Parsvottanasana ( Asymmetrical Forward Bend ) - Issues and solutions

Some General Comments :- The full version of this pose is a strong forward bend but moving into and out of the pose often involves a strong back-bend for the spine – see, for example, B.K.S. Iyengar’s description of how to practise the pose in “Light on Yoga”.

List of some of the issues that can be relevant for practising this pose:

            Pregnancy





It is not immediate obvious to those with good balance that this pose has a significant balance component, but this can be easily be revealed by practising with one’s eyes closed. Those with poorer balance may well find that they tend to wobble from side to side. Having one’s feet wider apart (that is in the sideways direction rather than a longer stance in the forwards / backwards direction) is usually very helpful. Having a shorter stance (less distance in the forwards / backwards direction) can help and many find having the back foot turned out a little also helps. Practising beside a wall may help.

Another issue to consider in the full version of the pose is that the head is below the heart. Although taking the head below the heart is beneficial for most people, this is potentially unhelpful or dangerous for a few people – those for whom there is already a risk of stroke or too much pressure in the head. For this reason, taking the head below the heart is usually considered unwise for those with conditions such as: high blood pressure; previous history of stroke; tendency to headaches or migraines; and, possibly, for certain eye conditions like glaucoma. In addition, if one currently has a cold or a headache, taking the head below the heart may well feel uncomfortable. As with so many precautions, issues of whether they apply to you can be found by observation of how one feels – if taking the head below the heart in this pose causes the following sensations, then avoid doing so (if not, then it is unlikely you will come to harm doing so) : feeling flushed or hot in the head or face; increased feeling of pressure in head or feelings of pressure pulses; face looking red; feelings of discomfort in the head or face. Where you feel that taking the head below the heart is inappropriate, the pose can be modified by taking the forward bend only as far as taking the trunk to horizontal (thus avoiding taking the head below the heart). An alternative or variation that can be helpful for those with already long hamstrings is to practise with the front foot resting on a firm surface like a yoga brick, stool or chair as this means one does need to lean so far down to experience a stretch on the hamstrings.

Another issue for some is that a too rapid lifting of the head from below the heart may cause the blood pressure in the head to drop a bit too low, causing a feeling of dizziness or even fainting. This is particularly likely to be an issue for those who have a tendency for low blood pressure and when the pose is practised in a very relaxing way. The solution is to take care to lift out of the pose sufficiently slowly and / or to consciously activate muscles when lifting out of the pose so as to encourage blood pressure to rise a little.



In the full version of many approaches to this pose, the neck is taken into a back bend to aid taking the rest of the spine into a back bend before lowering into the pose. The tendency is to lift the chin and tilt the head backwards – healthy necks might take this, but a few that have already been compromised are likely to find this uncomfortable as this tends to put the cervical spine into a compressive backbend. Doing this also does not actually help with increasing the extension of the thoracic back bend and the expansion of the chest. Much more helpful is to think in terms of keeping the chin drawn into the neck so the back of the neck stays long, and then to aim to move the back of the neck (instead of the back of the head) backwards. This encourages a lot of extension in the thoracic spine while avoiding the weight of the head “hanging off neck muscles” which might not be strong enough for the job.



There are a lot of possible arm positions for this pose – some of which can be very challenging for the shoulders and / or wrists. An example of this would be having one’s hands in the prayer position behind one’s thoracic spine. The point of these arm positions is to aid keeping the chest open even while in a forward bend position – but, where shoulder and / or wrist mobility is an issue, there are plenty of other options such as resting the backs of one’s hands on the sacrum with fingers loosely interwoven. With these sorts of arm positions, one needs to give more thought to actively aiming to keep the chest open (e.g. broad shoulders and elbows pointing sideways) – which give one a different sort of challenge to work with.



I practise this pose with the feet parallel (and the pelvic girdle facing forwards). With this foot positioning, the standing preparation/preliminary work for going into the pose potentially puts the lumbar spine into a strong back-bend. For those with a tendency to over-extend the lumbar spine (and for those with tight ilio-psoas muscles), this can become a compressive backbend, which is uncomfortable (or even damaging). In this part of the pose, the aim is more on extending the thoracic spine than the lumbar spine – and, indeed, actively trying to lengthen the lumbar spine at this point can help with increasing the thoracic extension as well as protecting the lumbar spine. Approaches to lengthening the lumbar spine at this point include :- Consciously imagining the tailbone moving downwards will help to lengthen the lumbar spine downwards. Consciously engaging muscles of the back of the backward leg / sinking the heel of the backward leg usually helps. I find it particularly helpful to engage my leg muscles as though trying to pull the feet towards each other against the resistance of the floor. Engaging and maintaining good tone in the abdominal muscles (e.g. by squeezing the abdomen in towards the spine) gives the lumbar spine a slightly upwards lengthening support – helping to make the whole of the lumbar area more stable as well as “lengthening” the backbend. There is a difficulty is using abdominal tone to support the lumbar spine in the preliminary pose in that if the thoracic spine is moved into a back bend then it is necessary for the abdominal muscles to relax enough to allow abdominal breathing to occur. In other words, there needs to be good tone in the abdomen but not rigid contraction of the abdominal muscles if one pauses for a few breaths in this preliminary/preparatory position.

In the full version the lumbar spine is potentially in a strong flexion. This can be good for those who tend to over-extend the lumbar spine, but most people need to be a little careful with this. Ideally, most of the forward bending of this pose will occur in the hips rather then the spine – but few have long enough hamstrings to allow one to rest the trunk along the front thigh. The solution is simply not to try to do this (or if you do, to have the front knee bent enough to facilitate this). Instead, tilt the pelvic girdle forwards as far as possible and then lengthen the spine to a long (flat) back position, looking for good spinal alignment and keeping the chest open rather than seeing how close to the front leg one can bring the trunk. From this position those with strong healthy backs can then explore allowing the trunk to relax downwards – with the emphasis on relaxing and allowing, rather than trying to encourage, the trunk to move closer to the front leg.

With the back foot turned outwards things are a little more complicated as this means the spine is likely to be in a twist as well in a forwards or backwards bend. However, the same precautionary approaches apply.



Even those with long hamstrings typically find the hamstrings (of the front leg) limiting for the full forward bending position of this pose. Indeed that is part of the point – this pose very effectively targets the hamstrings for stretching. The main thing to remember is it really does not matter how close to the front leg one brings the trunk. Just tilt the pelvic girdle to the point where one feels a stretch on the hamstrings and then focus on enjoying the hamstring stretch rather than trying to sink further down. With practice the hamstrings will gradually become longer. The main care one needs to take with this issue is not really with the hamstrings but with the lumbar spine – the tighter the hamstrings, the greater the tendency to flex to an unhelpful degree in the lumbar spine (see above).



For most knees this pose is fairly safe as the knees are in simple extension. The potential danger here is for those with some tendency to hyper-extend the knee joint. This is a particular issue with the front knee as there can be a tendency to push it backwards. Where this is an issue, one needs either to focus on keeping the front leg active and aligned or to deliberately keep the front knee slightly bent – this will protect one from pushing the knee into a damaging position of hyper-extension.



As with all standing positions, one should take due care not to crush the inner feet arches – and, with feet parallel, this is relatively easy. However, many find the calf muscles feel overly stretched with feet parallel. One solution to this would be to shorten the stance (feet closer together in the forwards / backwards direction). Another is to place a wedge (e.g. a rolled-up towel or yoga block, or bottom of wall) under the back heel. A very common approach is to turn the back foot out to the side – this both reduces the stretch on the calf muscles and makes the pose feel more stable. However, one should be aware that this has an effect on both the hips and the spine as well as giving one a greater tendency to press down on the inner (rather than outer side) of the back foot.


Pregnancy

Practising yoga in the first trimester is considered by most yoga teachers to be contra-indicated. The only explanation I have heard for this is that in the first trimester there is a fairly high tendency for spontaneous miscarriage and this could in principle be exacerbated by yoga (although, as far as I know, there is no evidence for this). Possibly a mid-wife or an expert pregnancy yoga teacher might be able to give a better explanation.

In the later stages of pregnancy, one of the issues that needs to be borne in mind is that the womb starts to press against the inferior vena cava (main vein in the trunk) and the aorta (main artery). This has implications for blood circulation to and from the legs. It is thus unwise to hold the leg part of standing postures - with risks of discomfort, tiredness (in legs) and an increased likelihood, over the long term, of getting varicose veins or tissue fluid issues (oedema) in the legs. So parsvottanasana may not be the most helpful of poses to try to explore during pregnancy – and, if one does, one would not be looking to be in the pose for more than a couple of breaths. Some alternatives to consider are sitting forward bends or lying on one’s side and doing leg work or leg stretches from this position.

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