This one’s a throwback to gym class days when you were instructed to sit, spread your legs wide, and reach as far forward as you could for ten to twenty seconds. And you probably got pretty good at it with enough repetition, but once free from that school requirement, most of us said goodbye and good riddance! (no more torture). But wisdom is power, and those body aches and tight muscles aren’t going to relieve themselves…
Spread leg forward fold or Upavistha Konasana, is a fundamental pose that will benefit your entire body, and there’s an easy technique to progress into the full forward fold that we’ll show you in this guide. Plus learn key form tips and progress with some handpicked advanced variations.
Muscles Involved During Spread Leg Forward Fold Upavistha Konasana
“Spread”, “leg”, “fold”… sounds like a whole lot of stretching going on, for various muscles. In fact, you can easily modify Upavistha Konasana to give yourself a major stretch in the posterior chain from the heels all the way through the trunk, and releasing tension in the neck.
Here’s a short anatomical lesson on the muscles stretched and strengthened in this pose.
Thighs
During spread leg forward fold, proper technique will activate the thighs, hips, and groin, giving them a nice stretch along the way. You’ll also get the adductors that draw the thigh inward. Keeping these muscles loose is a good way to maintain mobility in the lower body, and prevent hard injuries and muscle pulls.
Erector spinae
Elongating the torso, and stretching out the lower back is a big part of the seated forward fold. In fact, to exaggerate this benefit, you can grab the toes, giving you more room to move your upper body.
How to do Spread Leg Forward Fold Upavistha Konasana
For such a simple looking exercise, there are a lot of important steps that you can’t miss when setting up and executing this yoga technique. This is to ensure your body is in a comfortable, supportive, and ergonomic position.
Below are written steps as well as a very detailed, and appropriate video demonstration of the spread leg forward fold upavistha konasana.
Steps
- Gently sit on your mat, with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor, and arms relaxed over your legs.
- Then straighten your legs out in front of you, and spread them out wide.
- Use your hands and gently adjust your glutes by pulling them out to ensure you’re able to maintain an upright posture and lengthened torso without limitation.
- Flex your feet by pulling the toes back toward your ankle, and press the heels into the ground.
- Now place your fingertips behind your butt on the floor, and pull the shoulder blades slightly toward each other, and down. Then lift your chest up.
- Hold this position and feel a nice stretch throughout your body.
- If you’re ready for a bigger stretch, place your hands in front of you on the floor, then slowly walk your hands forward as much as you comfortably can.
- Now allow your upper body to sink down toward the floor to accentuate the stretch. But remember to maintain a lengthened back, not simply hunching over.
- From here, if you do not have the flexibility to descend further, you can use a yoga bolster and/or stacked blankets for support.
- Gently, lie your head down, looking to either side, and rest your elbows on the floor with your palms facing up.
- Let your entire body relax and sink into the cushions, allowing your arms to also become heavy.
- Bring awareness to your groin, feeling the wide position of your legs, while allowing your lower body to sink down into the floor.
- Slowly breathe in and out.
- Stay here for about 5 minutes.
- To come out of the pose, turn your hands over onto your palms, then slowly sit up, walking your hands back toward you for support.
- Before you finish the pose, and if you’re comfortable, from the sitting position, place the bolster/blankets on one leg, and lie your head down to that one side for 3-5 minutes. Repeat on the other side.
You’ve now performed the spread leg forward fold!
Check out the soothing demonstration of this yoga technique via the video tutorial provided below.
Tips
- You can use a bolster, blankets, and yoga blocks for support as you gradually increase flexibility.
- Holding straps around your feet is another great training tool that helps reinforce proper form, and train for improved flexibility.
- Never push your body to the point of pain or discomfort. Many yoga poses require great flexibility, and joint mobility but the body needs time, progress, and persistence to achieve deep stretches.
Benefits of Spread Leg Forward Fold Upavistha Konasana
A phenomenal activity that we should all fit in our routines, spread leg forward fold has benefits that go well beyond an amazing body stretch. Here are other reasons why this pose can improve your mind and body.
Stretch your groin, hips, and back
From the spread leg forward fold you can emphasize the point of stretch. Reaching straight forward you’ll focus on stretching the torso and lower back. But you could change direction, leaning into either side, and increase the stretch in your hamstrings.
Stretching your lower back is helpful in preventing injuries by enhancing mobility, while the hamstrings are highly injury prone, and stretching is non-negotiable if you’re highly active. Plus, most people sit a lot, which affects the hips and legs.
Reduce and improve body stress, anxiety, and pain
For the same reason as above, stretching gives us relief from muscles that are overused, not used enough, or that have been injured. Nowadays, our butts are glued to our seats for hours on end, which can lock everything up, and that’s when you start to have issues with hips, knees, etc.
Well, stretching can do a lot to counteract that. In fact, one study on Spanish logistics workers found that implementing a stretching routine in the workplace effectively helped with bodily pain, exhaustion, while reducing anxiety, and improving mental and general health (1). It was seen as a potential low cost way to improve well-being in the workplace.
Additionally, as the above video example pointed out, this pose could potentially improve health situations common in women such as regulating menstruation. Although, we cannot make this claim definitely.
Fight smartphone posture
We’re wreaking havocs on our necks with our phones, laptops and tablets, maintaining terrible forward head posture. It’s said the average human heads weigh on average 5 kilograms or 11 pounds. That’s pretty heavy, and not fair to our necks and spine.
Performing daily stretching and yoga techniques is one of the best ways to hold ourselves accountable for bad posture. Because if we’re making the effort to maintain healthy bodies, then good posture should go along with that.
Additionally, there’s research that could support the positive effects of stretching and core exercises on posture and alignment (2).
Common Mistakes When Performing Spread Leg Forward Fold Upavistha Konasana
These common mistakes are counterproductive to achieving a proper spread leg forward fold pose.
Rounding your back
There are few instances where it’s good to round your back, like the cat pose, for example. However, the goal of upavistha konasana is lengthening the spine by reaching forward, and keeping the back straight. If you notice your back rounding, use assistance such as a bolster, block, or blankets, and slowly lower yourself, focusing on good form.
Rolling your feet forward
Throughout this pose, your feet and knees should be pointed up toward the ceiling. Rolling them forward could place too much pressure on your knees.
Forcing it too quickly
The spread leg forward fold appeals to beginners because it seems so simple and straightforward (pun intended). And as mentioned, most of us have done it at some point. However, if you don’t stretch these muscles regularly, you will be surprised at how bad your flexibility is. So don’t try to rush it just because you used to do it in grade school. Your muscles and body still need time to open up and adjust.
Variations of Spread Leg Forward Fold Upavistha Konasana
The sitting wide leg fold over is a nice pre-requisite for twist and standing fold over poses. Here are some alternatives we’d choose that are similar in nature.
Strap assisted spread leg forward fold
There are a few different ways that you can ease into a full forward leg spread. Many people may not have the flexibility to do it as shown in the primary example provided in this guide. So, you can actually wrap some short straps, belts, or similar under the bottoms of your feet while in a wide leg seated position, grab onto the ends, and gradually pull yourself closer.
This is actually a great form training technique, that reinforces keeping the legs grounded, shoulders down, and chest up. Remember, ground down with the legs, and lift up with the chest. Go as far down as you comfortably can, as your hamstring and back flexibility allows. Make sure to keep the legs pressed firmly into the floor, and use a blanket under your butt to modify the range of motion.
Spread leg forward fold holding toes
The advantage of grabbing your toes instead of reaching your arms forward is that you can get more range of motion. If you have the flexibility, you can lower your chest and chin to touch the floor, enhancing the stretch and activating more core.
Steps
- With the legs spread wide, reach your arms toward your feet and grab the toes.
- Hinge forward at the hips, slowly lower your chest toward the floor, and gently rest the front of your torso and chin to the ground if your flexibility enables you to do so. Your toes and kneecaps should be pointing toward the ceiling.
- Hold here to get a good stretch, then you can reset, and repeat a few more times.
Spread leg parivrtta (revolving)
Getting some rotation in the pose is going to help open up the chest, and work the rotational oblique muscles of the core. This technique is also commonly performed standing on both feet, but it’s beneficial both ways.
Steps
- From a spread leg seated position, inhale, and raise your arms overhead.
- Exhale, bend sideways down to either leg and use the same side hand to grab the lower foot. Use the top hand to grab the top part of the foot.
- Rotate your upper body toward the ceiling as far as you can, fixing your gaze up. Focus on breathing in and out.
- Inhale, free your hands, and slowly come up to an upright position. Exhale and bring your arms down.
- Repeat the prior steps on the other side, performing everything in reverse.
Seated forward bend
A basic pose in hatha yoga, the primary difference between seated forward bend and spread leg forward fold is the former is performed with the feet together in front of you. Also referred to as Paschimottanasana, this pose provides a stretch from neck to heels, and it’s just as mentally relaxing.
Steps
- Sit on a yoga mat with your legs straight out in front of you and feet close together. Flex your toes back toward your shins.
- Inhale, raise both arms overhead and stretch them toward the sky.
- Exhale, bend forward from the hips, and reach as far forward as you can without straining or pain. If you’re flexibility allows, grip one wrist with the opposite hand past the bottom of your feet. Or, grab where you’re able to on your lower legs.
- Stretch your spine forward, and rest your face and torso on the top of your legs. Make sure to breath in and out in this position.
- From here, extend the arms forward, slowly sit up and inhale. Then, exhale and drop your arms down.
Urdhva upavistha konasana upward facing wide angle pose (Variation B)
Now you’ll get to focus on balance, total body stability, core strength, and flexibility. Keep in mind, there are more detailed examples of this upright seated wide legged pose, but for simplicity, we included the basic form steps with a video explanation and demonstration.
Variation B will teach you contrasting styles in muscle activation and relaxation, improving functional skills, and making you a more capable human!
Steps
- Start in a sitting position with your knees propped up and feet flat on the floor.
- Then come into a baddha konasana by opening your hips, and pressing the bottoms of your feet together close to your body.
- Now hook your pointer, and middle fingers underneath your big toes, and grab the tops with your thumbs.
- Inhale, pull the shoulders back and lift your feet up. From here, find balance on your sitting bones. Keep a straight spine.
- Slowly straighten your legs up toward the sky, and out wide. If you must, keep the legs bent until you gain more flexibility in the future. In this position, make sure your tailbone is straight and not tucked under.
- Hold this position for as long as you comfortably can.
- Bend your legs, and bring your feet back together like in the starting position.
- Now slowly straighten your legs our in front of you one side at a time. You’ve finished this version of a spread leg pose!
Wide legged forward bend prasarita padottanasana
The sitting fold over has a special place in a yoga stretching routine, but if you want more functional benefits, you should try it standing. We have an entire guide on this pose, that explains the benefits, and shows some cool variations.
- Choose a surface where your feet will not slide.
- From a standing position, spread your feet apart into a wide stance, creating roughly 4-5 feet of space in between. You want a wide stance but not so wide that you lose stability and balance.
- Point your toes forward or slightly inward to activate the inner thighs and glutes, keep your legs straight and engaged, and focus your weight on your outer feet. Place your hands on your hips.
- Now hinge forward at the hips, and lower your torso until your upper body is roughly parallel to the floor. Make sure to keep your back straight. Then, slowly stand up straight.
- Repeat step 4, but now stretch your arms down to the floor and touch it with your fingertips.
- Walk your hands back until your fingers and toes are in line, and press your palms flat on the floor.
- Lift your head up and gently stretch toward the sky.
- Then drop your head and body down toward the floor, while bending your elbows. Try to relax your upper body.
- Gently rest the crown of your head on the floor. Hold this position for a few seconds, trying not to exceed 10 seconds at first.
- Now come up onto your fingers, walk your hands forward, and bring your hands on your hips, one at time, then slowly stand up in the starting position.
Related: How to do fish pose Matsyasana
Wrapping Up
Back then you probably thought it was a useless technique, but little did you know such a simple technique could do so much good for your body. Granted, we probably accumulate the most bodily tension as we mature and face adult life, which is more reason for us to get deeper into these types of intense stretches, and yoga exercises.
Spread leg forward fold upavistha konasana is a nice entry level, all-around pose for the posterior chain, anterior body, hips, core, spine, and neck muscles. And it’s very safe to do, so long as you be patient, don’t force what won’t go, and use proper progressions as included in this guide under the variations section.
References
- Montero-Marín J, Asún S, Estrada-Marcén N, Romero R, Asún R. Efectividad de un programa de estiramientos sobre los niveles de ansiedad de los trabajadores de una plataforma logística: un estudio controlado aleatorizado [Effectiveness of a stretching program on anxiety levels of workers in a logistic platform: a randomized controlled study]. Aten Primaria. 2013 Aug-Sep;45(7):376-83. Spanish. doi: 10.1016/j.aprim.2013.03.002. Epub 2013 Jun 12. PMID: 23764394; PMCID: PMC6985483.
- Kim D, Cho M, Park Y, Yang Y. Effect of an exercise program for posture correction on musculoskeletal pain. J Phys Ther Sci. 2015 Jun;27(6):1791-4. doi: 10.1589/jpts.27.1791. Epub 2015 Jun 30. PMID: 26180322; PMCID: PMC4499985.