Half Bound Lotus Standing Forward BendSave PDF
Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana
ard-ha bah-dha pahd-MO-TAH-NAH-sah-nah
Stretches hamstrings, hips and shoulders
Activates digestion
Improves focus and concentration
How to perform Half Bound Lotus Standing Forward Bend
- Stand with your feet together. Use your hands to lift your left foot from the floor. Bend your knee and place your ankle high on your right thigh.
- Reach your left hand behind your back with an inhale and grab your left big toe.
- Bend forward from your hips with an exhale. Place your right fingertips on the floor.
- Fold deeper with an exhale, bringing your palm to the floor and head toward your shin.
- Hold the pose and take slow, deep breaths.
- Rise with an inhale, then release your foot. Change sides.
Alignment cues
- Leg straight
- Neck relaxed
- Foot near hip crease
- Point knee down
- Hold big toe
Modification: Keep your torso upright.
Avoid this pose if you have high blood pressure, hip or back injury.
Discover our best-selling Yoga Cards – professional study, class sequencing and practice guide for beginners and beyond.
Studying to be a yoga teacher? Learn the essential yoga poses the easy way with Yoga Stacks app!
New to yoga? Our Yoga for Beginners pack covers everything you need to know to get started with your practice.
Personal trainer? Try Train - our beautifully simple training platform you and your clients will love.
More yoga poses to discover
Half Bound Lotus Standing Forward Bend (Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana in Sanskrit) is an intermediate yoga pose that belongs to the forward bends and hip openers and inversions and standing categories. This asana targets glutes & hip flexors, hamstrings and shoulders, and also involves knees, lower back, middle back / lats and spine muscles. Half bound lotus standing forward bend activates digestion; stretches hamstrings, hips and shoulders and also improves focus and concentration. Refer to the illustration and instructions above for how to perform this posture correctly. Discover more yoga asanas and yogic breathing exercises in our free yoga pose directory – a visual resource for yoga teacher training students as well as practitioners of all levels. Finally, shop our best-selling Yoga Cards products!
Exercise illustration licensing: Our exercise and yoga pose illustrations (static and animated) are selectively available for licensing for commercial and non-commercial projects. Visit our exercise illustrations licensing page for detailed information and to submit in inquiry.
©
Our exercise illustrations represent original artwork registered with and protected by the U.S. Copyright Office. Unauthorized use violators will be prosecuted. More details.
Discover our best-selling Yoga Cards – professional study, class sequencing and practice guide for beginners and beyond.
Studying to be a yoga teacher? Learn the essential yoga poses the easy way with Yoga Stacks app!
New to yoga? Our Yoga for Beginners pack covers everything you need to know to get started with your practice.
Personal trainer? Try Train - our beautifully simple training platform you and your clients will love.
