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Uttanasana ( sa, उत्तानासन; ) or Standing Forward Bend, with variants such as Padahastasana where the toes are grasped, is a standing forward bending asana in modern
Ardha Uttanasana is a halfway stage, the trunk horizontal and the palms resting on the calves.
Niralamba Uttanasana has the hands touching the waistband rather than reaching down.
Padahastasana has the hands under the toes and feet, palms up.
Uttanasana ( sa, उत्तानासन; ) or Standing Forward Bend, with variants such as Padahastasana where the toes are grasped, is a standing forward bending asana in modern yoga as exercise
Yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting mainly of postures, often connected by flowing sequences, sometimes accompanied by breathing exercises, and frequently ending with relaxation lying down or meditation. Yoga in this form has ...
.
Etymology and origins
The name comes from the Sanskrit words उत्तान ''uttāna'', "intense stretch"; and आसन; ''āsana'', "posture" or "seat". The pose is a modern one, first seen in the 20th century. A pose with the name Uttānāsana is illustrated in the 19th century ''Sritattvanidhi
The ''Sritattvanidhi'' (, "The Illustrious Treasure of Realities") is a treatise written in the 19th century in Karnataka on the iconography and iconometry of divine figures in South India. One of its sections includes instructions for, and ill ...
'' but it is quite different from the modern pose (lying on the back, with elbows touching the knees and the hands behind the neck). The modern pose is described in Krishnamacharya's 1934 ''Yoga Makaranda
''Yoga Makaranda'' (Sanskrit: योग मकरन्द), meaning "''Essence of Yoga''", is a 1934 book on hatha yoga by the influential pioneer of yoga as exercise, Tirumalai Krishnamacharya. Most of the text is a description of 42 asana ...
'', and in the works of his pupils, B. K. S. Iyengar's 1966 '' Light on Yoga'' and Pattabhi Jois's Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. Theos Bernard
Theos Casimir Hamati Bernard (1908–1947) was an explorer and author, known for his work on yoga and religious studies, particularly in Tibetan Buddhism. He was the nephew of Pierre Arnold Bernard, "Oom the Omnipotent", and like him became a yo ...
however illustrates the related pose "Padhahasthasana" (sic) in his 1944 report of his experience of hatha yoga on the border of India and Tibet, suggesting the existence of a separate tradition.
Description
The pose is entered from the standing position of Tadasana, bending forward at the hips until the palms can be placed on the floor, ultimately behind the heels.Variations
Ardha Uttanasana is a halfway stage, the trunk horizontal and the palms resting on the calves.
Niralamba Uttanasana has the hands touching the waistband rather than reaching down.
Padahastasana has the hands under the toes and feet, palms up.
See also
* Paschimottanasana, a sitting forward bendReferences
Further reading
* * * *External links
* {{Yoga as exercise Standing asanas Forward bend asanas Surya Namaskar