Standing Bow Pose

Who:

You 

What posture?

Standing Bow 

Where is the primary focus?

Spine, shoulders, kicking leg. 

When and where could I feel the stretch? 

At your deepest point in the posture, you might feel it in your lower back, a stretch in the shoulder of the arm holding your foot, a big muscular engagement in the arm stretching forward, a big muscular engagement in the kicking leg, and a stretch in the back of your standing leg.

Why should I do this posture? 

It’s a backward bend and a spine twist in one posture. Because you are balancing, you are increasing your focus and concentration. 

How can I improve? 

Repetition is a big part of learning how to do this posture. Precision is also a great goal, and it starts with the entrance. Instead of just grabbing your foot, try keeping your knees close and bending your knee to start using your leg muscles, and carefully bringing your foot to your hand.  Bring your knees together and stretch your bent knee down before you kick back. For the entire set up make sure that your standing knee is locked.  

When you start kicking, try to move your foot back as far as possible, opening up the space behind your knee. Your strong kick will drive your upper body forward at the same time. Try to ensure the knee of your kicking leg is always pointing directly behind you and your toes are pointing straight up to the ceiling. 

From there, kick back and stretch forward. Continue to kick into your hand for the duration of the posture.

To add some finesse, play with separating your shoulders more by relaxing through your chest and shoulders and exaggerating the kick and stretch. Stretching your fingers more forward and locking your elbow can help that opening.

You can further your backward bend by pushing your belly button down and moving your chest forward and up slightly. 

Often the last challenge is to stretch your toes on your kicking leg up towards the ceiling. Spreading your toes often helps engage more of your muscles.