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• Supine Hand-to-Foot Pose (or Reclining Big Toe Pose) have a lot benefits in strengthening core muscles.
• You should avoid Supine Hand-to-Foot pose if you have High blood pressure, headache or diarrhea.
• By elevating the lower-leg heel off the floor a few inches with a block or thick book, you can make this pose a little simpler.
• Visit our website for more.

Step-by-Step Guide For Supine Hand-to-Foot Yoga Pose

Supine Hand-to-Foot pose is performed while lying on your back, with one leg lifted to 90 degrees and the other leg spread out on the floor. The hand on the same side holds the lifted leg at the big toes, and the hand should be perpendicular to the floor in this exercise, therefore the term Supine Hand-to-Foot pose (or Reclining Big Toe Pose). Supine hand-to-foot pose (Supta Padangusthasana) is an excellent pose for strengthening core muscles, bringing new blood to the hips, and improving hip and lower back flexibility.

Benefit of the Supine Hand-to-Foot Yoga Pose

• Reproductive System Strengthening: In supine hand-to-foot pose, elevating one leg while the other remains spread out on the floor applies pressure to the lower belly muscles and improves blood circulation. The internal organs, particularly the human reproductive organs, are stimulated while the pelvic floor muscles are exercised, keeping them fit and ensuring a well-balanced hormone level within the body.
• Important role in keeping the rectum and urinary bladder fit and clean: In supine hand-to-foot pose, the muscles around the tailbone and pelvis contract and expand in response to pressure at the tailbone and sacrum, which is the base of the spine. This improves the function of the rectum and urinary bladder as well as blood flow.
• Body awareness: In supine hand-to-foot posture, body awareness is vital, along with breathing, since when one leg is raised, one must ensure that the other leg is stretched out totally straight on the floor, contracting the quadricep muscles. As a result, significant bodily awareness is created on both legs at the same moment, even though they are placed differently.
• Tightens the hamstrings and quadriceps: The lifted leg works on hamstring tightening, while the other stretched out leg on the floor focuses on quadriceps tightening. Tightening these muscles helps to develop strong muscles and toned legs.
• Great for athletes: Athletes with powerful hamstrings and quadriceps might benefit from practicing this position both during and after a workout to totally chill down their legs.
• Can aid with Sciatic Pain: When the leg is raised and stretched, the blood flow towards the hips and thighs helps to relieve sciatic pain by stretching the nerves surrounding the hamstrings and hips.
• Strengthen core muscles: This position is best done while pulling in the tummy and tightening the abdominal muscles, making them stronger and firmer, with the pressure at the center and lower back.
• Stretch arms and shoulders: Extending the arms out to hold the stretched leg big toe at 90 degrees creates a deep stretch for the shoulders and arms, strengthening them at the same time.
• The deep stretch felt in the inner thighs and hamstrings, when properly practiced, expands the muscles, making them flexible, and prepares the legs for advanced poses. The muscles become more flexible and robust as blood flow improves throughout the leg, allowing them to stretch to their full potential.

How To Do The Supine Hand-to-Foot Pose

Step 1

Lay supine on the floor with your legs fully stretched. Support your head on a folded blanket if it doesn’t fit comfortably on the floor. Exhale and bring your left thigh into your torso by bending your left knee. Hug your thigh to your stomach. The front of the right thigh should be pressed firmly to the floor, and the right heel should be forcefully pushed.

Step 2

A strap should be looped around the arch of the left foot and held in both hands. Inhale and raise the left heel toward the ceiling, straightening the knee. Extend your elbows fully by walking your hands up the strap. Increase the width of your shoulder blades across your back. Press the shoulder blades lightly into the floor while keeping your hands as high on the strap as possible. Separate the collarbones from the sternum by widening them.

Step 3

Extend up through the back of the left heel first, then lift through the ball of the big toe after the back of the leg between the heel and the sitting bone is fully elongated. Begin with your lifted leg parallel to the ground. Increase the stretch on the back of the leg by releasing the head of the thigh bone deeper into the pelvis and drawing the foot closer to your head as you do so.

Step 4

You can either continue in this stretch or turn the leg outward from the hip joint such that the knee and toes are facing to the left. Exhale and swing the left leg out to the left, keeping it a few inches off the floor, pinning the top of the right thigh to the floor. Continue to rotate your leg. Try to bring the left foot in line with the left shoulder joint as the outer thigh moves away from the left side of the body. Inhale to return the leg to its original position. As you do so, loosen your grasp on the strap to put more pressure on the muscles of the inner thigh and hip.

Step 5

Hold the leg in the vertical position for 1 to 3 minutes, and the side position for the same amount of time. Release the strap once you’ve returned to vertical, then hold the leg in place for 30 seconds or more before slowly releasing as you exhale. Rep on the other side for the same amount of time.

Step by step guide: Supta Padangusthasana

Modifications

By elevating the lower-leg heel off the floor a few inches with a block or thick book, you can make this pose a little simpler.

Instead of utilizing a strap, you can grab the big toe of the lifted leg if you have the flexibility. Exhale and bend the lifted leg thigh into your torso from the starting posture. Grip the big toe with your index and middle fingers, as well as your thumb. When you take the toe, make sure your arm is within your thigh. Then, as mentioned previously, perform the position.

Cautions

Don’t do the Supine Hand-to-Foot pose (or Reclining Big Toe Pose) if you have High blood pressure, headache, or diarrhea.

Tip for doing the Supine Hand-to-Foot pose

If you’re feeling stiff, try this stance with your bottom leg heel against a wall. A block placed just outside the raised-leg hip is also beneficial. Then rest the leg on the block as you swing it to the side. The support under the thigh will aid with groin softening.

Variations I and II

You can cross your elevated leg in front of your torso in addition to swinging it to the side. If the left leg is raised, hold the strap in your right hand and cross the raised leg to the right side on an exhalation. Exhale to return the leg to a perpendicular position, then repeat on the opposite side.

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