Misconceptions
In the Standing Separate Leg Stretching pose, the usual spiel is all about bending down, grabbing the feet, then pulling down, stretching out the legs, and trying to touch the forehead to the floor. And if you can't do that, just spread your legs wider and pull harder.
Students are told that if they do all that, they will eventually, one day in the future, get their forehead touching the floor with a perfectly straight spine.
However, that narrative fails to address the fundamental purpose of this posture.
To be fair, the standard instruction used by Bikram yoga teachers, which I was trained to use, is called the “Bikram's Beginning Yoga Dialogue.” So it's no surprise that most students get locked up with a beginner's mindset.
The goal isn't about getting your forehead to the floor or stretching out your legs. And, FYI, the spine should always be straight every step of the way, not eventually or one day in the future!
Beginners Mindset Example
Look at this illustration of me doing this posture with a beginner's mindset.
After coming down to a point where my forward hip rotation ends, I then instruct my body to grab the feet.
Watch carefully and notice I do not increase hip rotation by grabbing my feet! All that happens is that I round my upper spine.
This creates a massive amount of spinal compression.
When shooting this footage, I could feel the tension building as my body's protection algorithm started kicking in.
If I had gone on to pull down with arm strength, under a misguided belief, I'd be able to force more hip rotation, the protective system would have really kicked in, turning up the tension in the spine and the hips. I can tell you I would not have gained any more hip rotation, not even a millimetre.
With this mindset, all you do is fight against the nervous system’s built-in injury protection algorithm.
Forcing your body into submission is not what yoga is all about!
Hip Activation
You only engage the arm and shoulder muscles if you grab the feet and pull the upper body down. The hip flexors are turned off!
You will not restore hip mobility by activating the arms and shoulder muscles.
Spine Health
If you suffer from sciatica or back pain, actively creating space in all the vertebrae is vital. If you round the spine, you'll only aggravate your issues, like picking at a scab.
Intention Upgrade
Let's do this correctly now.
You’re gonna have to alter your intention to reflect the real goal of this posture, which is to restore hip mobility in a forward fold.
To do this, you need to dynamically engage the hip muscles that control hip rotation while maintaining the stability of an elongated neutral spine.
You need to ensure the hips are loose and open, so they remain lubricated, which does require a lot of neuromuscular activation, a rewiring of your muscular control.
Think about what is needed to rotate something. Think about a steering wheel. There is an upward force and a downward force.
When doing Standing Separate Leg Stretching Pose, you should target the muscles in the hips to rotate the hips by lifting the bum up to the ceiling and the belly button down to the floor.
You should NOT disengage the hip flexors and use the upper body's weight to come down. This is how most students unknowingly do this posture.
When doing this posture, the only conversation you should be having with your body is one of stability and control of the hips while maintaining a straight neutral, decompressed spine.
With this mindset, your body will develop astounding hip flexor control.
This neurological activation is how the body adapts, quickly and rapidly restoring hip mobility, which is what this posture is truly all about.
Beyond the Beginners Dialogue
Step by Step
1) Get into the basic stance with the feet wide apart, and the arms parallel out to the side.
2) Spend a moment in this position to fully open out the entire body.
3) Take a deep Inhale, full lungs.
4) During one exhale, release all body tension and drive the chest up to the ceiling, elongating the spine.
Then rotate from the hips, driving the belly button down to the floor and the bum up to the ceiling while maintaining a straight neutral spine.
Come down slowly as far as you can in one exhale.
5) When you want to inhale, you must pause and hold that structure with perfect stability and control.
6) Then you exhale and go again, driving the chest away from the hips using inner spinal strength as you target the hip flexors to rotate more, driving the bum up and belly button down while keeping the body loose and relaxed.
7) Keep repeating that breath cycle: Inhale step 5. Exhale step 6.
8) After three or four breath cycles, you will most likely have reached the maximum hip rotation.
Do not even think about grabbing the feet now. This instruction will change the mind-body conversation.
From now on, use the power of the exhale to release body tension while engaging the inner spinal muscles to maintain a straight, decompressed spine, pulling the whole body open to that position.
Keep the bum relaxed and feel the hip sockets dynamically engaged and open.
Relax the shoulders and feel the shoulder sockets dynamically engaged and open.
During the inhale, hold and maintain whatever expansion you were about achieve during the previous exhale.
9) To come out. Exhale, driving the chest away from the hips, lengthening the spine as you rotate back up, maintaining a perfectly straight neutral spine.
Dynamic Body Engagement
The above approach requires more dynamic body engagement and significant effort to release body tension.
It's not easy. It does take a bit of practice. You have to learn how to release tension while simultaneously engaging core strength. However, everyone can do it.
The whole body becomes a neurological fireball of activity, firing up all the body's proprioceptive sensors. It's electrifying!
Body adaption and repair is a neurological processes. To improve hip mobility, the hips must be dynamically engaged. The beginner's approach of grabbing the feet and pulling the body down is neurological passive.
You will develop greater hip rotation and palpable awareness using this upgraded approach.
Today, I can easily grab my feet if I want to, whereas before, it was a nightmare. However, today, I don’t care about grabbing my feet.
Hypomobility
And here's another amazing fact. I have found that people with hypomobility, who have outstanding hip mobility, find this approach far more engaging and rewarding, without any fear of injury.
Stretching
And another thing I have not mentioned is the stretch down the back of the legs. You must never stretch the hamstrings more than a slight yawning sensation.
It is so easy to overstress the hamstrings in this posture, which I learned to my peril, and which today's cutting-edge science in sports performance has shown will weaken the performance of the muscles and make the hamstrings even tighter the next day.
Because students often misread the name of this posture, I now call it: Standing Separate Leg Forward Fold Pose.
Conclusion
Today, my arthritic hip pain has gone, and I no longer suffer from super tight hamstrings.
Along with my students, I now get so much more out of my body when doing the incredible 26&2 yoga sequence by keeping my framework loose and relaxed with a clearly defined intention behind the postures, moving beyond the simple “Bikram's Beginning Yoga Dialogue”.
If you wish to upgrade your approach to all 26 postures, check out our Sohot 26
Please share this blog with fellow yogis to help them move past their beginner's mindset to Bikram yoga.
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Bill Thwaites: Senior Bikram Yoga Teacher
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