Four poses towards wide angle forward bend

This has been a challenging pose for me but I always favored it anyway. This is a great milestone for me because I love the pose so much and I can finally do it and it feels great. I made so much progress with your articulation instructions. Thanks so much. Blessings, Cindy

I have never been able to do this pose - compressed lower back, tight hamstrings. Even sitting on a wedge doesn't help me much - I can just about keep my torso upright, that's all. Even so, I enjoyed this class's journey getting at least up to that point, and most encouragingly, I could sit up with some degree of ease. So that alone is a big achievement. Thanks so much Marlene.

Dear Marlene, Thanks for your answer and your many helpful tipps, i will try this :) thanks also for the info, that inner knees is due to tightness in the hips.. i didn´t know this, but it makes sense

just tripped over the short form from this video on youtube, reminded me to ask a question: when i do this pose (not available for my body to reach the floor with my upperbody), i fully engage my thighs and lift them up/back and lift my toes, but when i do this, my knees hurt on the inside of the knee. this also happens when i do the wide legged forward fold. can you give me a tipp about that? thank you, Annemarie :)

One of the hardest asanas for me. For me the tilt in the pelvis works better,when I wrap a strap half-way around table-legs and pull myself forward, this feels more right for me then walk my fingers forward on the floor. I also sit on a small pillow and pull it slightly away from my sitingbone,which helps me a lot to align. Thank you Marlene for this detailed tutorials and for the gracil way you guide us to get there :) look forward to the next one.

I combined this with the 4 Poses Towards Double Pigeon, and it made a really nice evening practice. Thanks.

Thank you Marlene, a great class and I enjoyed the instruction to help with this pose, much appreciated :-)

Thank you for creating this class, this is a pose I've been trying to improve on for a while. I will be sure to keep repeating this video!

Hi Marlene (and also Yana and Jana) - I love the way you teach upavistha konasana here. The detail is excellent. I'd say to Yana and Jana, be patient (or as B K S Iyegar said, "Practise, and all is coming.") Some asanas and some bodies take a while to get used to each other; Yana try not to hate it but to embrace it, as your resistance will only increase if you approach an asana from a place of dread....All our bodies are different, and remember that millimetre by millimetre, with practice our body opens....The patience needed to achieve that is part of the yoga practice, and it will reward you in more than just this one way! Again, thank you, Marlene. This will become part of my regular practice now.

really helped me to feel the pose. Thank you for this very nice sequence!

lovely yogis, if this pose is very challenging for you and you have a hard time sitting up right and can hardly move forward and you feel knee pain [most of the time inner knee pain] you can do the pose against the wall for a while so the spine can be just fine and there is no difficulty with coming forward in the pose. what you need to do is, sit agains the wall with one side of the body against the wall, turn on to you back facing the body towards the wall, bring your legs up the wall as you keep the back of the hips down and at the wall. Open your legs out. keep the legs agains the wall, flex your feet and push gently the ball of the big toes away as you firm your heels on the wall. it is important to keep you legs active, not passive and tp keep the knees in line with feet, making sure your feet are alingt as i have explained above to be fine in the knees. Allow gravity to pull the legs closer to the floor. this will happen when you begin to open and stretch the groins and inner thighs and hips. Most of the time pain in the knees [inner knees is due to tightness in the hips also so this is a good way to open the hips, inner thighs, learning to ling the legs in the right way which can make a big difference. let me know if this works for you. keep me posted about it so i can help you out. Thanks lovey yogis for your comments:-)

Hi Yana, I understand where you are coming from in this pose. Your tightness is also coming from the hamstrings [bak thigh muscles] which limits the tilt in the pelvis. see if this works for you. You are right, you need to sit on a bolster but when you come and sit on the bolster you need to slight a bit forward, almost of the bolster in order to create a pelvic tilt so the lower back part moves in. You don't have to bring the legs to far apart. you can place a chair in front of you and then you bend a bit forward from the hips and bring your arms or elbows on the seat of the chair as you keep the spine long. You can also do this with the legs straight forward to stretch your hamstrings and for 5 min and then open the legs to the side. What you also can do in order to stretch the inner thigh muscles is to come to the wall, sit side way, come with your back to the floor and bring your legs up the wall, then open your legs out to the side. Make sure you keep your legs active by flexing your feet, and pressing your heels against the wall and your toes in line with your knees. Stay for about 5 min if that is possible for you. you will notice the stretch of the inner thighs and the feet coming a bit closer to the floor. In this way of stretching the inner thighs you escape the forward fold. Ok let me know if this works for you

Happy to hear you came across some achievements peopel:-) More videos on Vinyasa Krama are on the menu

Hi Char, Pain in the knees is due to disfunction of the adductors. What could be help full is to sit a bit higher on a bolster [not to high] and then slight a bit forward to get into a slight anterior pelvic tilt, then keep the natural curve in the lower back and keep the belly in as you lengthen through your spine and don't have the legs to far apart, bring the legs a bit in. One's you come forward a bit, press through the ball of the big too, in gage your quads [pull them up towards your hips] and don't roll your thighs to much in. Keep your knees facing up to ceiling as well as your toes. Let me know if this is reducing the pain in your knees. Shanti, Marlene

Amazing instructions, Marlene. You are a wonderful teacher. Are you planning on doing some workshops in the future? Thank you for this short practice!

I am so glad I found this video. I love your clear instruction and progression to the asana. Like other commenters, this has always been a 'nemesis' pose for me. But I will keep coming back to this class and try your suggestions. Thank you, Marlene.

Hi Marlene Thank you for this class and your explanations to Yana, which were helpful. Hi Yana Thank you for sharing your difficulties. You are not alone! Despite years of yoga my hips and groin are tight, I can barely open my legs to 90 degrees (or less), let alone bending more than a few centimeters. This also triggers me emotionally, I feel inadequate and ashamed when I get in these poses. Definitely something for me to work with. I think these areas store lots of emotions. Good luck with your journey!

Another great class Marlene! I appreciate your instruction very much. Namaste

Wow; it's good to have a goal to pursue! Even sitting on a folded blanket, I found it challenging to sit up straight (let alone fold) while keeping my back straight and long and legs engaged. Great instruction and tutorial--thanks!

ditto! Thanks.....more please!

Very nice, Marlene. I enjoy your thoughtful progression to a peak pose. My legs felt well stretched after this session. Thank you.

Thank you Marlene. I like everything about how you did this class. It's a good duration, interesting to understand 'the approach' into the pose and useful to have the short tutorial at the end. All great!

Hi Marlene and Stephanie, Thank you so much for your replies. I have been practicing yoga for about an year now and I have seen a lot of positive changes happening - both on physical and emotional level. The hamstrings have always been a challenge though and have been bringing a lot of frustration to the surface. I know I have to be patient and I always try to but it's just that sometimes seems like I am making little or no progress in this area. I will try the suggestions that Marlene mentioned and I will write again :) Namaste!

Hi Marlene, thank you for the great video and explanations! Unfortunately, every time I try to do a wide angle forward bend I meet a lot of resistance in my body and a wave of frustration comes on emotional level. I cannot open my legs wide enough (the angle is just about a "V") and I cannot keep my spine straight at the same time. I have figured that I need a block in order to support the spine. However, even with the block, I cannot bend not even a few centimetres without collapsing in the upper back and it is impossible to open my legs any further. I have done some classes for increasing the flexibility in the hips but it is always so frustrating that I just hate it more and more every time :( I cannot tell whether the tightness comes from the lower back (spine; i.e. when I bend forward) or if it is from the hip area (I know some people are just tight there). When it comes to back bends, for example, I do them with ease and I really enjoy them. Any advice would be very much appreciated as I am trying to make progress with this pose :) Thank you!

Hi Marlene, thank you for the great video and explanations! Unfortunately, every time I try to do a wide angle forward bend I meet a lot of resistance in my body and a wave of frustration comes on emotional level. I cannot open my legs wide enough (the angle is just about a "V") and I cannot keep my spine straight at the same time. I have figured that I need a block in order to support the spine. However, even with the block, I cannot bend not even a few centimetres without collapsing in the upper back and it is impossible to open my legs any further. I have done some classes for increasing the flexibility in the hips but it is always so frustrating that I just hate it more and more every time :( I cannot tell whether the tightness comes from the lower back (spine; i.e. when I bend forward) or if it is from the hip area (I know some people are just tight there). When it comes to back bends, for example, I do them with ease and I really enjoy them. Any advice would be very much appreciated as I am trying to make progress with this pose :) Thank you!

Thank you so much, I can see exactly where I was engaging in this pose incorrectly and can now really feel the difference. I feel great now. Namaste!

hi Marlene, I thought I was pretty flexible but I have to laugh at myself trying to follow you.. Just to be on the safe site, I`m a little bit worried I could overstretch/hurt my muscles at times and/or over some time? It is hard to know how far to go so that one doesn`t get injured down the road, in months to come. Thank you for your expertise. Jana

I truly appreciate your gradual approach and thorough instruction. It really makes me feel I'm getting into the pose in the best way, plus I feel wonderful! Didn't quite make it to the floor today, but it's good to have a goal… Thank you again!

I did it after your Mini Vinyasa Into Half Moon and I must say it's a perfect match! Thank you so mcuh, Marlene!)

I came back to your wonderful krama and it felt great again! Thank you so much, Marlene!

I did it again! And it felt great again to finally can touch the floor with the forehead! Thank you, Marlene!

Suddenly I could touch the floor with my forehead! That was a real miracle! I have never been able to do this till now! Thank you, Marlene for your wonderful guidence. I tried to do both of your classes in a row but I couldn't. I was sooo tired. Well, I suppose I need more practice...

This sequence is great for sore legs, tight hamstrings and much needed release of the tail bone. Thank you very much!

These progression videos are excellent. I was able to go much deeper into the pose than I thought I could and have in the past based on your cues and instructions! Thanks so much. Keep 'em coming!

Please keep your videos coming,you explain so well!

This is a wonderful video. I'm working on leg flexibility and this has lovely stretches. Legs feel energized afterwards. Thank you!

Great instructions. Thank you.

I loved this Marlene. If I am feeling pain on the inside of the knees, I am guessing I need to shorten the space between the open legs correct? Or could this have something to do with engaging the core. I'd love to see a series on how to engage the core. Maybe it's here already - I wouldnn't be surprised!

Informative class, but advice at the beginning for those less flexible to use a block would have been helpful. Thanks.