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Uttanasana ( sa, उत्तानासन; ) or Standing Forward Bend, with variants such as Padahastasana where the toes are grasped, is a standing forward bending
Ardha Uttanasana is a halfway stage, the trunk horizontal and the palms resting on the calves.
Niralamba Uttanasana has the hands touching the waistband rather than reaching down.
Padahastasana has the hands under the toes and feet, palms up.
Uttanasana ( sa, उत्तानासन; ) or Standing Forward Bend, with variants such as Padahastasana where the toes are grasped, is a standing forward bending asana
An asana is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and later extended in hatha yoga ...
in modern yoga as exercise
Yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting mainly of postures, often connected by flowing sequences, sometimes accompanied by breathing exercises, and frequently ending with relaxation lying down or meditation. Yoga in this form has ...
.
Etymology and origins
The name comes from the Sanskrit words उत्तान ''uttāna'', "intense stretch"; and आसन; ''āsana'', "posture" or "seat". The pose is a modern one, first seen in the 20th century. A pose with the name Uttānāsana is illustrated in the 19th century ''Sritattvanidhi
The ''Sritattvanidhi'' (, "The Illustrious Treasure of Realities") is a treatise written in the 19th century in Karnataka on the iconography and iconometry of divine figures in South India. One of its sections includes instructions for, and ill ...
'' but it is quite different from the modern pose (lying on the back, with elbows touching the knees and the hands behind the neck). The modern pose is described in Krishnamacharya's 1934 ''Yoga Makaranda
''Yoga Makaranda'' (Sanskrit: योग मकरन्द), meaning "''Essence of Yoga''", is a 1934 book on hatha yoga by the influential pioneer of yoga as exercise, Tirumalai Krishnamacharya. Most of the text is a description of 42 asana ...
'', and in the works of his pupils, B. K. S. Iyengar's 1966 ''Light on Yoga
''Light on Yoga: Yoga Dipika'' (Sanskrit: योग दीपिका, "Yoga Dīpikā") is a 1966 book on the Iyengar Yoga style of modern yoga as exercise by B. K. S. Iyengar, first published in English. It describes more than 200 yoga postur ...
'' and Pattabhi Jois's Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. Theos Bernard
Theos Casimir Hamati Bernard (1908–1947) was an explorer and author, known for his work on yoga and religious studies, particularly in Tibetan Buddhism. He was the nephew of Pierre Arnold Bernard, "Oom the Omnipotent", and like him became a yo ...
however illustrates the related pose "Padhahasthasana" (sic) in his 1944 report of his experience of hatha yoga
Haṭha yoga is a branch of yoga which uses physical techniques to try to preserve and channel the vital force or energy. The Sanskrit word हठ ''haṭha'' literally means "force", alluding to a system of physical techniques. Some haṭha ...
on the border of India and Tibet, suggesting the existence of a separate tradition.
Description
The pose is entered from the standing position ofTadasana
Tadasana ( sa , ताड़ासन, translit=Tāḍāsana), Mountain pose or Samasthiti ( sa, समस्थिति; IAST: ''samasthitiḥ'') is a standing asana in modern yoga as exercise; it is not described in medieval hatha yoga te ...
, bending forward at the hips until the palms can be placed on the floor, ultimately behind the heels.
Variations
Ardha Uttanasana is a halfway stage, the trunk horizontal and the palms resting on the calves.
Niralamba Uttanasana has the hands touching the waistband rather than reaching down.
Padahastasana has the hands under the toes and feet, palms up.
See also
* Paschimottanasana, a sitting forward bendReferences
Further reading
* * * *External links
* {{Yoga as exercise Standing asanas Forward bend asanas Surya Namaskar