ARDHA BADDHA PADMA PASCHIMOTTAN ASANA OR HALF LOTUS FORWARD BEND POSE

Ardha Baddha Padma Paschimottan Asana or Half Bound Lotus Seated Forward Bend is a hybrid Asana. It incorporates binding half of Padma Asana and half of Paschimottan Asana. This Asana ignites the second chakra, Svadhisthana Chakra, located at the perineum. Svadhisthana Chakra is involved with the functioning of the sexual organs and the adrenals at the base of the spine. Psychologically, this chakra is associated with relationships, violence, addictions, and pleasure. This Chakra is also considered the seat of our creative force.

TECHNIQUE

Begin sitting in Danda Asana or staff pose with your legs stretched out in front of you.

Fold your left leg into your torso, and bring your left foot to the groin of your right leg, so that the heel moves towards your navel and the toes are energized.

Adha Baddha Paschimottan Asana 

The left knee should be on or moving towards the floor, with no knee pain, from externally rotating deep within the left hip socket, moving energy from the groin towards the inner knee.

If this position is challenging, consider coming into Janu Sirs Asana bringing your left foot into the inner right thigh.

Hold the left foot with hands.

If you find keeping the balance difficult, use the back of the chair as a support.

This Asana should be performed in perfect balance.

Keep the back as concave as it should be in the classic version of the Asana sitting on the floor.

This action enables us to use in a more aware and balanced way those parts of our body that lead it to the pose.

If possible try to hold the toe using other hand.

Do not strain but do it slowly and slowly.

Achieving the final position is not the goal but attempt is.

Hold it until it slightly lessens the pain and come back to original position by releasing the outstretched and and folded leg.

Relax for a minute and repeat 2 more times.

Breathe fully and generously. Become aware of how the breath is being absorbed into your cells.

BENEFITS

This Asana not only give flexibility to hip joints but also give them strength through our Svadhisthana Chakra.

In this calming, rejuvenating forward-fold, the strong flow of blood and prana that passes through the navel area helps to reboot our inner systems.

Due to this half lotus pose the knees become flexible enough to execute the full lotus pose.

While placing the chin on the knee of the extended leg, the bent knee is brought close to the stretched leg. This gives a good pull to the navel and abdominal organs.

Blood is made to flow round the navel and the genital organs. The navel is considered top be a nerve centre, and the Svadhisthana Chakra, one of the purificatory fly-wheels in the human nervous system, is situated there. This chakra corresponds to the hypo-gastric plexus.

This Asana is recommended for persons with rounded and drooping shoulders.