Pose Name: Partner-Assisted Wide-Legged Forward Fold
Sanskrit Name: Upavistha Konasana
Steps:
- Sit facing your partner. Lift your legs and stretch them out wide on the floor.
- Rest your feet or ankles against your partner’s feet or ankles – this will be different for everyone depending on your and your partner’s leg length and degree of flexibility in the hips and groin.
- Reach out and clasp your partner’s hands or wrists. Clasping hands may be easier if you’re farther apart; clasping wrists will give more stability and will be better if you’re able to be closer together.
- Bend forward with a straight spine, keeping your legs active and engaged. Your partner will lean back, helping to pull you further into the bend.
- If you have difficulty bending forward, you can bend your knees a little bit, and even put a rolled-up blanket under the knees for support, but as you bend, make sure the kneecaps are facing up towards the ceiling.
- Come up gently, then switch – you lean back while your partner bends forward.
- Work dynamically, allowing each partner to move in and out of the forward bend. See if you can bend a little deeper each time.
- On the last round, come up slowly and release your hands and feet.
Benefits:
Wide-legged forward fold stretches the insides and backs of the legs, stimulates the abdominal organs and detoxes the kidneys, strengthens the spine, calms the brain, and, most importantly for our yoga and sex series, it releases the groins and opens and stretches the hips and thighs. It also opens the root and sacral chakras and increases blood flow to the pelvic region. Working on this pose with a partner can be a lot of fun and can help you to bend further into the pose.
Contraindications:
Those with lower back injuries should take care, sitting on a folded blanket and staying mostly upright. Pregnant students should take care with any forward bend.
My Experience in Wide-Legged Forward Fold:
This is a pretty simple pose that I’ve been practicing for many years, even before I tried practicing yoga. I was really surprised to see how much further I could move into the pose with the help of a partner!
Rox Does Yoga 