Supta Pādāṅguṣṭhāsana - Supine Holding Big Toe (Preparatory Version)

Supta Padangustasana I.JPG
 
 

  1. Lie flat on your back, take a head support to stop the head tipping back (fold a blanket to a size that feels comfortable).

  2. Bend your knees and place both feet onto the floor.

  3. Take the belt into your hands and, lifting your foot off the floor, bring the belt around the front of the heel (2-3 mm of belt in direct contact with the heel bone).

  4. Hold the two ends of the belt with your two hands separately.

  5. Giving yourself enough slack on the belt to do so, start pressing your heel into the belt, feel how you can draw the front of the leg into the increasing sensations of the posture.

  6. As you are extending your knee keep some support from the front of the leg by keeping a light lift from the top of the shin near the knee cap (from the tibial tuberosity).

  7. Take deep and honest breaths that let you breathe into the stretch.

  8. Feel where the inner (medial) edges of your shoulder blades touch the floor. Allow  yourself to be present by breathing into the point of contact; soon your chest will begin to feel a light expansion.

  9. Stay for 1 to 3 minutes investigating the stretch; allowing for the freedom to back -track (reverse out of the posture a little until a sense of deeper breathing returns), pause, play (see if different movements make any difference to your levels of interest in the pose), and let the breath return to a more truthful and authentic feel.