What is padahastasana (Hand Under Foot Pose)?
Padahastasana or Hand under foot pose is an important standing yoga asana. Pada means feet and hasta means hand and asana indicates a yoga posture. Though, it is not an easy pose to perform but has numerous health and therapeutic benefits. It gives adequate stretching to hamstrings, hips, calves, back of thighs, and the entire legs including knees and ankles. The yoga pose shows wonderful results with hamstrings, hips, physical and mental disposition. It is beneficial in weight loss, reducing belly fat, improving flexibility, thyroid, and spinal health.
How to do padahastasana: step by step?
- Stand straight with feet 2 inches apart.
- Inhale slowly and raise the arms up.
- Stretch up the body from the waist.
- Exhale and bend forward until both palms rest on the ground.
- Maintain this final posture for 10-30 seconds with normal breathing.
- Now inhale, come up slowly to the upright position
- Exhale, slowly return to the starting position.
Padahastasana pose breathing and awareness
Breathe in while raising your body and arms upwards straight. Exhale as deeply as possible while bending forwards and if possible accentuate the contraction of the abdomen, especially in the final position. Do deep breathing while maintaining the pose. Again breathe in while coming to the original position.
Number of rounds
Doing 2-3 rounds of Padahastasana is desirable during yoga sessions. But the main important thing is to maintain the Hand under foot pose yoga. Initially, it should try for 30 seconds, and the duration should increase gradually. Tadasana should be done after padahastasana as a counterpose. Padahastasana is an important yoga during Surya namaskar
10 wonder benefits of padahastasana yoga
Padahastasana is associated with many benefits if one practices it as per the instructions mentioned above.
- Weight loss: It’s an important yoga pose to burn stomach fat. If you want to reduce your belly as well as belly fat, do this yoga pose on a regular basis. Weight loss can be achieved to a satisfactory level if one able to practice the instructions mentioned above.
- Prevents loss of hair: The practicing of the yoga pose in a proper way helps to flow an adequate amount of oxygenated blood to the head region. It stimulates and energies the hair follicles too thus good for hair health.
- Knees and ankles health: While practicing the yoga pose, the legs remained straight and stretched, which give suitable stretching to knee and ankle regions thus loosen the nearby muscles and flow of right amount of oxygenated blood. All these ensure good health to knee, ankles, hips, and other parts of the legs.
- Improves flexibility: It helps to enhance the flexibility of hamstrings, hips, calf, thighs, and also works on the abdomen. If one becomes perfect in practicing the yoga pose, performing other yoga poses also gets easier.
- Stimulates the thyroid gland: Since it’s a forward bending yoga pose with head towards the surface. The yoga pose regulates oxygenated blood flow to the endocrine glands including thyroid and pineal, thus helpful in the prevention of thyroid.
- ENT disorders: The practicing of yoga on a regular basis is good for the health of the throat, nasal region, eyes, and teeth.
- Spinal Health: Though the yoga practice shouldn’t be practiced in case of spinal injuries. However, after regular practice, it has become a boon for the spinal column and associated nerves and muscles as it tones and energizes these regions.
- Abdominal bloating: The practicing of the yoga pose speeds up metabolism, which ensures proper secretion of enzymes and gastric juices, which is beneficial for gastric problems, abdominal bloating, and indigestion.
- Concentration and alertness: It improves concentration and alertness. If you practice it properly, you can extract more advantages from other yoga poses.
- Cardiac health: The pose is beneficial in reducing the heartbeat rate also helps in relieving mental as well as physical exertion.
Precautions
Its an intense forward bending yoga pose, but there are the conditions wherein it shouldn’t be practiced.
- Cardiac disorders
- Vertebral disorder
- Disc disorder
- Abdominal inflammation
- Hernia
- Severe back pain
- High blood pressure
- Knee problems
- Overstretching should be avoided as it may cause harm to the knees and ankle.
- Spinal injury
Beginner’s tip
Beginners and people with stiff backs find the final pose difficult to perform. Bend forwards as far as you can and try to touch the floor with the fingers or hands, keeping the legs straight. If you cannot touch the floor with your hands, you shouldn’t be a worry. As you become more flexible through yoga practices, it becomes easier to touch the floor. It is important that the legs remain straight so that the leg muscles (hamstring muscles) are stretched and become more flexible.
Facts and tips
- One shouldn’t bend forward beyond one’s comfort zone.
- It should be practice after the practice of backward bending yoga such as Bhujangasana, Chakrasana, and Setubandhasana.
- While bending forward, bend through hips, not through the waist. The legs should be straight throughout the practice.
- It helps to awaken the Chakra.
Modifications & variations
Practicing padahastasana is not easy for beginners. It is also true that perfection in the pose comes after a certain period of time. Therefore, whatever one can bend forward, is enough and the effort should continue to bring the palms towards the surface. However, while performing it, try to make your legs straight.
Preparatory pose
- Tadasana
- Vriskhasana
- Downward facing dog
- Chair pose
- Uttanasana
Follow-up pose
- Janu sirsasana
- Utthita Trikonasana
- Virbhadrasana
