Paschimottanasana

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Paschimottanasana

Paschimottanasana ( Sanskrit : पश्चिमोत्तानासन, IAST : paścimottānāsana ), in German: head-knee position , is a classic yoga exercise . The Sanskrit name is made up of the words paścima "west", which means the back of the body, uttāna "intense stretching" and āsana "seat" or more generally translated "posture".

Physical execution

In verse 28 of the Hathapradipika it says about the shaping of the body: "Stretch out both legs on the floor and hold the big toes with your hands, so you should lie with your forehead on your knees [...]".

André van Lysebeth also calls the position “the pliers”. In the end position, he first leaves the head at the knee for a long time and then, by pulling the middle fingers, which encompass the big toes, and by contracting the muscles of the abdominal girdle, rest it as far as possible on the shins in the direction of the feet. The back remains passive after its dynamic approach.

Swami Sivananda instructs : “You lie flat on your back on a blanket. Legs and thighs should lie firmly on the floor. Make the body stiff. Slowly and inhaling, raise your head and upper body until you are seated. Exhale and bend your trunk and arms forward until you can grasp your toes. Bend very slowly, centimeters at a time, not jerks! You can also put your face between your knees […] ”.

The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center adds that the dynamics for the posture are to be applied from the pelvis.

Even Swami Vishnu Devananda- states to stiffen the body and then to lift the head and chest, is to a sitting position achieved by the further into works out to the end position.

BKS Iyengar recommends starting the position while sitting and in the dynamic phase leaving the hollows of the knees in contact with the floor, dynamizing the entire spine and using the arms as levers that pull the body as far forward as possible.

The Ashtanga (Vinyasa) Yoga teaches to tilt in the seating position the pelvis as far forward as possible and to hook the bottom of the legs so that your heels a little off the ground. Furthermore, variations in the hand position and thus in the pulling options can increase the length of the spine.

Heinz Grill, founder of "New Yoga Will", begins the asana in the sitting position with legs straight. The upper body is now carried in an active approach out of the spine, far beyond the legs. “With increasing activity, coordinate the lower and middle back with the upper parts of the back, with the shoulders and arms, which should increasingly be subject to relaxation. [...] A conscious rest with an overview is to be aimed for. […] The movement flows in the longitudinal direction from a large impulse force arising from the solar plexus and after a long time looks for a calm, closed form. "

Mental meaning of the exercise

“The practice […] is on the one hand wide and extensive, on the other hand it is deep and well-versed in the closed form of movement. It is the mental image of going into matter, of being deeply touched by the form of the earthly. "

Reports on healing effects

The physical healing effects are so numerous in all the traditions of yoga that they can only be hinted at in part.

"This [...] Asana aligns the flow of Pavana [of Prana, the energy] along the back, stimulates the gastric [concerning the stomach] fire, makes the belly smaller and blesses the practitioner with health." (Hathapradipika, Verse 29)

As a result of a precise practice, André van Lysebeth mentions positive effects on the spine, neck muscles, nervous system, intestines of the abdomen, circulation of the lymph as well as hygienic and aesthetic healing effects.

Swami Sivananda writes: "The spine becomes supple, that establishes eternal youth."

The Kundalini Yoga mentioned in particular the healing effect on the sciatic nerve, the intensive expansion strengthens in his neurological function.

Yoga-Vidya breaks down the effect of the asana on the individual muscles and internal organs, Heinz Grill devotes a separate article to the healing effects of the exercise.

Web links

Commons : Paschimottanasana  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Search results for "pascima". In: spokensanskrit.org . Retrieved April 28, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Search results for "uttAna". In: spokensanskrit.org . Retrieved April 28, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Search results for "Asana". In: spokensanskrit.org . Retrieved April 28, 2020 .
  4. ↑ a b Hathapradipika . Hamsah-Verlag, Osnabrück 1992, ISBN 3-923713-35-5 , p. 20 .
  5. ^ A b André van Lysebeth: Yoga for people of today . No. 1690 . Mosaik Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-442-16164-5 , p. 170 ff . (Paperback edition).
  6. ↑ a b Swami Sivananda: Hatha Yoga . 2nd Edition. Heinrich Schwab Verlag, Gelnhausen, p. 33 .
  7. ↑ Lucy Lidell, Fausto Dorelli: Yoga for all stages of life . Ed .: Sivananda Yoga Center. 11th edition. Gräfe and Unzer Verlag, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-7742-6200-4 , p. 48 .
  8. ↑ Swami Vishnu-Devananda: The Great Illustrated Yoga Book . 6th edition. Aurum Verlag, Freiburg im Breisgau 1997, ISBN 3-591-08183-3 , p. 125 .
  9. ^ BKS Iyengar: Light on Yoga . 7th edition. Nikol Verlag, Hamburg 2017, ISBN 978-3-86820-175-8 , pp. 150 ff .
  10. ↑ a b Heinz Grill: The Soul Dimension of Yoga . 5th edition. Lammers-Koll-Verlag, Staufen im Breisgau 2018, ISBN 978-3-941995-48-2 , p. 156 ff .
  11. ↑ Kundalini Yoga Basics: Life Nerve Stretch. Retrieved May 6, 2018 .
  12. ↑ Paschimottanasana. Retrieved May 6, 2018 .
  13. ↑ The head-knee position paschimottanasana and its possible healing effects. Retrieved May 6, 2018 .