[Pose Of the Week] Upward Extended Feet Pose (Beginner)
Stretch your legs, strengthen your core, relieve back pain and more with Upward Extended Feet Pose…
Upward Extended Feet Pose (Urdhva Prasarita Padasana) – also known as Upward Stretched Legs Pose, or Raised Stretched-Out Foot Pose – is a gentle stretch pose that is great for helping to relieve and prevent back pain. It also helps to release tension along the spinal muscles, strengthen the hip flexors, lower abs, and core muscles, and promote relaxation. This is a great pose for building core strength without stressing other areas of the body, and it may also be used to calm the body and mind and prepare for more advanced poses such as Plow Pose or Shoulderstand.
To modify the pose, you can practice with your legs up against a wall for a more passive variation. If you have trouble keeping your legs perpendicular, you can also loop a yoga strap around the balls of the feet and hold the ends in your hands to provide some support and allow your legs to lengthen.
While this is a generally safe pose for those all ages and fitness levels, those with recent lower back or abdominal injuries should avoid this pose.
How to Do Upward Extended Feet Pose:
1.) Begin lying flat on your back on the mat with your hands at your sides, palms up.
2.) Lift each leg up so that your legs are perpendicular to the mat from your hips, engage your core as you hold your legs straight in this position, make sure that your lower back in flat against the mat to protect your spine.
3.) Hold this position for as long as you like.
4.) To release, simply lower your legs back to the mat and rest.
To learn more & see a demo, visit YogaPose.com…
