Uttanasana

Western Physiology

Uttanasana has a therapeutic effect on mental and physical health.

• Uttanasana improves mental health:
  • It helps calm and relax the brain and relieves stress and symptoms of mild depression (Hodgson, 2021).
  • It also helps in relieving symptoms of anxiety.

• Uttanasana stretches and strengthens the muscles:
  • It helps in strengthening the knees and thighs.
  • It helps stretch the hamstring muscles, calves, and hips, improving their strength and flexibility (Hodgson, 2021).
  • Stretch the muscles supporting and moving the trunk, such as iliocostalis and lower trapezius (Rathore et al., 2017).

• Other therapeutic effects of Uttanasana include but are not limited to:
  • It helps in relieving the signs and symptoms of menopause.
  • It helps stimulate kidneys and liver and improves their functioning (Hodgson, 2021).
  • It helps in improving digestion.
  • It improves the symptoms of fatigue, headache and insomnia.
  • It is a therapeutic pose for controlling high blood pressure, asthma, and sinusitis. It also improves osteoporosis and is beneficial in cases of infertility.
  • It helps to be able to retain seminal fluid, thus preventing premature ejaculation (Joshi et al., 2020).
  • This pose, in tandem with others, relieves the back and neck pain (Crow et al., 2015).

Yogic Physiology

The posture known as uttanasana, or standing forward fold, is a particularly useful pose for ayurveda because it helps to reduce vata.

Vata is responsible for movement in the body and is associated with the air element. It is considered to be light, dry, cold, mobile, and erratic. An imbalance of vata can manifest as anxiety, insomnia, and constipation.

Uttanasana helps to reduce vata because it is a grounding posture that calms the nervous system and helps to ease anxiety. The forward fold also massages the home site of vata—the colon—which can help to reduce gas and bloating. In addition, uttanasana stretches the hamstrings and backs of the legs, which can help to relieve tension and pain in these areas.

The ayurvedic standing forward bend, or uttanasana, is a pose that offers many benefits for both the body and mind. This pose helps to increase blood flow to the head, which can help to address all the head marmas (vital points). It also stretches and opens all the back marmas (vital points), providing relief from tension and pain.

Head marmas (Vidhura, Phana, Avarta, Shankha, Utkshepa, Sthapani, Simanta, Shrangapaka and Adhipati)

Back marmas (Katiktaruna, Kukundara, Nitamba, Parshva-sandhi, Vrihati, Akshaphalaka and Aksha)

Chinese Medicine

Forward bends, like uttanasana or paschimottanasana are excellent postures to stretch our bladder meridian.

The bladder meridian starts in the eye and goes over the head. It then travels down the side of the spine and back of the legs to end on the little toe. In addition to releasing tension in the low back and improving digestion, these poses can also help to relieve stress and fatigue.

The bladder meridian is one of these twelve meridians. It is associated with the element of water and the emotions of fear and insecurity.

The forward fold also affects the Ren (Conception Vessel), which is thought to ascend the front of the body. It also affects the Du (Governing Vessel), which runs along the back of the body. However, we note here that they both have internal channels that run to the opposite side. For this reason, we acknowledge that these channels are very similar to the yoga system’s central channel (Sushumna).

Contradictions and Cautions

If you have had a back injury in the past, you should perform this pose with your knees bent or do Ardha Uttanasana with your hands placed on a wall, legs kept perpendicular to your torso, and arms kept parallel to the ground.

Preparatory Asanas

• Adho Mukha Svanasana
• Janu Sirsasana
• Paschimottanasana
• Supta Padangusthasana

Follow up Asanas

• Standing poses, inversions, or seated forward bends.

Tips for Beginners

To stretch the back of your legs more intensely, bend your knees slightly. Imagine that the sacrum sinks deeper into the back of your pelvis and brings the tailbone closer to the pubis. Then, overcoming this resistance, pull your upper thighs back and your heels down and straighten your knees again. Be careful not to straighten your knees by locking them back (you can press your hands to the back of each knee to offer some resistance); instead, let them straighten out as the two ends of each leg move further apart.

Variations

Padangusthasana:
Leaning forward, slide each hand’s index and middle fingers between the big and second toes of each foot. Then bend your toes under the sole, around your big toe, and wrap your big toe around your toes. With an inhalation, straighten your arms and tear off the front of the body from the hips, making the back as concave as possible. Hold your breath for a few seconds, then exhale and stretch down and forward, bending your elbows to the sides.

Modifications and Props

To stretch the back of your legs more intensely, stand in a forward lean with the balls of your feet an inch or more off the floor, on a sandbag, or a thick book.

Deepen the Asana

To stretch the back of your legs more intensely, lean forward slightly and rise on the balls of the feet, bringing your heels about half an inch off the floor. Pull the inside of your groin deep into your pelvis and then, from groin height, lengthen your heels back down to the ground.