How to perform Extended Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose with Both Hands to Foot
Stand up in Tadasana. Grab one foot with both arms and stretch it right in front of you. Work on keeping your back straight. Incorporate a bend in your knee or use a belt if necessary.
What is Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana (Both Hands To Foot)?
One of the variations of Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana, this pose is aimed at increasing your core strength, extending your hamstring muscles, and promoting health in your back body.
This particular variation combines all the aforementioned benefits with that of strengthening your shoulders. As you hold onto your foot with both your hands, your shoulders will typically want to cave in. By resisting that and pulling them open to capacity you will enhance the stretch in your leg and will start to wake up your upper back muscles.
When to use Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana (Both Hands To Foot)?
Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana is good for students of practically any level since it consolidates all the foundations you will need for furthering your practice, but can also be modified quite freely to suit the student’s needs.
For example, if your hamstrings are too tight, you can use a belt to help you reach your foot and practice the extension without putting too much strain on your back and shoulders. If the balance proves to be too challenging, that can also be mended by using a chair back or wall for support.
It can be incorporated at the end of your warm-up as you prepare for more advanced standing and/or balancing poses such as Ardha Chandrasana or poses from the Virabhadrasana family. It can also be used as part of your main sequence.
