The verse and its meaning · Yoga in Practice · Yoga in Practice — Asanas as Taught Today

Uttanasana — standing forward bend

Asanas as Taught Today 2

उत्तानासन

Meaning · English

Uttanasana, the stretched-out seat: ut, intensely or upward; tana, stretch; asana, seat or posture. The common English name is the standing forward bend, the pose in which the whole back of the body is stretched while the head hangs low.

Take the name apart first. Ut is an intensifier, close to 'strongly' or 'upward'. Tana means a stretch or a pull. Together they give uttana, 'stretched out' or 'intensely stretched'. Asana is a seat, later any posture. So the name says: the posture of an intense stretch. In this pose the stretch runs along the whole back of the body, from the heels to the crown of the head. Say plainly what this is. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the Gheranda Samhita and the Shiva Samhita do not describe it. It is modern postural yoga, codified in the twentieth century in the Mysore line of Krishnamacharya and the schools that grew from it. Its frame in the old texts is Yoga Sutras 2.46 to 2.48: a seat that is steady and easy, effort loosened, and the mind resting on the infinite. The plain sense of the lesson is simple. The feet stand together and the arms rise overhead with the breath. The body folds from the hips, not from the waist, with a long back. The palms come to the floor beside the feet, the hips lift, the knees stay straight, and the head moves toward the knees. Head and neck hang loose. Where the hands cannot reach the floor, the knees bend a little, and the stretch is never forced. The pose is taught for steadiness and ease. It asks the practitioner to let go of effort in the head, neck and shoulders, while the legs stay awake.

1. Stand tall with your feet together and your arms by your sides. Weight even on both feet, eyes level. 2. Breathe in, and raise both arms overhead. Lengthen the spine, as if the crown of the head were rising. 3. Breathe out. Fold forward from the hips with a long back, and place the palms on the floor beside the feet. 4. Lift the hips, keep the knees straight, and bring the head in towards the knees. 5. Stay here. Let the head and neck hang loose, and breathe slowly. The eyes can close or rest softly toward the shins. 6. If the hands do not reach the floor, bend the knees a little. Never force the stretch. 7. Breathe in. Come up slowly with a long back, arms overhead. 8. Breathe out, and lower the arms to your sides. 9. Stand still, and let the breath settle. There is no other side; the pose is the same on both. Fine points: the fold starts in the hip joints, so the pelvis tips forward over the legs and the back stays long until the very end of the reach. The feet, legs and hips do the holding; the neck, jaw and shoulders stay empty. A common modern teaching is to stay for about five slow breaths. That count is not from the old texts. Let the breath, not the clock, say when to come up.

The body: the long muscles at the back of the legs, the hamstrings, lengthen, and so do the calves and the muscles along the spine. The thighs hold the knees straight. The hip joints do the bending, and the spine hangs in a long curve under the pull of gravity. With the arms raised first, the ribs and spine lengthen before the fold begins, which is why the back can stay long. The weight of the head and arms gives a gentle traction without effort. The breath: the in-breath lifts and lengthens on the way up and down. The out-breath goes with the fold, because the belly softens and the ribs close as the body drops forward. In the hang, the breath tends to slow, since the belly is pressed lightly against the thighs and breathing is felt mostly in the back ribs. The mind: with the head below the heart and the eyes turned in or down, outer things fall away. Attention gathers on the stretch and the breath. Sutra 2.47 speaks of loosening effort; the hanging head is a literal form of that. The tradition's own account would speak of prana moving in the back channel of the body. That is the tradition's language, not a description of anatomy.

The Pradipika and the Gheranda say nothing of this pose, so there is no verse claim to report. What the schools that teach it say, in their own teaching, is that it stretches the back of the legs and the spine, loosens a stiff back and neck, and eases the sense of heaviness that comes from long standing or sitting. They say it quiets the mind, evens the breath and prepares the body for longer standing and seated practice. Some teachers describe it as a settling posture, one that brings a restless person back to the body. These are the schools' words, offered as their experience of the pose and not as a promise.

A woman who has stood at a market stall since dawn lets her arms hang at closing time and folds forward to rest her back. This is the oldest sense of the pose, and ordinary experience bears it out. Regular stretching of the hamstrings and calves is generally understood to increase how far a joint moves, partly because the muscle lengthens a little and partly because the body grows used to the sensation. The slow breathing and quiet attention are also well recognised as settling for most people. There is no good evidence for any special effect on the spine beyond this, and the tradition's talk of prana in a back channel has no modern counterpart. Some cautions come from the physiology itself. Folding with the head low and coming up fast can cause dizziness in some people, since blood pressure shifts with posture. A rounded, forced fold loads the lower back and the back of the thighs, which is why the long back and bent knees matter. Today's family doctor would say that gentle, unforced stretching suits most people and that pain is a signal to stop.

This page is not medical advice. A teacher can see what a page cannot, so this pose is best learnt with a teacher, not from a page alone. Stop at any pain, and do not push into a sharp pull behind the knee or in the lower back. Take particular care, or leave the pose out or practise a gentler form, with a disc problem or sciatica, a recent back, abdominal or eye surgery, high blood pressure, a tendency to dizziness or fainting, pregnancy, or a neck or hamstring injury. In those cases a teacher may suggest bent knees, hands on a chair or wall, or a half fold with a flat back. Never force the hands to the floor. Come up slowly, and never throw the body upright.

Gentler: bend the knees as much as needed so the belly rests on the thighs and the back stays long. Rest the palms on shins, on blocks, or on the seat of a chair. A stiff beginner can also fold halfway with hands on a wall and the back flat. Fuller: with straight knees, the palms flat beside the feet, then slowly bring the head and chest closer to the legs without any pull on the lower back. Some schools clasp opposite elbows and let the arms hang. Feet may also stand hip-width apart, which many bodies find easier. There is no mirrored side.

Rounding the back to reach the floor: fold from the hips and bend the knees instead. Locking the knees hard backward: keep them straight but soft. Holding the breath in the fold: let the out-breath carry the fold and breathe slowly in the hang. Tensing the neck and shoulders: let the head hang loose. Letting the weight fall onto the toes: keep it even through both feet. Rushing back up: rise slowly with a long back and arms overhead.

अर्थ · हिन्दी

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• Before: Tadasana — mountain pose · Asanas as Taught Today 1
• Next: Trikonasana — triangle pose · Asanas as Taught Today 3
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