The Wide Leg Forward Bend
- Focus: Hips
- Level: Beginner
- Total Time: 30 to 60 seconds
- Indications: lower back pain, headaches, exhaustion
- Contraindications: modification for lower back pain
The Wide Leg Forward Bend
Note:
The wide leg forward bend opens your hips while simultaneously stretching and building strength in your spine and in the backs of your legs. It is also great for treating lower back pain, headaches, exhaustion, and depression. Individuals with lower back problems should not complete the full forward bend.
Pose Instruction
- Begin by standing in mountain pose. Stand tall and straight with your feet separated enough to feel stable.
- Now, widen your stance, setting your feet four feet apart. Your feet should be facing straight forward. Establish a solid connection with the ground by shifting your weight distribution so that it is equally divided between the base of your big toes, the base of your little toes, and both left and right sides of your heels.
- Place your hands on your hips. Draw in your ankles to raise the arches of your feet. Push the outer edge and the balls of your feet into the ground. Activate the muscles in your thighs.
- Breathe in and expand your chest, elongating your torso. Breathe out and bend forward from the hips, keeping your back straight. When your torso is parallel to the ground, press the tips of your fingers into the ground and align them straight down from your shoulders. Straighten – but do not lock – your elbows.
- Round your back from your tailbone to the top of your neck. Keep your head raised and your neck long. Stare up. Elongate the front of your body by moving your thighs back and broaden the bottom of your abdomen by moving your inner groin apart.
- Take several breaths in this position. Then, slowly work the tips of your fingers back between your feet.
- Continue to breathe. As you exhale, bend your elbows and pull your body down into a complete forward bend. Sustain the length in your torso as long as possible while you lower it toward the ground. Rest the top of your head on the ground if it touches.
- Press your palms into the ground and slowly work your hands back until you can lay your upper arms on the ground. Broaden your shoulder blades and keep your arms parallel to each. Gently move your shoulders away from your ears.
- Stay in this position for 30 to 60 seconds. To release yourself from this position, move your hands forward under your shoulders again and use them to raise and elongate the front of your body.
- Breathe in, lower your tailbone toward the ground and smoothly raise your torso, letting your arms hang naturally. Raise your upper body, one vertebra at a time, from tailbone to head, until your spine is vertical. "
- Return to mountain pose. Stand tall and straight with your feet separated enough to feel stable. Establish a solid connection with the ground by shifting your weight distribution so that it is equally divided between the base of your big toes, the base of your little toes, and both left and right sides of your heels. "
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