forward bends
need to apply both to find the peaceful
stillness that yoga promises. Abhyasa
is informed effort with the goal of self-
understanding. Vairagya is detachment
from the final results of your actions; it
involves reflection, stillness, and surren-
der. For example, if you’re sufficiently
flexible in the final version of the pose,
the entire front of the torso and head rest
on the legs. But if you’re stiffer, you may
have to surrender the idea of taking your
head down and instead put your effort
into working patiently on folding from
LIFTOFF
The first phase of Paschimottanasana
(figure 1) stretches tight hamstrings and
teaches you how to lengthen your lower
back and move forward from the hips.
Lengthening the spine is crucial in this
pose: If you bend from the spine to come
forward, you risk putting pressure on the
muscles and disks of the lower back—a
recipe for injury. Instead, you want to
lengthen forward from your hips and cre-
ate a concave shape with the back.
Before starting, prepare your legs, hips,
and spine with some standing poses and
Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-
Facing Dog Pose). Then sit on the edge of
two neatly folded blankets in Dandasana
(Staff Pose). If you can’t straighten your
legs, or if your sacrum or lower back is
rounding, sit up higher on more blankets.
Once you have your foundation, place
your hands on the ground by your hips,
press your thighs into the floor, and lift
the sides of your torso.
Place a strap around the arches of your
feet and hold an end of the strap in each
hand. Come back into an upright posi-
tion, press your legs firmly into the floor,
and on an inhalation, lift the entire front
of your torso from the bottom of the pel-
vis to the throat. Pull on the belt, drawing
your arms back into the shoulder sockets,
and lift your chest up as if you were trying
to raise your bottom ribs above the level
of your arms. Then, on an exhalation, walk
your hands down the strap and closer to
the feet, maintaining the lift of the front
body. Keep your arms straight. If any part
of your back begins to round, apply a little
vairagya and take a measured, considered
walk back up the strap. That might mean
your forward fold is more upright, which
is perfectly OK.
Sometimes the knees and feet turn
out or become loose in this pose, which
can tighten the lower back. To keep the
legs firm, press the inner edge of each
leg into the floor and extend the back of
your heels away from your pelvis. As your
calves reach forward in the direction of
your heels, imagine that your hamstrings
stretch back toward your buttocks, as if
you were pushing the blankets behind you
with your buttocks.1
2
Bend your
elbows out to
your sides to
broaden across
your chest.Use a strap
to make your
back concave
as you begin to
fold forward.the hips and keeping a long spine so that
the front and back of your torso both
lengthen evenly.
When you’re able to balance effort
and surrender and apply this approach
to Pa schimottanasana (or to any other
asana), your frustration with your limi-
tations will lessen, and you’ll experience
the pose’s physical and mental benefits.
Distracting thoughts and mental agita-
tion will decrease, and you’ll be able to
enter your personal refuge—that is , a
calm, wakeful state of pervasive attention. PHOTOS: RORY EARNSHAW/SANDBOX STUDIO; MODEL: JANET UM; STYLIST: LYN HEINEKEN; HAIR/MAKEUP: VERONICA SJOEN/ARTIST UNTIED80 YOGAJOURNAL.COM YOGA TODAY