– Forward Bending and the Role of the Arms
“When moving into Paścimatāna Āsana such as Uttānāsana.
Better to pull back from the abdomen.
Rather than pushing forward from the lower back.”
– 108 Postural Practice Pointers

– Forward Bending and the Role of the Arms
“When moving out of Paścimatāna Āsana such as Uttānāsana.
Focus on the arms bringing the back up.
Rather than the back bringing the arms up.”
– 108 Postural Practice Pointers

“When bending towards the lower limbs during forward bend Āsana,
move firstly by as if rounding from the lower back,
before ultimately rounding from the upper back.
In terms of a Bhāvana during the movement,
the focus is on exhaling from Apāna Sthāna towards Prāṇa Sthāna.
Thus breathing as if from the lower abdomen towards the upper chest.”
– 108 Postural Practice Pointers

“When moving away from the lower limbs during forward bend Āsana,
move firstly by as if arching from the arms and upper back,
before ultimately arching from the lower back.
In terms of a Bhāvana during the movement,
the focus is on inhaling from Prāṇa Sthāna towards Apāna Sthāna.
Thus breathing as if from the upper chest towards the lower abdomen.”
– 108 Postural Practice Pointers

“Forward Bends are back stretching Āsana in terms of Bhāvana.
Thus in Paścimatāna Āsana one of the foci is on avoiding pushing
from the lower back as you bend forward.
Thus move forward from the abdominal area by drawing it back,
to encourage the lower back to respond by lengthening.
If we push from the lower back in forward bends,
such as Paścimatānāsana, it can tighten this area,
thus inhibiting the focus on the quality of the Apāna Lakṣaṇa,
as well as transferring stress to the sacrum, hips and hamstrings.”
– 108 Postural Practice Pointers

“Which Āsana support the
principle of Mūla Bandha?
To stop the Mūla dropping,
as in Paścimatāna drawing
the Mūla towards Maṇipūra.”
– 108 Mudrā Practice Pointers

Links to Related Posts:

• A sample Parivṛtti and Paścimatāna Themed Group Practice
• cYs Practitioner Training Programme Retreat Extract 1 – Self Planning & Self Practice
• Question to Krishnamacharya – “Can you explain the concept of Vinyāsa and Pratikriyā Āsana?”