Poses >> Ubhaya Padangusthasana

Ubhaya Padangustasana

Ubhaya(both)
padangustha (big toe pose)

This pose is a deep hamstring stretch balancing on the butt with legs extended upward, hooking the big toes.

1. Sit on the floor and flex the knees so that the feet are close to your bottom.

2. Make a hook with the first two fingers on each hand and catch the big toes. Once the toes are hooked, straighten the legs up in the air and balance on your butt. Try as best as possible to keep the spine concave; don’t hunch forward.

3. Send your gaze up toward your toes and keep the shoulders back. Take deep, full breaths through your nose and stay in the pose for up to a minute.

It takes some time to learn to balance on the buttocks alone. If your knees don’t straighten, don’t worry about it. Just keep your legs active and as your practice deepens, the hamstrings will open up, giving you more freedom to press the legs straighter. To see what stretching the legs completely will eventually feel like, feel free to wrap a belt around your big toes and use the extra length to press your legs straight.

To deepen the stretch in ubhaya padangustasana, we practice urdhva mukha paschimottanasana.

Text and Video by Featured Yogamates Teacher: Vytas Baskauskas