[The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center]

Susan Cunningham, RN:
So this pose is a forward fold — a standing forward fold — and it's a great pose for calming the mind, for strengthening and lengthening the muscles of the spine and torso. 

[Onscreen text:
Susan Cunningham, RN
Yoga instructor]

Susan Cunningham:
It's a great pose to open up the hip joints, strengthen the thigh muscles when you're coming in and out of the pose. It's also sometimes a stretch for the calves. So, you want to place your feet in this pose in a way that is comfortable for you. And I'll recommend that you start by placing your feet about your fist distance apart. So that comes to about here on me, and that lines up my thigh bones nicely in the sockets, the hip sockets. So, I'm going to turn, so you can see the full pose lining up my feet.

So, here again, I want to talk about how the pelvis can roll forward and backward. So, I have my hands on the top of my hip bones, and this is your pelvis. So I'm tilting [my pelvis] forward and tilting backward, tilting forward and tilting backward. And now maybe I can find something that feels like neutral. And I have my knees slightly bent. From here, I'm going to bend right here at the very top of my thigh bones, which makes my butt stick out behind me. But my spine has not changed shape yet, so I'm just folding over, my belly comes to my thighs. My hands might make it to the floor. And then your upper back starts to round a little bit and you can lift your hips even higher, lengthening out your hamstrings. And you can stay here as long as you want to. Come out of this shape. Bend your knees a little bit and lift yourself all the way up using all the muscles of your core, your torso.

[Onscreen text:
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center]