Upavistha Konasana

Pronunciation: (oo-puh-VEESH-tah cone-AWS-ahna)

Translation: In Sanskrit Upavistha means seated or sitting, Kona means angle and Asana means pose. Upavistha Konasana translates to Seated Angle Pose.  In English, this forward bend pose is often referred to as "Wide Angle Forward Bend".

Upavistha Konasana is a good preparation for most other seated forward bends and twists, as well as for the wide-legged standing poses. In the pose your legs are grounded in the earth and the spinal column relaxes forward.  It stretches the insides and backs of the legs.  Like other forward bends, the psychological effect of this pose is to quiet the brain.

Technique:

Sit on the floor with your legs extended in front of you and your pelvis perpendicular to the floor so that your side hip bones aligned over your sit bones.  This is Dandasana, the sitting "staff pose". 

Many people have tight hamstring muscles and cannot sit in Dandasana with the pelvis perpendicular to the floor and the side hip bones in line with the sit bones.  Rather, their pelvis is tilted backwards with their side hip bones behind their sit bones. 

If your pelvis tilts backwards in Dandasana sit on a prop that provides enough height to bring your pelvis into better alignment. Use a stack of one or more neatly folded blankets, a yoga block or even a book as a prop to sit on.  Position your sit bones at the front of your prop.  Experiment with differing prop heights to find the elevation that allows you to have a perpendicular pelvis.

Form a wide angle between your legs by opening them out as far as possible.  Press your hands down by your sides and move your sit bones back tilting your pelvis slightly forward.  If possible, reach over each leg and swing it a further out to the side so as to widen the angle between your legs. 

Activate your extended legs extending out through the bottom legs to the heels and pressing the top leg’s quadriceps muscles down.  Keep the legs extended and aligned in their medial plane with the toes and the knees facing straight up.

In this pose you maintain an extended spine with "normal" spinal curves as you fold the upper torso down towards the floor. The key to this pose is to descend the upper body over the legs by tilting the pelvis.  As the front pelvic bones rotate downwards and the sit bones move backwards the upper torso moves toward the floor between the spread legs.  Working in this fashion creates stretch in the legs and avoids compressing spinal vertebrae.

Keep your weight distributed evenly between your sitting bones. Elongate the torso.   Keep the spine extended and the weight evenly distributed between your "grounded" the sitting bones.  Descend the back of your upper leg femur bones towards the floor. The buttock flesh will sink into the floor as your hips release deep in the outer hips socket and your thigh quadriceps muscle’s flesh rolls outward.

If possible, walk your hands forward on the floor or clasp the feet and rotate the frontal hip bones down towards the upper legs to tilt the pelvis and descend the upper torso leading with your sternum.  If you cannot reach your feet, loop a strap around each and inch your hands towards them as you stretch.

Keep your shoulders down from your ears. Maintain active legs with the toes and knees facing the upwards.  Move from the opening in the hips by tilting the pelvis, not by bending your waist.

A deep release has to take place in the groins allowing the pelvis to rotate without disturbing the legs or spine.  Lead with the sternum as you move your upper torso down rather than your shoulders.  Remember to keep the spine extended so that your upper body does not curl but rather extends down as the leg muscles extend and your frontal pelvis descends toward the floor.

Descend further while holding the pose as the stretch in the backs of your legs increases. Initially, stay in the pose for about one minute.  Over time it is beneficial to work up to holding the pose for a period of around five minutes. 

Come up on an inhalation with a long front torso using your hands to lift up to a seated position.  Use your hands to grip under each upper leg as you bend them at the knees and bring your feet near your pelvis.

Beginner’s Tip:

You may not be flexible enough to lean forward very much. That is fine. If the adductors are not flexible, you may not be able to bring the torso forward toward the floor. Perhaps you may find it difficult to sit upright, rather than being able to forward bend deeply into the pose. Bend the knees slightly as you do the pose.

Variation:

A gentle restorative way to do this pose is to support your head by placing a stack of blankets or one or more bolsters or the seat of a chair under your forehead during the pose.  As your leg muscles elongate in the pose experiment with lowering the support under your forehead.  This is perfect for beginners, as a relaxing and stress reducing posture, and for pregnant women. Hold the pose this way, supported, for five minutes or so and feel the rejuvenating effects.

Benefits:

This pose is useful to women for menstruation and pregnancy.

Men may find it useful for a hip releasing posture.

Sciatica may be relieved with hamstring stretching.

Those suffering from arthritis may find relief.

Kidneys are detoxified.

Groin muscles are released.

The brain is calmed.

Contraindications and Caution:

If you have had a lower back injury, sit up high on one or more folded blankets or on a bolster and come forward as far as possible while maintaining the "normal" tadasana curves in your spine.  Do NOT go so far into the pose that the
lower back becomes convex.

Thanks to Victor Oppenheimer of Yoga.com for editing this article with the perspective of being a long time yoga teacher.

 All Rights Reserved

Copyright Yoga People LLC