Wide Legged Forward Bend (Prasarita Padottanasana)

Pronunciation and meaning

Prasarita Padottanasana: pruh-SAH-ri-tuh pah-doh-tahn-AHS-uh-nuh. Prasarita stresses SAH, and Padottanasana stresses AHS.

Prasarita means spread out, pada means foot, uttana means intense stretch and asana means posture. With the feet set wide apart, you fold forward from the hips and let the head hang between the legs.

How to do Wide Legged Forward Bend

1. Face the long edge of the mat and step your feet wide apart, about a leg's length, with the outer edges of the feet parallel.
2. Bring your hands to your hips. Inhale and lift the chest, lengthening the spine.
3. Exhale and hinge forward from the hips with a long back, bringing your hands to the floor or blocks under your shoulders.
4. Bend the elbows back and let the crown of the head move toward the floor only as far as the back stays easy. Keep a soft bend in the knees if needed.
5. Stay for five to eight breaths, weight slightly forward in the feet rather than back in the heels.
6. To come up, bring the hands to the hips, press into the feet and rise with a long back, slowly. Pause standing before stepping the feet together.

Make it easier

• Rest the hands on blocks, a chair seat or the edge of a bed.
• Take a shorter stance if the inner thighs or lower back feel strained.
• Keep the knees well bent and let the belly rest toward the thighs.

Pregnancy and after birth

Pregnancy. Adapt. The wide stance makes room for the belly, but the head below the heart can bring dizziness. Keep the hands on high blocks or a chair, fold only partway, and rise very slowly. Check with your OB or midwife.

After birth. Adapt. After your doctor or midwife has cleared you, keep the hands on blocks and the fold shallow, and come up slowly.

Read Joahnna Lee's notes on yoga in pregnancy and after birth.

Common mistakes

• Stepping so wide that the feet slide out and the inner knees strain.
• Rounding hard through the back to get the head to the floor.
• Coming up quickly with the head first.

The wide legged forward bend is a calm, steady fold that appears in many Hatha and Vinyasa classes, often after Triangle or Warrior II, when the stance is already wide. The wide base makes it feel more stable than a fold with the feet together.

Many people find it a gentle stretch for the backs and insides of the legs, and a restful moment with the head hanging.

How is it different from a standing forward bend?

In a Standing Forward Bend the feet are together and the stretch sits mainly in the backs of the legs. Here the wide stance adds the inner thighs and gives the hips more room, so many people can fold further with less effort. It follows Triangle Pose naturally, and it is a good set up for Half Moon Pose.

Who is it for?

Most beginners can do it with blocks. It appears in the hamstring stretches routine and in yoga for flexibility. Skip the head-down part if you have high blood pressure or feel dizzy.