This Common Forward Fold Is an Intense Hamstring Stretch. Here's How to Approach It.

Yoga Journal’s archives series is a curated collection of articles originally published in past issues beginning in 1975. This article first appeared in the July-August 1981 issue of Yoga Journal.

Upavistha Konasana (also known as Seated Angle Pose or Wide-Angled Seated Forward Bend) is one of the most dramatic and difficult seated poses. It requires suppleness of the adductor (inner thigh) muscles, as well as the hamstrings (back thigh) and the hip joint itself.

There are several variations to the pose. Initially, the student attempts to grasp the toes with the index and middle finger. As the student advances, they move forward until the chest is resting on the floor, but this should only be attempted if the back can be kept straight, otherwise the pose tends to distort the vertebral column.

Learning to do this pose correctly is easier with the use of belts (picture 2). This allows the student to keep the back straight even in the case of tight leg muscles. Concentration can then be given to the back and the breath, so that proper spinal extension is increased as the legs slowly accommodate to the position.

An additional aid is used in picture 3. Here, a firm mat is placed under the buttocks to help the forward rotation of the pelvis. Note that this is what allows the chest to move toward the floor. By sitting on the mat, the tighter student is encouraged to keep the alignment of the pose uppermost in mind, and not just the dramatic range of movement that can someday be attained.

Using a Wall in Wide-Angled Seated Forward Bend

The wall can be helpful in Upavistha Konasana. First, lie down and spread the legs open against the wall, with the buttocks flush to the wall and lower back flat on the floor. Then gravity does the work of pulling the feet toward the floor. (Be sure that the legs are evenly apart and the knees straight.)

You can also sit facing the wall, then open the legs and move into the wall so that resistance is felt evenly against both feet. The hands can be placed behind the buttocks to give a lift upward through the arms, thus straightening the spine. In any case, the pose should be practiced with the knees straight; the breath, even and slow. Try to extend upward on the exhalation, and to make any adjustments or corrections from the pelvis up through the spine.

Learning to Let Go of Fear

According to some psychologists, the pelvic area is related to the regenerative functions—the “female” functions of creating, nurturing, and protecting. Some believe that opening the pelvis brings energy into this area and these functions. An interesting psychological aspect of Upavistha Konasana is the reaction many students have to opening the pelvic area. Some are reticent, even fearful, when this type of posture is attempted.

What is this fear and what is the place of fear generally in the wider philosophy of yoga? In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, fear is given the name of abhinivesa. This is classically defined as “clinging to life;” it is the feeling one experiences on the highway, for instance, when a car swerves into your lane and out again. There is a rush of energy and adrenaline in your body.

That fear, the feeling that “I might be killed!” is abhinivesa. A lesser aspect of that fear is the fear of bodily injury and pain. The discomfort of Upavistha Konasana can stir up such feelings. The only way to escape from that fear is to let go into the asana, using breath and the will.

By pretending the fear and/or tightness does not exist, by trying to push through it, not only will the fear remain, but it is often proved “right”—injury does occur. The only way to be rid of the fear an open stretch can engender is to move slowly into the asana and use the breath to release tension, while watching the mind clinging to the fear.

This process creates distance from the fear; this distance is the measure of freedom. Freedom from fear does not mean that one does not experience fear, but rather that, although fear may be present in the psycho-physical self, it does not disturb the inner being. It is like being in the eye of a hurricane; stillness exists in the midst of chaos.

This true freedom, which teaches one how to move through the chaos of life, untouched yet involved, is the basis for the study and practice of yoga.

Each asana is another way to experience our limitations and let go of them. Fear has a lot to do with anticipation; one is afraid of the pain that might come. As in Upavistha Konasana, once the asana is begun and the breath is used to release tightness in the legs, the actual pain, in contradistinction to the anticipated pain, is usually less than was feared.

Learning to channel the energy that discomfort represents is a crucial part of understanding what asana means.

How to Practice Upavistha Konasana

For the beginner, just sitting with the legs widely spread and the back straight is enough of a challenge. The pose can be tried with the back against the wall, or along the edge of a door jamb, so the student can feel that the spinal column is straight.

The arms can be used to help straighten the spine by either pushing up from the floor or by stretching the arms up and holding the door jamb. If this is tried, be sure to keep the lower back ribs moving into the edges of the door jamb.

Students with more experience can try lying on the floor at the wall or sitting at the wall as discussed above. In all cases, the emphasis of the pose should be on allowing the spinal column to achieve its full height by releasing it upward upon exhalation. In addition, the knees should be kept tight, kneecaps facing the ceiling.

Begin by holding the pose a short time; gradually work up to several minutes. Breath should be even and quiet. Very supple students can move forward as in a forward bend, providing the back is straight and the knees do not roll inward. Coming out of the pose can be accomplished by placing the hands under the knees and gradually bringing the knees to the chest with an exhalation.

A Note for Teachers

In Upavistha Konasana, two major muscle groups are involved in the stretch: the hamstrings at the back of the thigh and the adductors of the inner thigh. If a student is tight in the hamstrings but loose in the adductors, they will be able to do a fairly open Upavistha Konasana yet have trouble in forward bends.

If the student is loose in the hamstrings while tight in the adductors, the reverse will be true. One way to observe this movement is to have the student practice Upavistha Konasana first, then bend the knees and bring the soles of the feet together in Baddha Konasana. If the student who is tight in Upavistha Konasana can do Baddha Konasana, where the knees drop nearly or completely to the floor, then the hip joint itself is fine and it is merely the adductors that are tight.

This happens because bending the knees in Baddha Konasana takes the extreme stretch off the adductors, which must stretch in Upavistha. Baddha Konasana also requires less stretch for the hamstrings. If, on the other hand, Upavistha is quite free, yet Baddha Konasana is tight, it is likely that the problem is in the hip joint, not in the adductor muscles or hamstrings.