Enter
- Sit and extend both legs together in front of you.
- Ground both sitting bones evenly and lengthen your torso.
- Place palms beside your hips, fingers pointing forward.
- Straighten your arms and draw your toes toward you.
Steps
Support
Both sitting bones and heels; palms provide partial support.
Hold
- Keep kneecaps facing up and thighs turning slightly inward.
- Reach forward through your heels, keeping your legs active.
- Grow from your sitting bones, preserving your spine's natural curves.
- Relax your shoulders and gently draw your lower ribs in.
Exit
- Release the pressure through your hands.
- Relax your legs and shake them gently.
- Breathing
- Breathe smoothly and continuously.
- Gaze
- Look forward.
- Duration
- 5–10 breaths.
Adapt
Adaptations
- Raised seatSit on the edge of one or more folded blankets.
- Blocks under the handsSupport your palms on blocks if they cannot reach the floor.
- Supported kneesPlace a rolled blanket underneath and allow a slight bend.
- WallRest sacrum and shoulder blades against it; preserve your lumbar curve.
Variations
- Ūrdhva Hasta Daṇḍāsana: extend your arms overhead.
- Prārambhik Sthiti: hands behind you, torso leaning slightly back.
- Without arm support: hands on thighs.
Signals of effort
- Sustained knee extension and ankle dorsiflexion.
- Partial weight on the palms, with wrists extended.