The 21-Day Yoga Challenge: Pose a Day brings you today’s pose:
Uttanasana or Forward Fold
Uttanasana, referred in English as forward fold or intense forward stretch, is a pose that can benefit everyone, but not everyone will execute it the same way to attain the benefits. Be sure to check out modifications to explore the best uttanasana for you.
The word Ut in Sanskrit means deliberate or intense while tana relates to stretch. Taking this thought: practice uttanasana or forward fold with deliberate attention to both your body and mind.
Forward fold provides a balancing pose to the sacrum after standing poses. It stretches the hamstrings and lengthens the spine. The nature of folding into yourself provides a quieting of your mind and can reduce anxiety and an elevated heart rate.
Cues: Begin in tadasana or mountain pose with feet hip-width apart, your legs actively engaged, your abdominal muscles drawing in and up and your collar bones rolling up and wide. Take your finger tips to your hip creases and as you inhale, lengthen your spine. Exhale and fold at the hip crease. This helps remind your body to deepen at the hip creases to create a fuller extension of the spine. Keep quadriceps contracted, maintain an engaged core and draw your collar bones slightly up and wide. As you hold this pose 
for up to two minutes, play with inhaling to lengthen your spine and exhaling to draw your chest closer to the thighs.
Benefits: The pose stretches the lower back and warms up the hamstrings for other standing poses. Beyond stretching or toning, forward fold provides a respite from an active practice and an active life. Practice with the intention to quiet the mind by focusing in on the breath.
Modifications: If you cannot reach your hands to the floor, they should come to something or you risk pulling the hamstrings at the insertion point behind the knee or at the origination point at the lower part of the buttock. If you feel discomfort at any of these points, be sure to raise yourself. This can be done with a block or multiple blocks under the palms. A chair seat is a good hand prop which you can try right at your office desk or kitchen table!!
I often teach uttanasana with the heels slightly away from the wall and the hips and buttock on the wall. After several breaths, you can take the hips off the wall and come to the full pose. Blocks should still be used if necessary but the wall gives the pose a bit more accessibility and in turn can provide a quieter and more nourishing experience.
2 comments
PJ Rosenthal says:
June 6, 2019 at 4:11 pm (UTC -5 )
Is the uttanasana modification for osteoporosis, the same as if one cannot reach the floor?
Ann says:
June 6, 2019 at 5:52 pm (UTC -5 )
Thank you for the question. For individuals who have osteoporosis or osteopenia they are at a higher risk for bone fractures and once fractured can be slower to heal. This can be particularly true for the spine, wrists and hips. In light of the generalization — as each person is different — a full forward fold or uttanasana should be modified to keep the spine long and avoid deep flection. If I had osteoporosis, I would practice ardha uttanasana or half-forward fold.This can be done with the hands on the thighs and keeping the spine long or I would do what is often called the kitchen sink stretch where you hold on to the kitchen sink edge, walk back so hips can be over the knees and ankles and then fold halfway forward until your trunk and your legs make a right angle.
While this is a great stretch, it can help build the bone mass simply by standing and when the quadriceps are engaged — not gripping — the contracted muscles adhere to the bones and in turn help build bone strength. I appreciate your question and hope that helps! Be well.