Standing Head Between Knees Pose

‘Utthita’ means stretched, ‘Janu’ means knee and ‘Sirhasa’ means head. In the standing head between knees posture, you bring your head to the knees by folding the upper body forward, in a standing position.

Organizing the Pose:

• Stand with the feet shoulder width apart and arms beside the body.
• Breathe in, raise arms in front, in line with the chest.
• Exhale, bend forward from the hips and take the arms around the outside of the legs. Either grasp the wrist or clasp the hands behind the calves.
• Keep legs straight and use the arm muscles to gently pull the torso closer to the thighs.
• Hold the final position for as long as is comfortable then release the arms, engage the abdominal muscles and mindfully raise the body upright. Practice upto 5 times.

DO:

• Exhale as you bend from the hips keeping the spine long.
• Retain the breath or breath out normally in the forward fold.
• Inhale to release and return upright.

DON’T:

• People with back problems should not practice this posture.

BENEFITS:

• Increases the flexibility of the hamstring muscles and the hip joint.
• The posture stimulates the pancreas.
• It massages the spinal nerves and revitalizes the brain.

Getting the heart below the spine and hence resting it is beautifully experienced in this forward fold. So practice it to reap the benefits!

Namaste!

Neelanjana Bharadwaj – Yoga Expert