Posterior Stretching
Pose
"I am safe, I am sound. All good things come
to me; they give me peace!"
Pas-chi-mo-taa-naa-sa-na Paschima = west, or the back side
of the body; tan = to stretch/ extend
Instructions
From dandasana, inhale and bring your hands up the front of
your body, stretching tall from the sacrum up overhead through
your fingertips. On the exhalation, bend forward from your
hips and extend out over your legs, keeping your spine
straight and letting your hands come down to rest on the legs,
feet or floor, wherever they reach easily.
Continue in this position, inhaling and lengthening,
exhaling and deepening the forward bend as long as you can
keep your spine straight and the back of your neck long. Reach
the crown of your head away from the tailbone, and your navel
toward your thighs. Keep your shoulders relaxed down away from
your ears. After a number of breaths, inhale and lengthen one
last time, then exhale and release completely into the
"surrender" phase of the pose, allowing your spine to
relax.
Breathe smoothly and naturally as you hold the pose and
affirm mentally, "I am safe, I am sound. All good things come
to me; they give me peace!" Go farther into the forward bend
only through relaxation, not through effort.
To exit, on an inhalation, use your abdominal and lower
back muscles (and arms, if necessary) to recapture the spine's
natural curves, then lift your hands until they are straight
overhead, drawing your torso to vertical. Exhale and circle
your hands down to your sides, returning to dandasana for just
a moment before lying back into savasana.
Pause to integrate the effects of the
pose.
