Pose 3 and 10 : Hasta Paadasana (Hand to Foot Pose)

The third pose in the Sun Salutation sequence is known as Hasta Paadasana which means touching your feet with your hands.  This pose is also the practiced as the 10th pose in the sequence.  Usually it is very difficult for most people to bend forward and touch their feet.  Therefore most people would think that this pose is quite difficult to practice.  However do not worry.  My aim is to make this easier for you.  So while you are touching your feet with your hands keep the knees bent.  This way you can easily touch the feet.

In the initial phase hamstring stretch is not that important.  We want to gradually increase the flexibility and strength of the hamstring and other muscle group.  Gradually you would be amazed to see that you are easily able to stretch and touch your feet without bending the knees which you never thought was possible.

How to Practice Hasta Paadasana?

Since in this pose the body is in a type of folded position it is natural that you would go into this pose while exhaling.  When you are practicing this pose from Raised Hand pose (Hasta Uttanasana) gradually exhale and bend forward slowly till the hands reach the feet.  As mentioned above do not try to stretch your hamstring more than you are comfortable with.  If you stretch too much you may end up with hamstring injuries.  Usually in the later rounds of the practice you would see that you can stretch more once the body is loose and warmed up.

When practicing this pose from Aekpaadprasarnaasana (Equestrian Pose) you would bring the back leg near to the front foot and keep the hands near the feet.  You would do this with exhalation as mentioned earlier.