Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend)

<h2> Paschimottanasana. The Pose of Stretching the Buttocks</h2>

This pose is also called Ugrasana or Brahmacharyasana. "Paschima" literally means west, and is also used to denote the whole back of the body from the head to the heels. The east is the name given to the whole front of the body from the face to the toes. The crown of the head is the upper, or northern, side, and the soles and heels are the lower, or southern, side. In this asana the back of the body receives an intense stretch, hence the name. "Ugra" means formidable, powerful, noble. "Brahmacharya" means religious study, discipline and chastity.

How to perform Paschimottanasana

Sit on the floor with the legs stretched out in front of you and the hands resting on the thighs. Relax the whole body, especially the muscles of the back. Slowly bend the torso forward, sliding the hands along the legs. Try to catch the big toes with rings formed by the index fingers, the middle fingers and the thumbs. If that is not possible, take hold of the heels, the ankles or the shins, as close to the feet as you can.
Try mentally to relax the muscles of the legs and the back. Using the hands, draw the torso towards the legs (without bending them). This movement should be smooth, without jerks or excessive effort. If you can, touch the knees with the forehead. Beginners should bend forward only as far as the elasticity of their back muscles allows, and should on no account force. Stay in the final position for as long as you can, but without any feeling of discomfort; try to relax the body. Then slowly return to the starting position.
Note: Try not to bend the legs at the knees, since one of the aims of this asana is to lengthen the muscles at the back of the legs gradually. Do not overstrain. In time these muscles will lengthen. After several weeks or months of regular practice you will be able to touch the knees with the forehead or even with the chin.
Breathing: While sitting, breathe normally. As you bend forward, exhale slowly. Holding the body in the bent position, inhale. When you try to draw the body further forward with the hands, exhale. In the final position breathe slowly and deeply. As you return to the starting position, inhale.
Length of practice: Trained practitioners can stay in the final position for up to 5 minutes without feeling discomfort or strain. Beginners should do the asana several times during one session, staying in the final position only for a short while. Those who practise this asana for the sake of spiritual development are advised to remain in the final position for a long time in a completely relaxed state.
Sequence: Within a sequence of asanas, paschimottanasana is the counterpose to the asanas that bend the body backwards.

Fine points of Paschimottanasana:

Come into the asana slowly, listening to the needs of the body. 
At the first stage of learning, give more attention to relaxing the body in the pose than to the straightness of the legs. You need to get used to this pose gradually. 
Besides this, to do the asana correctly the legs must be relaxed as fully as possible, because the legs are always held in a tone that prevents the buttock muscles from relaxing, as well as the flexor muscles of the lower leg, whose lengthening is what allows the body to fold in half. 
At the next stage of learning it is important to see that the back of the legs, especially the area behind the knees, lies flat against the floor (at the early stage, when you relax, the knees lift off the floor). Tighten the muscles at the front of the thighs, drawing the kneecaps up, and move the torso forward until the areas behind the knees gradually settle onto the floor. 
It is very important to watch the feet: they should be in one plane, that is, positioned as they are when we stand on the floor. To intensify the effect of the pose you can try to draw the toes and the outer edges of the feet towards you as strongly as possible, and the bases of the big toes and the inner edges of the feet, on the contrary, away from you. In this way the foot as it were turns from the inside outwards, stretching the inner side of the leg. 
While bending, try to keep the spine as straight as possible and to bend only at the hip joints10. 
For a better lengthening of the spine and the opening of the lower energy centre (chakra) you should try to turn the thighs inwards while at the same time spreading the buttocks apart, and taking the sacrum and the tailbone back and up. 
The asana is symmetrical, and you should see that the load is distributed symmetrically while you do it. At the early stage it is especially important to notice which muscles are stretched and which are compressed, which muscles are tense and which are relaxed, and also which muscles can be relaxed without altering the energy form of the asana itself
 
Contraindications:

This asana is not recommended in cases of:
Displaced spinal discs.
Chronic arthritis and lumbosacral radiculitis.
Asthma.
Pregnancy.
Acute pain in the spine.
With any problem in the lumbar spine or the hip joints, do the asana with extreme care.

A further description of Paschimottanasana

Paschimottanasana can also be translated as «stretching the buttocks». The aim of the pose - is to fold at the waist like a sheet of paper, with the torso laid down onto the straight legs. The canonical form can be seen in the photographs of «Yoga Dipika» (4, no.160).
In the completed version of Paschimottanasana the back forms a more or less flat arc. The face rests on the legs beyond the knees, and the angle between the lower back and the floor is no more than forty-five degrees; the sharper the angle - the more perfect the pose. The individual shape of Paschimottanasana, however, depends entirely on the build and form of the ribcage: if it is barrel-shaped the angle of the lower back to the floor increases, if it is flat - it decreases.
In the illustrations of poor-quality manuals the knees in Paschimottanasana are splayed out to the sides, so that the legs take on the look of an elongated rhombus, lifting well off the floor behind the knees. Such a position is, of course, wrong.

The feet in Paschimottanasana should be:
a) pressed firmly together;
b) do not point the toes as gymnasts do, since that reduces the stretch along the back of the body; the toes should be drawn towards you and the heels pushed away, so that the soles of the feet are more or less perpendicular to the floor, while the backs of the thighs stay as close to it as possible.
c) the soles of the feet form a single plane rather than turning towards each other like the palms of joined hands. On the contrary, when the pose is done properly the inner edges of the soles are as it were «pushed» slightly forward, while the outer edges bend gently back and outwards.
When a stiff person sits down on the floor with the torso perpendicular to the floor, the legs are already tense. The work begins with you sitting upright and letting them go from within, especially the muscles of the thighs, while at the same time relaxing the mind. The legs should stay on the floor in an «unfastened» state, as if independent of the body. And if relaxation has come about, the torso will begin to flow forward and down of its own accord. If Paschimottanasana is done correctly, the legs lie on the floor as straight as sticks; they simply do not «want» to bend at the knees. It feels as if the bones are literally pressing into the hip joints while the back lengthens. On the third round the torso settles onto the legs and no sensations arise at all - being in the final form is even more comfortable than coming into it.
The position of the head. The texts require that in all poses which do not involve a deliberate bending of the spine, the spine be kept as straight as possible. Therefore the head should not be allowed to hang at any stage of Paschimottanasana.
The back. If it is too strongly hunched, then, as Tantra maintains, the practitioner acquires a «puncture» in the region of the Manipura chakra and loses energy.
The eyes. They should be closed where possible (in all asanas where this can be done); some people, however, find relaxation, including mental relaxation, easier precisely with the eyes open - this is an individual matter. A third, intermediate position of the eyes is also possible - half-closed.

If your initial flexibility does not allow you to reach the feet with the hands, loop a strap or a scarf around them - anything that lets you hold on and sit at ease. If the torso forms an obtuse angle with the legs, then attempting Paschimottanasana makes no sense and it should be replaced by Uttanasana (no.47 in «Dipika...»). To keep away from strong sensations, you can rest the hands not on the floor but, say, on a stack of books.
Pathological lumbar lordosis responds to the therapeutic effect of Paschimottanasana; combined with twists and backbends this pose removes lumbago and radiculitis and helps to prevent miscarriage in women (the functioning of the human reproductive organs depends on the state of the lumbar spine).
Contraindications: excess weight, a layer of fat on the abdomen, pregnancy beyond three months, inguinal and intervertebral hernia. (V. Boyko, YIK)

The effects of practising Paschimottanasana

In animals the spine lies horizontally with the heart below it, which makes for health and great endurance. In the human being the spine is vertical and the heart is by no means below it, which is why people tire quickly and are prone to heart disease. In Paschimottanasana the spine is straightened into a horizontal position and the heart is at a lower level. Staying in this pose for long enough massages the heart, the spine and the abdominal organs, toning and strengthening them, and it also gives the mind rest.
Practising the asana strengthens the Achilles tendons and relaxes the hip joints. It works effectively to remove excess fat deposits in the abdominal area. The asana tones all the abdominal organs and helps in dealing with diabetes. Paschimottanasana also stimulates the kidneys, the liver, the adrenal glands and the pancreas; it tones the organs of the pelvic region, which is why it is particularly effective in relieving disorders of the female reproductive system; and it brings a powerful flow of fresh blood to the nerves and muscles of the back, helping them to recover. Paschimottanasana is extolled in the ancient yoga texts as a powerful means of spiritual awakening.