:
- Relieves constipation
- Improves digestion
- Calms the brain and helps relieve stress, anxiety and mild
- Stimulates the liver and kidneys
- Stretches the hamstrings and calves
- Strengthens the thighs
- Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause
- Helps relieve headache and insomnia
Contraindications:
- Completely avoid forwards bends if you have lower back injuries
- Neck injuries