Hands To Feeet Pose

Who: You

What posture? Hands To Feet

Where is the primary focus? 

Back of legs

Spine

Where does the posture provide maximum benefits?

Hamstrings, shoulders, eventually hips and glutes

When and where could I feel the stretch? 

This is going to change as your body opens up. In the beginning, it's often the back of your legs and shoulders, eventually, it’s the entire posterior of your body, and then you can even start engaging the muscles in the front of your body. 

Why should I do this posture? 

It’s the opposite of the posture before it (you’ll see this again in the series). After a backbend, the opposite motion is a forward fold. To create more movement in our bodies it’s great to move them back and forth in opposite directions, but with care and mindfulness. This posture is amazing at creating a deep stretch all over the back of your body. 

How can I improve? 

Instead of forcing anything, let your body open with time. Bending your knees at the start and stretching your spine forward so that you start with your belly on your thighs and slowly, patiently use your upper body to apply pressure to your lower body to move your knees back and lift your hips up. Do this gently. Also be aware that the first set and second set might feel very different. Give your body time and space to open. It also feels different to me if I did class the day before or if I went running. Our bodies get tight and loosen up over and over, it's not a linear progression. 

Let your head hang in the beginning, then slightly push your forehead towards your shins, it might not touch and that's okay, it depends on your flexibility and your anatomy, not only your effort. 

Pull hard with your arms, while bringing your shoulders up towards the ceiling and elbows back. This takes a ton of effort but helps with arm strength and creating space in your spine. 

Letting go of your expectations for what your body should do or feel in this posture (all of them) is really the best advice I can give here. Patience. Your hamstrings are big muscles and they take a while to stretch. Sometimes it's moments, sometimes it’s years. While you are letting your legs open, tune into what else you can do, and work with your arms and your abs to lengthen your spine. And when things get heavy physically, turn towards your breathing and see if you can slow it down or feel what it feels like as the air comes in and out of your nose. Sometimes tuning into what your body is feeling is more effective than trying to change it. When we can pay attention to what we are feeling, those feelings are felt and often fade away. It seems that the feelings we push away are the ones that stick around. When we practice this in class we build the strength to use it when life has us feeling things that we want to push away. If we use that same idea of looking at those feelings instead of pushing them away or suppressing them, maybe we can all grow and stretch a little bit easier.