Guide · Reading
Forward bends: family introduction
Forward bends lengthen the back of the body and turn the attention inward.
Awaiting subject reviewWritten from our source material and not yet checked by a teacher of this practice. Read it as reference, and learn the practice from someone who teaches it.
Practical guidance
Forward bends fold the body at the hips, standing or seated. They lengthen the hamstrings, calves and the long muscles of the back, and are often described in the tradition as quietening and inward-turning.
The fold comes from the hips, not from rounding the low back. Bent knees with a long spine are better than straight legs with a collapsed one.
Who should take care
With high blood pressure or a heart condition, use half folds with the hands on a wall or chair rather than folding all the way down. In pregnancy, place blankets under the knees. Come up slowly from standing folds if you feel dizzy.
Related
Padangusthasana
Big toe pose
Big toe pose. A standing forward fold holding the big toes, the first pose of the Ashtanga standing sequence.
Paschimottanasana A
Seated forward fold A
Seated forward fold, first variation. Folding over straight legs, holding the big toes.
Janu Sirsasana A
Head-to-knee pose A
Head-to-knee pose, first variation. One foot against the inner thigh, folding over the straight leg.
Sources and tradition
- YOG Union App Content Map, 2 November 2026, p. 5, family table; cautions rewritten