How to do it:
Stand in Mountain pose (Tadasana) keep your feet together and with an Inhale reach your arms up, expanding your body upwards take a few breaths here.
Take a deep inhale and as you exhale, fold forward at your hips and take the upper body down, bringing your chest close to your upper legs. Get a hold of your elbows and hang like a rag doll for a few breaths.
Then try to place your fingers on the floor, and as you exhale, expand the spine at the neck and go even deeper towards the knees with your upper body. Try placing your hands behind your feet or on the floor.
Remain here for a few breaths, with your Inhale lengthen your spine, exhale, go further down with your body. You are using your palms on the floor for support, feeling the stretch at your hamstrings.
Keep your legs straight, but don’t lock your knees to avoid knee injury.
Forward bend benefits:
This pose can be intense in its forward stretch; most of its benefits are in the core.
When the body folds forward, the pressure at the stomach and abdominal area promotes the toning of the abdominal muscles. This pose can cure stomach pains and other intestinal ailments.
The pressure in the abdomen, activates the liver, the spleen and the kidneys.
Removes excess fat in the abdominal area, improves digestion and helps with constipation.
The pressure in the upper body helps in calming the brain, and the spinal nerves are rejuvenated. It gives room for breathing even when the diaphragm is compressed.
The forward fold pose lengthens your entire back body. This can help in healing your middle and upper back stiffness.
The head below the heart in this posture removes any depression felt in the mind if you hold the pose for more extended periods. The pose refreshes the brain cells with the flow of oxygen and prana.
The refreshing flow of oxygen prana, brings a glow to the face and cools the eyes.
The lower part of your body gets a good stretch starting from the hips to the feet. The hamstring, the calves, and the knees get a full expansion of the muscles and improves your blood circulation.
Your feet are put firmly on the floor, great for strengthening your ankle and joints.
This pose is terrific for athletes and runners.
This pose can also help in creating a great balance to the entire body.
It can reduce depression if practiced often.
It can also cure insomnia and is relieving for fatigue.
It will increase your blood flow to your brain, soothing your mind and sympathetic nervous system.
It will regulate your blood pressure,
and can be relieving for migraines and stress-related headaches.
It will tone your abdominal organs, and can relieve stomach pains by neutralizing acidity.
It will strengthen and stretch your hamstring muscles.
It will increase your flexibility in your hip joints.
Also, strengthen your knee joints and its tissue and muscles.
If your hamstrings hurt while you’re stretching, you can bend your knees till the hamstring muscles become used to this stretch. If you’re losing your balance in this pose, you can use a wall for support. You can place your upper back towards the wall and use your hands around your ankles to get a better grip.
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You can use a chair or a stool or a wall for going halfway down. This stretch will slowly help open your back and leg muscles.
If breathing is difficult for you, you can bend your knees. This will help you breathe better.
If you use the strength of your palm to pull your body forward, you will put to much pressure into your hips and your lower back, it’s better to keep your body loose when you’re going down and let your spine take its time to stretch forward.
If you have a hard time reaching the floor with your hands, you can use blocks on the ground.
