Hi All,
I took my first yoga class last week and realized how very inflexible I am. I am struggling with even the most basic poses. One main problem I have is very tight hamstrings.
So when I try Uttanasana, the standing forward bend, I cannot even touch the floor. My question is: should I bend my knees enough so that I am touching the floor, or should I not bend my knees and let my arms hang?
Any advise would be most appreciated, thank you!
Samantha, we’ve all been there at one time and don’t worry - there is no rush.
Since we can’t see and evaluate you in person, this is a good question for your teacher. I see you are in Mesa…are you going to yoga classes at SWIHA or someplace else?
Peace,
Kiran
Samantha,
It’s not important to touch the floor. keep your knees straight, wrap your elbows behind your legs, your hands and forearms reaching down along the back of the calves to your ankles. Keep your weight on the front half of the foot. Make sure you don’t turn out in the hips.
What’s more important is to keep your head ALL THE WAY DOWN. And yes, talk to your teacher.
peace,
siva
Hello Samantha,
Clearly you are flexible somewhere within you as you went to a yoga class when you could have opted not to. So perhaps you are flexible of mind and that is far more important in a robust yoga practice than flexible anatomy.
The arms should not dangle. Ergo they can be on the floor, a block, or the shin bones. Yoga is a counter to our living. Since we live upright the hips compact and the arms dangle our whole lives. Therefore in yoga we work to traction or decompress the hip joint and compact or secure the shoulder joint. Additional hanging of arms is not necessary or warranted.
Many students in this pose are so attached to keeping the legs straight that they bend in the spine (though even in the full pose there is some rounding in the spine). Bending in the spine places stress on the weaker links of that organism. So I would prefer you flex the knees slightly in this pose until such a time as your hamstrings are more open, your pelvis more mobile, and your practice more developed.
The weight of the head serves to traction the spine toward the ground in order to create or explore its length. Find the weight of your noggin and as mentioned above, continually release the tension in the neck [I]so that[/I] the crown of the head directs toward the earth.
Namaste,
gordon
play with it! experiment! What happens when you bend your knees until your stomach touches your legs and then you try to get your legs straight while trying to keep your stomach on your legs?
Thanks everyone for taking the time to give your advise! These are some really helpful tips, I’ll keep at it! 
Try this posture using a yoga belt. Step on the belt midway, and hold both ends. As you breathe in and out, try to inch your hands down a bit, without tensing at the shoulders or straining. Eventually you will reach the floor.
“Clearly you are flexible somewhere within you as you went to a yoga class when you could have opted not to. So perhaps you are flexible of mind and that is far more important in a robust yoga practice than flexible anatomy.” - InnerAthlete
Hey I like that!
I used to teach in Orlando and Lake Mary, perhaps that’s why?
Back in the good old days, of course.
Small world!