Upavista Konasana is also known as wide-legged or wide-angle forward bend. It is a seated asana with the legs stretched out and opened wide and a tall spine.

The Sanskrit words translate into English as

upavista can be found translated as open or seated,
kona as angle,
asana as posture or seat.

My teacher used to call it Ugrasana or difficult pose. Without any doubt, it is difficult in particular for our Western bodies which grow up mainly sitting on chairs.

Upavista Konasana has neither been my favourite pose when I started practising Yoga, nor the one to avoid.

I was fortunate enough to have been quite flexible, however, in order to master this pose a different level of flexibility was needed. Shreeguruji recommended to keep practising it for a year every day and that’s what I did. For months I stayed at the same level. Then one day, my body just moved on, totally unexpected. This experience has given me so many boosts over the years, when I was close to giving up or thoughts of “this is never going to change” surfaced, to keep carrying on.

Both The Bhagavad Gita and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras advise patience and persistence as the key progression and it does pay off. It does not mean that you always will be able to access the final version of any pose, but it for sure takes you beyond what you thought is possible.

The Benefits of Upavista Konasana

Why are we practising something that is difficult?

This asana has a firm place in Iyengar Yoga and the primary series of Ashtanga Yoga.

Beyond Yoga, it features in most gymnastic routines. Throughout my teenage life, I practised taekwondo; and wide-angle forward folds were part of every warm-up for the training session.

Each discipline has different reasons for using it. In Yoga, it has many benefits attached to it.

General Benefits

On the physical level.

The shape of the asana requires flexibility of the leg.

On the way to mastering Upavista Konasana, our hamstrings (muscles at the back of the thigh) and foremost our adductor muscles (inner thighs) need to lengthen.

Adductor muscles can hold tensions. As they play an important role in the positioning of the leg in the hip joint, these tensions can impact that.

In our daily life, the hamstrings are naturally contracting more than stretching out due to the nature of walking. Frequent running and cycling exacerbate this, which makes Upavista Konasana a great antidote.

The pelvis needs to be able to roll slightly forward for us to sit toward the front of the sit bones, which helps the spine to rise tall above the pelvis with more ease. Both muscles of the back and the front of the body have a supportive role.

The hip joints rotate slightly out, promoting their lubrication. Our joints stay healthy with regular lubrication.

The hip joints are ball and socket joints enabling us to do these big movements. At the same time these big movements also lubricate the surfaces that our day-to-day movements won’t reach. Good lubrication helps to keep Arthritis and other joint related illnesses at bay.

To sum up, Upavista Konasana

lengthens hamstrings and inner thighs.
lengthens the calf muscles if the toes are pointing up.
lengthens the top of the ankle and foot if the toes are pointed.
helps strengthen the muscles in the lower and mid-back.
helps strengthen and lengthen the muscles of the lower abdomen.
mobilises and lubricates the hip joints.

On a subtler level.

Upavista Konasana is a symmetrical pose which makes it calming for the nervous system. When our nerves are calm, they are cool, not irritated.

A calm nervous system makes us relaxed. When we are relaxed, we are content, have healthier relationships and make better decisions.

A Gem for Women

According to BKS Iyengar, Upavista Konasana controls and regulates the menstrual flow and stimulates the ovaries, which makes it a great pose to practise on a regular basis to improve menstrual health.

This pose has a lot going for it, you agree?

How to practice Upavista Konasana

Upavista Konasana is a seated pose.

Start in Dandasana, sitting tall, legs stretched out in front of you.

1. Take legs out, as wide as comfortable, toes pointing up.

2. Inhale, lengthen through the spine, let top of shoulders drop.

3. Exhale, fold forward from the hips, keeping the front of the body long.

4. Hold the outside of your feet or bring index and middle finger around the big toe, keep the toes pointing up.

5. Maintain subtle, deep breathing through the holding phase.

6. Keep lengthening through the thoracic spine (back of the heart).

7. Forehead can rest on the floor if appropriate.

8. Stay for 5 long breaths.

9. Inhaling let go of your feet and come back up.

10. Exhaling bring legs back together.

This is challenging, no doubt. And this full version might not be available for everyone just yet.

It is important to go only as far as it feels good and safe, particularly when practising on your own.

This segues nicely to the Yoga philosophy.

Both the Bhagavad Gita and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras advise us to apply the principles of Abhyasa (practising regularly) and Vairagya (being patient by not expecting, not setting time limits but letting the body arrive in its own time).

The principle of Abhyasa and Vairagya can be applied to all our practices to keep ambitions and expectations in check and keep us motivated if things don’t work as well as we would like to.

Ways to make it easier

We are in agreement that Upaviasta Konasana has its challenges and is not accessible in its final version for everyone. So how can we make it more accessible and enjoyable to practice?

Here are a few suggestions:

-> When you sit and your pelvis pulls you back.

Sit on the corner of a block or a cushion to elevate the sit bones which helps with rolling the pelvis slightly forward.

-> When your hamstrings are tight, it is difficult to keep the legs straight.

Place a cushion, rolled-up blanket or towel, or blocks underneath each knee.

When you find it difficult to roll the pelvis forward into forward fold.

Practice dynamic, place hands next to the hips with the fingers pointing back (as in the picture above) and roll forth and back, keeping the front of the body long.