Prasarita Padottanasana

Western Physiology

Prasarita Padottanasana has a therapeutic effect on mental and physical health.

• Prasarita Padottanasana improves mental health:
  • This pose, in tandem with others, improves the mood and perception of stress (Innes & Selfe, 2012).
  • It helps in relieving symptoms of mild depression (Innes & Selfe, 2012).

• Other therapeutic effects of Prasarita Padottanasana include but are not limited to:
  • It helps stretch and strengthen the inner and back legs and spine.
  • This pose, in tandem with others, reduces blood pressure (Innes & Selfe, 2012).
  • It helps in toning the abdominal organs.
  • It helps in relieving low back pain (Williams et al., 2009).
  • This pose, in tandem with others, helps in relieving fatigue and headache (Anheyer et al., 2020).
  • This pose, in tandem with others, improves the quality of life as well as sexual function (Huang et al., 2017).
  • This pose, in tandem with others, increases cardiovascular endurance (Lau et al., 2015).
  • This pose, in tandem with others, improves the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (Evans et al., 2014).

Yogic Physiology

This posture works apana vayu and vyana vayu. It works the sacral and base chakras. In Ayurveda, the pose is particularly beneficial for pacifying vata and pitta and less so for kapha.

Chinese Medicine

It works the liver meridian on the inside of legs and the bladder and kidney meridians on the back body.

Contradictions and Cautions

• If you suffer from lower back problems, you should avoid the full forward bend.

Preparatory Asanas

This pose is usually performed towards the end of the standing pose practice. In addition to many standing poses, good preparation for this pose are:

• Adho Mukha Svanasana
• Supta Baddha Konasana
• Uttanasana

Follow up Asanas

• Baddha Konasana
• Bakasana
• Paschimottanasana
• Sirsasana
• Utthita Parsvakonasana

Tips for Beginners

Most beginners cannot easily rest the crown of their head on the ground in the last stage of this asana. Instead, you can rest your head on a padded block, a bolster or a thickly folded blanket.

Variations

The posture mentioned here is Prasarita Padottanasana I (according to the Ashtanga systems). Prasarita Padottanasana II is a more difficult variation.

Follow the first step of the main guide above. Then place your hands in 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; paschima = “west”; namaskar = “to greet or salute”). To do this, tilt your torso slightly forward and round your back. Then squeeze your palms together behind your back, placing your thumbs on your sacrum and the rest of your fingers pointing towards the ground. Exhale and turn your fingers first to your back, then up so that they point towards the ceiling. Raise your little fingers on your back as high as possible, ideally between your shoulder blades. Try to push your shoulders back and lift your chest, pressing your pinkies deep into your spine. Finally, exhale in a forward bend and lower your head to the ground. If this arm position is not possible, simply cross your forearms behind your back and hold your elbows with opposite hands.

Modifications and Props

Some beginners cannot bring their hands to the ground, and they need a great deal of support to do this forward bend to protect their lower back from injury. You can try raising your hands off the ground and rest each of them on a block. A folding chair can also be used to provide support to your forearms. You should always emphasize the importance of the length of the front torso in forwarding bends.

Deepen the Asana

Advanced practitioners can better understand how to work their arms in this asana using a block. Lay the block on one side, so its long axis is parallel to the long edge of your sticky rug on the floor in front of you. Lean forward into the posture, placing the block between your forearms, just below your elbows, and lift it off the ground. Afterwards, complete the pose with your palms and crown on the ground. Now firmly squeeze the block between your forearms, actively pressing your palms to the floor. This arm movement will also prepare you for postures such as headstand variations and Pincha Mayurasana (peacock pose).

To challenge the balance and further stretch the hamstrings, place the feet on two blocks with a belt underneath both bricks. Bring the arms to hold both the sides of the belts and tilt the sit bones over the heels a little further to challenge your balance on the bricks.