Utthita-Hasta-Padangusthasana Yoga-Asana Nina-Mel

Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana (, ), Standing Big Toe Hold or Extended Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose is a

standing Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a position in which the body is held in an upright (orthostatic) position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the ...

balancing

asana An āsana (Sanskrit: आसन) is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and late ...

in modern

yoga as exercise Yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting mainly of asana, postures, often connected by vinyasa, flowing sequences, sometimes accompanied by pranayama, breathing exercises, and frequently ending with savasana, relaxation lying down or ...

Etymology and origins

The name comes from the Sanskrit words () meaning "extended", () meaning "hand", () meaning "foot", () meaning "thumb" or "toe", and () meaning "posture" or "seat". {{efn, The name "Padangusthasana" (without "Utthita") is used with a different meaning in Bikram Yoga. "Toe Stand Pose" is number 12 in its asana sequence; it is a squatting pose with one leg lightly crossed over the standing leg, which is bent so that the buttocks approach or rest on the heel; despite the etymology there is no contact between hand and foot. The pose however does not appear to be Indian in origin, and it is not found in the medieval

hatha yoga Hatha yoga (; Sanskrit हठयोग, International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''haṭhayoga'') is a branch of yoga that uses physical techniques to try to preserve and channel vital force or energy. The Sanskrit word ह� ...

texts. A similar pose was described in

Niels Bukh Niels Ebbesen Mortensen Bukh (15 June 1880 – 7 July 1950) was a Denmark, Danish gymnast and educator who founded the first athletic folk high school in Ollerup in Funen, Denmark. He achieved international fame as a gymnastics trainer for the D ...

's early 20th century Danish text ''Primitive Gymnastics'', which in turn was derived from a 19th century Scandinavian tradition of gymnastics. The pose had arrived in India by the 1920s.

Swami Kuvalayananda Swami Kuvalayananda (born Jagannatha Ganesa Gune, 30 August 1883 – 18 April 1966) was a yoga guru, researcher, and educator primarily known for his pioneering research into the scientific foundations of yoga. He started research on yoga in 19 ...

incorporated it into his system of exercises, from where it was taken up by the influential yoga teacher

Tirumalai Krishnamacharya Tirumala Krishnamacharya (18 November 1888 – 28 February 1989) was an Indian yoga teacher, ayurvedic healer and scholar. He is seen as one of the most important gurus of modern yoga, and is often called "Father of Modern Yoga" for his wi ...

.{{cite web , last1=Singleton , first1=Mark , author-link=Mark Singleton (yoga teacher) , title=The Ancient & Modern Roots of Yoga , url=https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/yoga-s-greater-truth , publisher=

Yoga Journal ''Yoga Journal'' is a website and digital journal, formerly a print magazine, on yoga as exercise founded in California in 1975 with the goal of combining the essence of traditional yoga with scientific understanding. It has produced live events ...

, date=4 February 2011

Description

Utthita Padangusthasana is a pose with the body standing straight, on one leg; the other leg is stretched out straight, and the foot of the raised leg is grasped by the hand on the same side of the body. It is entered from the standing pose

Tadasana Tadasana (), Mountain pose or Samasthiti (; ) is a standing asana in modern yoga as exercise; it is not described in medieval hatha yoga texts. It is the basis for several other standing asanas. Etymology and origins Tāḍāsana is from th ...

.{{sfn, Iyengar, 1979, pp=76-78 The pose has two forms: I, with the raised leg to the front, and the opposite hand to the hip; II, with the raised leg to the side, and the opposite hand stretched out straight to the other side.{{sfn, Mehta, 1990, p=20{{sfn, Saraswati, 1996, pp=300-302{{cite news , author=Anon , title=Extended Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose , url=https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/extended-hand-to-big-toe-pose , newspaper=

, date=28 August 2007 Students can practise the pose using a strap to hold the extended foot, or a ledge or wall for support;{{sfn, Mehta, 1990, p=20{{cite web , last1=Maze , first1=Noah , title=3 Ways to Modify Extended Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose , url=https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/modify-extended-hand-big-toe-pose , publisher=

, date=1 August 2016 or may keep the knee bent.{{cite web , title=Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana , url=https://www.yogapedia.com/definition/6540/utthita-hasta-padangusthasana , publisher=Yogapedia , access-date=4 December 2018 The pose is at the start of the Primary Series of

Ashtanga (vinyasa) yoga Ashtanga yoga (not to be confused with Patanjali's ''Ashtanga (eight limbs of yoga), aṣṭāṅgayoga'', the eight limbs of yoga) is a style of yoga as exercise popularised by K. Pattabhi Jois during the twentieth century, often promoted as a ...

.{{cite web , title=Primary Series of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga , url=https://www.ashtangayoga.info/practice/primary-series-yoga-chikitsa/item/utthita-hasta-padangushthasana/ , publisher=Ashtanga Yoga , access-date=4 December 2018

Variations

Utthita Ekapadasana is a milder form of the same pose, the leg not lifted far enough for the toes to be grasped. Utthita Parshvasahita has the raised leg out to the side and the head turned away from the raised leg. Svarga Dvijasana (Bird of Paradise pose) has the raised leg out to the side, the hands clasped under the thigh with the arm on the raised leg side in front, the other arm behind.{{cite web , title=Bird of Paradise: 5 Steps to Master this Standing Pose , url=https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/bird-of-paradise-5-steps-to-master-this-standing-pose , website=

, date=12 April 2017 , orig-year=2014

Notes

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References

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Sources

* {{cite book , last=Iyengar , first=B. K. S. , author-link=B. K. S. Iyengar , year=1979 , orig-year=1966 , title= Light on Yoga: Yoga Dipika , publisher=Unwin Paperbacks * {{cite book , last1=Mehta , first1=Silva; Mehta, Mira; Mehta, Shyam , date=1990 , title= Yoga: The Iyengar Way , publisher=Dorling Kindersley * {{cite book , first=Swami Satyananda , last=Saraswati , author-link=Swami Satyananda Saraswati , title=Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha , url=http://www.znakovi-vremena.net/en/Swami-Satyananda-Saraswati---Asana-Pranayama-Mudra-Bandha.pdf , publisher=Yoga Publications Trust , year=1996 , isbn=978-81-86336-14-4 {{Asanas {{Yoga as exercise One-legged asanas