Yoga: 10 Tips to Improve Your Forward Bend

Forward Bend (Uttanasana) is a Yoga posture which is very beneficial to the body. It creates a full stretch to the posterior chain ('Uttanasana' translating to 'intense stretch to the back of the body') 1. Touching one's toes can feel like a dividing line for a lot of students. Some manage with ease and others cannot understand why they are nowhere near. Yet, Uttanasana is not about how close we can get our fingers or head to our toes. It's about the powerful lengthening of everything in between. Not only does it have physical benefits but it is also a very soothing posture which can help to lower our energy, help release stress and bring our focus back to our inner selves. Stress hormones in the body can build, with chronic stress being a significant contributor to an inhibited immune system. Introspective yoga practices incorporating forward bends can have a very positive effect in keeping these problems at bay.

The posture is often felt it in the hamstrings first as they are underworked muscles and we generally have weak backs, which causes a strain on the hamstrings as we stretch out the back. This posture, however, should give you a stretch alongside the entire 'back' of the body. From the backs of the ankles up the backs of the legs, along the spine and into the neck, over the crown of the head to the forehead. It is important to focus on a long back and neck as much as long hamstrings.

Yoga postures have certain levels and layers which can be advanced through depending on experience. A forward bend can be built upon so as to heighten the stretch, increase flexibility, and present a greater challenge. It is a good idea to pick one or two tips at a time to focus on in one Yoga session, choosing another tip in the following session, and so on. Build it layer by layer. Yoga can be a lifetime of practice but that is part of the joy.

Here are some stepping stones to getting a little more out of your Uttanasana:

1. Accept bent legs! Work from a happy place and breathe into it, rather than going straight for the finish line and causing strain or pain. Bend the knees enough to keep contact between the abdomen and thighs and take it from there, lifting the hips rather than pushing out the backs of the knees.

2. Let the upper body hang, allow gravity and breath to let you let go, including the head and neck. The head is such a heavy weight and letting it go really helps to lengthen the neck and upper back.

3. Engage the thigh muscles to support the knees and lift the inner ankles. Activating through the legs can also have the effect of lifting your spine out of your hips so that you can hinge better, and makes it easier to stack your leg bones (see point 5).

4. Work on the anterior tilt of the pelvis. This will lift the hamstrings from their top insertion rather than pulling them at the knee. Think 'pull the glutes away from the backs of the knees' or try imagining pointing your imaginary tail to the ceiling, rather than pushing backwards out the back of the knees. This is particularly good if knees are bent as it is easier to tilt the pelvis and is more effective at getting the legs straighter. It can feel more supportive and also helps lengthen the spine.

5. Play with centre of gravity, try shifting the weight further forward in the feet to align and stack the hips over the ankles. The more upright and stacked the leg joints, the better you will fold and the straighter your back can be.

6. Practice hamstring stretches in different positions as it changes the amount of leverage available and therefore makes the hamstrings work in different ways, making them more adaptable, e.g. seated, wide leg, supine. 2.

7. If the hands are planted then work with traction on the floor, try pushing the floor forwards away from the toes with the hands, in order to lever the upper body closer to the legs. Traction is a great thing to integrate into your practice! If you're already so low that you can wrap the arms around the calves, take them there and pull gently to ease yourself into those deeper places or edge the hands back behind the feet along the mat for a core challenge!

8. Hinge from the hips, practice coming up and down with a straight spine and leading with the heart to keep the spine long rather than rounded. Rounding will add strain to tight hamstrings whereas hinging from the hips will stretch them with better form and utilise the core more for stability.

9. Pull in the stomach with the out breath, letting this give you a little more space, both physically and mentally. The out breath is great for practicing letting go and that is something we really need for Uttanasana. Letting go of tension with the exhalation lets you soften deeper into the asana. Take as many big inhalations and exhalations as you need to on the way down in order to soften and take it gradually if that's what your body needs.

10. Practice Uttanasana with balance changes to start feeling more stable when upside down. E.g. Close eyes or lift one foot at a time, change the gaze or alternate leaning to each side. When we are upside down we can get disorientated and this can happen in Uttanasana sometimes, so playing with balance here improves our spatial awareness and makes our brains more comfortable with the notion. 3.

Have fun with Forward Bend! And remember not only is this pose great for letting go of tension but Yoga is a Practice, so you don't have to get it all perfect in one go!

1. https://www.yogapedia.com/definition/5674/uttanasana

2. https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/anatomy/hamstrings/7-poses-for-tight-hamstrings/

3. https://yogainternational.com/article/view/3-innovative-ways-to-improve-your-balance-with-yoga/