Supta Padangusthasana: Reclining Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose
‘If you practice any one posture each and every morning, religiously, without fail, practice supta padangusthasana.’
- Advice from a Hatha Yoga master.
Supta padangusthasana is a deep stretch to the muscles of the legs and hips. Practicing it releases large amounts of stress from the body. The legs will become supple, and the corresponding emotional and mental qualities will soften, leaving the practitioner more relaxed, content, and free of tension. If one suffers from back pain, this posture will most likely cure it.
Begin by lying on the ground, face up. Using a strap (a belt or rolled up fabric will do), loop up the right leg, lifting it straight to the sky. Extend the left leg on the ground in front of you. Put both ends of the strap in the right hand, and adjust its length so that both the right leg and the right arm are straight.
Inhaling, reach through both heels. The heel of the right leg will reach to the sky, and the heel of the left leg will reach away from you. This ‘reaching’ with the heels will make the muscles of the legs firmly engage. Alternatively, you can simply flex both feet, curling the toes back towards your body. It should have the same effect.
Exhaling, move the right foot a little bit closer to the wall behind your head. Using the breath, breathe in to engage the muscles (drawing length through the heels), and breathe out to deepen the posture. Remain here for 5 to 15 rounds of deep breathing, softening any extraneous muscles.
For part two, move the foot about 10 centimeters across the midline of the body, changing hands with the strap. The left arm should now be in a plane perpendicular to the earth, with the right foot roughly straight above the left hip. (This is the posture portrayed in the picture above.) Again, use the rhythm of the breath: inhaling drawing length into the legs and firmly flexing both feet, and exhaling to deepen the posture, moving the foot just a little bit closer to the back wall. If you’d like, press into the right hip crease with the right hand to create a leveraging effect on the lifted leg. Remain here for another round of deep breathing.
For part three, inhale length into the spine, root the right shoulder into the earth, and exhale the right leg across the torso into a twist. The right foot will be hovering just above the ground. Keeping the right shoulder rooted and the left leg firmly extended straight in front of you, inch the right foot a little bit closer towards the back wall. Like all twists, capitalize on the breath: lengthening on the inhalation, and twisting deeper with the exhalation. The head can turn to the right, so that the spine twists evenly from bottom to top.
For the fourth and final part of supta padangusthasana, breathe in back to center. Firmly engage the muscles of the right foot, and breathing out, open the leg out to the right side, allowing the hips to breath. Press with left hand onto the left hip crease to prevent it from lifting. Keep the muscles of both legs engaged, and the right foot moving ever closer to that back wall. Relax any extraneous muscles.
Repeat all four parts on the other side: the left leg will lift, and the right leg will extend straight in front of you.
While practicing supta padangusthasana, be sure to firmly engage the muscles of the legs. This sends a command to the hamstring muscles telling them to relax. In many postures of yoga, muscular engagement is the key to allowing unnecessarily-tensed muscles to soften.
- Advice from a Hatha Yoga master.
Supta padangusthasana is a deep stretch to the muscles of the legs and hips. Practicing it releases large amounts of stress from the body. The legs will become supple, and the corresponding emotional and mental qualities will soften, leaving the practitioner more relaxed, content, and free of tension. If one suffers from back pain, this posture will most likely cure it.
Begin by lying on the ground, face up. Using a strap (a belt or rolled up fabric will do), loop up the right leg, lifting it straight to the sky. Extend the left leg on the ground in front of you. Put both ends of the strap in the right hand, and adjust its length so that both the right leg and the right arm are straight.
Inhaling, reach through both heels. The heel of the right leg will reach to the sky, and the heel of the left leg will reach away from you. This ‘reaching’ with the heels will make the muscles of the legs firmly engage. Alternatively, you can simply flex both feet, curling the toes back towards your body. It should have the same effect.
Exhaling, move the right foot a little bit closer to the wall behind your head. Using the breath, breathe in to engage the muscles (drawing length through the heels), and breathe out to deepen the posture. Remain here for 5 to 15 rounds of deep breathing, softening any extraneous muscles.
For part two, move the foot about 10 centimeters across the midline of the body, changing hands with the strap. The left arm should now be in a plane perpendicular to the earth, with the right foot roughly straight above the left hip. (This is the posture portrayed in the picture above.) Again, use the rhythm of the breath: inhaling drawing length into the legs and firmly flexing both feet, and exhaling to deepen the posture, moving the foot just a little bit closer to the back wall. If you’d like, press into the right hip crease with the right hand to create a leveraging effect on the lifted leg. Remain here for another round of deep breathing.
For part three, inhale length into the spine, root the right shoulder into the earth, and exhale the right leg across the torso into a twist. The right foot will be hovering just above the ground. Keeping the right shoulder rooted and the left leg firmly extended straight in front of you, inch the right foot a little bit closer towards the back wall. Like all twists, capitalize on the breath: lengthening on the inhalation, and twisting deeper with the exhalation. The head can turn to the right, so that the spine twists evenly from bottom to top.
For the fourth and final part of supta padangusthasana, breathe in back to center. Firmly engage the muscles of the right foot, and breathing out, open the leg out to the right side, allowing the hips to breath. Press with left hand onto the left hip crease to prevent it from lifting. Keep the muscles of both legs engaged, and the right foot moving ever closer to that back wall. Relax any extraneous muscles.
Repeat all four parts on the other side: the left leg will lift, and the right leg will extend straight in front of you.
While practicing supta padangusthasana, be sure to firmly engage the muscles of the legs. This sends a command to the hamstring muscles telling them to relax. In many postures of yoga, muscular engagement is the key to allowing unnecessarily-tensed muscles to soften.