Parsvottanasana

Western Physiology

Parsvottanasana has a therapeutic effect on mental and physical health.

• Parsvottanasana improves mental health:
  • It helps in calming and relaxing the brain.

• Parsvottanasana stretches and strengthens the muscles:
  • It helps stretch the shoulders, hips, hamstrings, spine, and wrists in the full pose.
  • This pose, in tandem with others, makes the hamstring muscles more flexible (Grabara & Szopa, 2015).
  • The hands-on blocks variation of this pose strengthens the legs and knees (Colgrove et al., 2019).

• Parsvottanasana benefits the spine:
  • This pose, in tandem with others, increases the mobility of spinal joints (Grabara & Szopa, 2015).
  • The hands-on blocks variation of this pose stretches the spine (Colgrove et al., 2019).
  • This pose, in tandem with others, improves the symptoms of chronic low back pain (Williams et al., 2019).
  • This pose benefits patients with “flat-back syndrome” and hyperlordosis (Wainapel et al., 2015).

• Other therapeutic effects of Parsvottanasana include but are not limited to:
  • The hands-on blocks variation of this pose improves balance (Colgrove et al., 2019).
  • It helps in stimulating the organs situated in the abdominal region.
  • It helps in improving and promotes digestion.
  • It has therapeutic benefits for flat feet.
  • This pose, in tandem with others, increases cardiovascular endurance (Lau et al., 2015).

Yogic Physiology

The posture is excellent for working apana vayu and vyana vayu.
It is very good for reducing vata and pitta and calming the mind.
It will place pressure on basti (bladder) and nabhi (navel) marma points. It will massage lohitaksha marma points which sit directly on the lymph nodes in the hips, promoting flow.

Contradictions and Cautions

Individuals suffering from a back injury and high blood pressure should avoid the full forward bend; instead, they should do Ardha Parsvottanasana. Do steps 1 and 2 as mentioned above, standing a couple of feet away and facing a wall. Exhale and lower your upper body parallel to the ground and extend your arms towards the wall. Push your hands actively into the wall (extend your elbows fully), keeping the front of your upper body longer than the back of your body.

Preparatory Asanas

• Adho Mukha Svanasana
• Anjali Mudra
• Baddha Konasana
• Gomukhasana (especially the arm position)
• Prasarita Padottanasana
• Supta Baddha Konasana
• Uttanasana
• Utthita Parsvakonasana
• Utthita Trikonasana
• Vrksasana

Follow up Asanas

• Dandasana
• Pincha Mayurasana
• Prasarita Padottanasana
• Salabhasana
• Salamba Sarvangasana
• Salamba Sirsasana
• Utkatasana
• Virabhadrasana I

Tips for Beginners

There is a middle position for the hands and forearms, between the hands on the floor and squeezing them together behind the back. You should just cross your arms behind your back, parallel to your waist. Use opposite hands to hold your elbows. When the right foot is in front, first bring the right hand behind the back; then, when the left foot is in front, bring the left hand first.

Variations

As mentioned above, the full version of this pose is performed with the hands behind the back in Anjali Mudra, a hand position sometimes called Pristanjali Mudra (prish-TOHN-jolly; prishta = “the back, the rear of anything”), or sometimes Paschima Namaskar (posh-EE-mah nam-AHS-car; pashima = “west”; namaskar = “to greet or salute”).

Stand in Tadasana pose with your hands in Anjali Mudra in front of your heart. Slightly bend your knees and round your back, hunching at the shoulders. Exhale, turn your hands inward and bring them behind your back. Press your palms together, placing your thumbs on your sacrum, so your fingers point toward the floor. Firstly, you should turn your wrists so that your fingers point towards your sacrum, then keep turning as long as your fingers point towards your head. Now your little fingers will be pressed against the back of the body. Move your hands up your back, lifting and opening your chest. If you can, place your hands between your shoulder blades so that your little fingers are pressed firmly against your spine. Spread your arms as far as possible. Rotate your front shoulders up and back and length from your back armpits through your elbows to the ground. Then follow the instructions for the posture.

Advanced practitioners may wish to hold a brick between their hands and behind their body. To place the brick between the hands in prayer pose, use a wall to help you place the brick.

Modifications and Props

In case you find that your back heel lifts up when you lean into this pose, do the asana with your back heel against the wall. The contact of your heel with the wall will anchor your heel to the ground. You can also raise your back heel on a sandbag to avoid lifting.

Deepen the Asana

This pose has two ways to position the torso over the front thigh. Beginners should align the torso’s midline over the front thigh’s inner side. Advanced students should turn the trunk and lower its midline over the midline of the front of the thigh.