Paschimottanasana

Technique :
1. Sit on the floor with legs stretched out in the front.

2. Move the heels away from you, and extend the legs so that their backs touch the floor.

3. Keep both feet few cm apart.

4. Place the palms alongside the hips. Lift the hips off the floor and gently move them back. This helps one to sit erect and exactly on the center of the buttock bone.

5. Lift the spine up, move shoulder blades closer to each other and roll the shoulders back.

6. Without tightening the muscles on the back of your trunk, gently move them towards the frontal body.

7. Grip the sides of the feet with your palms and bend the body from the pelvic region, moving the head towards the legs.

8. Move the chin away from the chest and towards the legs.

9. Rest the head on your shin and stay in this position for as long as you can with normal breathing, and focus your attention on the root chakra which is located at the base of the spine.

Modifications & Props
Most students should sit up on a folded blanket in this pose, and most beginners need to hold a strap around the feet. Extremely stiff students can place a rolled up blanket under their knees

Benefits:

• Calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild depression
• Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause and menstrual discomfort
• Soothes headache and anxiety and reduces fatigue
• Therapeutic for high blood pressure, infertility, insomnia, and sinusitis
• Traditional texts say that Paschimottanasana increases appetite, reduces obesity, and cures diseases.
• Therapeutic for high blood pressure, infertility, insomnia, and sinusitis
• Stretches the back and spine
• Stretches the shoulders
• Stretches the hamstrings
• Therapeutic for high blood pressure, infertility, insomnia, and sinusitis
• Beneficial for the kidneys, liver, ovaries and uterus. (It is thus a must for women. It also helps ease menstrual discomfort.)
• The posture tones abdominal organs and keeps them free from sluggishness.
• It helps digestion and counteracts diabetes, constipation and flatulence.
• It strengthens your urinary system, especially the kidneys.
• The posture has a relaxing effect on the mind. The asana can be performed for as long as 4 hours minutes by resting the head either on the shin or on the blankets placed on the knees and on the shin.
• This asana is extremely beneficial for those suffering from hypertension.
• With this posture and with the right focus one can reach samadhi.
  
  
  

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