Yoga for Lazy Days – Part Three

Feeling bleh? How about this one…?

3) Paschimottanasana is a wonderful pose for when you have all the time in the world, because it allows you to really deepen into it slowly and gently to an extent you aren’t likely to have time for in class.

Be sure to extend towards the computer or television you’re watching as you fold forward. If you can reach your toes, grab them to help pull you a bit deeper. If you’re very flexible and can grab the wrist of your opposite hand over the soles of your feet, then you can do this for the same effect. If you can’t reach your feet, then use a strap around the soles of your feet.

This is how the pose will look if you’re stiff:

(Source: Pinterest)

Your pose will look more like this if you’re quite open:

(Source: pakladies.com/yoga-treatments-and-exercise-for-diabetes)

This pose is much more about how much extension you get from your sacrum to the crown of your head than about how close you can get your forehead to your knees. The downward motion comes from the space and softness you create by extending forward maximally, not from simply pushing your head down to your legs, which can hurt you.

Benefits: Rests and massages the heart; soothes the adrenal glands; tones the kidneys, bladder and pancreas; activates a sluggish liver; improves the digestive system; helps treat impotence; stimulates the reproductive system.

***Remember to breathe***