PRASARITA PADOTTONASANA: Spread Foot Forward Fold
As we enter into the hot and sunny months of summer, the element
of fire within us begins to brighten. In
the Ayurvedic context, summer is a time of Pitta dosha, or fire
constitution. According to Ayurvedic
teachings, Pitta is the dosha responsible for helping us to cleanse, to
transform, and to digest both food and information. However, when Pitta becomes deranged we get
irritable, angry, cranky, and usually we develop skin and digestion
problems. Some of us are naturally born
with a higher dose of this fiery constitution, and some of us may gain an
excess of it based on our environments.
If you find yourself starting to get cranky on a hot day, try doing this
month’s cooling forward bend, Prasarita Padottonasana.
Prasarita is taught often and appears simple, but many of us
are not doing the pose justice and we do not even realize. The first mistake people make is that they
prioritize getting the crown of the head to the floor over coming into the pose
with proper alignment. The crown may
come down over time, but if you want to do this posture without blowing out
your hamstrings or low back, there are a few things that need to be set up
first.
-Hold the arms out to their fullest wingspan and separate
the ankles as wide as the wrists with the feet slightly pigeon toed.
-The fold should begin from the pelvic region, so tip the
pelvis back so that the sit bones and pubic bone begin to point back
-Begin to move the chest forward, pausing at the halfway
point so the torso is parallel to the floor.
Check in with the pelvis once again to ensure that the sit bones and
pubic bone are moving back. Draw the
pubic bone and the chest away from one another.
-Release the hands to the floor directly underneath the
shoulders; maybe even to blocks if you sense that the low back is beginning to
round. Keep the quadriceps engaged and
the back flat.
-For many people, you should simply stay here and breathe. Remember, this pose is meant to calm the
hyper-ambitious Pitta dosha,. This is
not a pose you can muscle your way into.
It’s one that requires an allowance of ease and opening. Take it from me, you will go deeper into the
pose the less work you do in it.
-If you can keep the sit bones spinning up and back, you may
begin to crawl your hands back until they are in line with the feet and point
the elbows straight back.
-For some, the head may touch the ground.
-For my hyper-gumby friends, you actually need to do a
little bit of the opposite in this than you are normally instructed – squeeze the
sit bones together, but just move the pubic bone up and back. It is extra important that you remain
vigilant about activating the quads the entire time.
There are variations galore to this pose:
Prasarita A
Prasarita B
Prasarita C
Prasarita D
Written by: April Evans
Join her for class:
Tuesdays NYY HOT: 9:30am and 6:35pm
