About Lesson
Supta Padangustasana
Supta Padangustasana is another foundational pose in the yoga asana canon. The name comes from Sanskrit. The supta part means “lying down”, the gusta part means “big toe” and pada means “foot”. Today we will just focus on the foot part.
To practice this pose you will need a yoga mat and belt.
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Lie down flat on your mat with bent legs
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Take one leg, bend it in toward your chest and loop the belt around the middle the bottom of your foot.
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Extend that leg while keeping the other leg bent or straight, depending what is most comfortable for you
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Focus your attention on your foot and push it into the strap while at the same time, pulling the strap toward you.
If you have ever been to a yoga class where this position is taught, it is often as a means to lenghten the hamstring at the back of the legs. While this is a perfectly good way to work this position, today’s focus is on the foot.
Move the strap around to various places on the bottom of the foot and see how this changes the feeling and positioning of your leg in the hip socket.
Play with the tension of the strap. Feel the connection between the upper torso from the arms by either pressing the elbows toward the floor or tightening them as you straighten them.
Try flexing your feet and then pointing your toes with the strap loop.
See how sensitive your feet are? How your nervous system reads each placement as a different sensation.
Try all this on the other leg. Then rest with both legs on the ground and allow any stored tension in your feet to melt away.