Standing Forward Bends – Weekly Advanced Class 284

Practicing forward bends from a standing position can be an effective way of bypassing stiffness associated with tight hamstrings, hips or knees. Forward bending actions are often more challenging for stiffer bodies when approached from their traditional seated positions. When sitting on the floor it is more common to encounter resistance from muscle groups associated with your legs and pelvis. This can place excessive load on your lower back and make you more vulnerable to injury. In comparison, whilst standing you will often have an improved ability to counteract this resistance by mobilising your arms and legs. Using your “limbs of action” in this way gives you the leverage to resist against the effects of gravity. As a result your spine will feel more supported in positions where it may otherwise have been more vulnerable. In this way, techniques that help to improve your forward bends can be learnt initially in poses from the standing asana group. For this reason poses such as utthita hasta padangusthasana. parsvottanasana, parivrtta ardha chandrasana and virabhadrasana 3 are explored in this class within the context of forward bending.