This pose is the same as a paschimottanasana (forward bend) but done balancing on your butt.

Take the first two fingers (index and middle finger) on the big toes. The knuckle side of the hands face out. Press the sit bones (icsheal tuberosities ) into the floor. These are your roots.

The Upper Body: Let’s work on the upper body first. Start with the knees bent and lengthen the spine away from the sit bones so that all rounding comes out of the back. Lift the lower belly in and up towards the back of the spine. This means use Mula Bandha and Uddiyanda Bhanda to provide stability in the abdominal areas. Keep the chest lifting.

The Lower Body: Slowly start to extend the feet as your exhale. If the legs don’t straighten, that’s no big deal, work with them bent. No matter what, don’t straighten the legs at the expense of the long back that you have created. If you are very tight and the pose feels very uncomfortable, take the hands on the ankles for now.

Whether the knees are bent or straight, let’s feel what is happening with the feet. Becoming precise with the movements of our feet has tremendous effects on the rest of the legs and hip joints.

Perform Pada Bandha. This means that the toes always point back towards the body. The big toe mound (the bone directly under the big toe) presses forward as the little toe side of the foot rolls back toward the outer hip. From this

connection, the thighs roll inward and widen the back of the legs.

Be strict with yourself, working this way will get to the deep layers of muscles that need to be released.