Prasarita Padottananasan II

Prasarita Padottanasana II - Extendend Wide Footed Pose or Expanded Leg Intense Stretch

Plan on allotting 30 seconds to demo this pose, and 1 minute to get your students into this pose. 

Practice Sequence to learn Prasarita Padottanasana II

• Pashimanamaskar in Tadasana
• Learn to broaden through the collarbones while keeping the shoulders back.
• Utthita Hasta Padasana
• Jump the feet 4' apart.  Learn to spread the feet the full distance.
• Keep the legs firm by lifting and engaging the thighs.
• Align your hips and trunk in line with your heels.
• Lift the chest to lengthen the trunk.

•  Adho Mukha Svanasana
• Lengthen the side body as you lift the crown of the buttocks.
• Learn to stretch from heels to the buttocks
• Uttanasana 
• Extend the torso forward and down without disturbing the feet.
• Learn to fold forward and down from the hips while sending the buttock to the heels. 
• Keep the hips in line with the heels
• Parsvottanasana- classic pose
• Lengthen the torso away from the hips while keeping the thighs pinned back.
• In the final expression of the pose, bring the head down without collapsing the front spine.  Learn to keep the anterior spine long by lenthening the side body and chest forward and down.
• Prasarita Padottanasana I

Instructions for getting into Prasarita Padottananasana II

1. From Tadasana, jump the feet 4' apart, then step the feet a bit wider.  Keep your outer feet parallel to the short side of your mat.
2. Keeping your hips aligned with your ankles, press into your heels.
3. Bring your hands to your hips.
4. Lengthen your torso forward and down, pause at 90 degrees. With the tailbone in, anchor the thighs back while you lengthen the spine forward.
5. Continue to lengthen the torso forward and down.  Set the crown of your head on the floor or a block.
6. Keeping the thighs well lifted, align your hips vertically in line with your ankles.  
7. Take the front waist to the back waist, and lengthen the side waist to the ceiling.
8. Bring your palms together behind your back in Paschim Namaskara
9. Keep firm pressure and weight in your feet as you press your elbows towards your wrists and move your shoulders away from your ears to broaden your collarbones.
10. Press the heels of your hands together as you suck your thighs to the bones, keep weight in your feet, and send your sit-bones to your heels to lift the chest and come up.
11. Step the feet in slightly, then jump the feet together.
12. Release your hands when your return to Tadasana.
13. Repeat the pose, starting with the hands in Paschim Namaskara.

In a nut-shell:

1. Jump your feet wide.
2. Extend your chest forward, pause at 90 degrees.
3. Extend your chest and torso all the way forward, set your head on the floor.
4. Bring your hands to Paschim Namaskara.
5. Lengthen your torso up away from the floor.
6. Broaden your collar bones.
7. Keep spine long, come up.
8. Jump feet togehter.

Modifications:

1. Place a block under the head if the floor and the head do not meet.
2. If Paschim Namaskara is not yet a reasonable option, hold hands on hips.