Supta Utthita Tadasana: How to Perform the Ultimate Stretch

Supta Utthita Tadasana at a Glance

How to Do Supta Utthita Tadasana?

Follow the Step-by-Step Instructions

• Start lying on your back, over your mat, and relax.
• Inhaling, stretch your arms up over your head. Feel the stretch from your fingers to your big toe. Keep your toes pointed towards the roof. You can keep the palms facing each other or up in a namaste position as comfortable. Feel the stretch in your thighs and calves.
• Hold the pose till you are completely relaxed and comfortable. Keep the gaze straight ahead. The feet are parallel to the outer edges of the mat. Take a few deep breaths.
• Release the pose very slowly by moving your fingers and toes. Then, slowly get up. Use props, if needed, under your chest to open it completely.

Points to remember

• Practice a few warm-ups and deep breathing before practicing for this pose.
• Hold the pose until you are comfortable and synchronize breathing with the movements in the pose.
• Stretch your arms and toes and feel the stretch with slow, continuous inhalations and exhalations.

What are the Benefits of Supta Utthita Tadasana?

• Supta Utthita Tadasana or Reclining Extended Mountain Pose helps to maintain a flexible spine.
• It helps to improve the posture by maintaining a straight spine.
• The pose helps to calm the nervous system and is usually practiced at the end of the yoga sessions for its benefits.
• It involves the core muscles, thus strengthening the abdominal muscles and aiding good digestive health.
• The pose helps to enhance lung capacity by opening the chest completely.
• It promotes better blood circulation by stretching the whole body and most muscles.

Health Conditions that Might Benefit from Supta Utthita Tadasana

• It relieves mild back pain by providing good blood circulation to the body.
• It aids digestion by stimulating the digestive organs.
• It helps in good sleep since the pose is relaxing and restorative, thus helping to relieve insomnia.
• It opens the chest completely, so it helps in better oxygen flow and respiration.

Safety and Precautions

• People with severe back pain or neck injury should avoid the pose or consult a yoga teacher.
• People with weak nervous systems should avoid the pose.

Preparatory Poses

• Ananda Balasana (Happy baby pose)
• Savasana (Corpse pose)
• Pavanmuktasana (Wind release pose)

The same preparatory poses can be practiced as follow-up asanas.

Variations

• You can bend your knees while lying on the ground, with your hands down as a rest pose.
• You can place your bent knees on one side while lying down with your arms over your head.
• You can place a folded blanket under your chest and practice the normal Supta Utthita Tadasana pose.
• You can practice Supta Padangusthasana (reclined big toe pose) also. Use a strap and hook with your first two fingers around the big toe and extend it towards the ceiling. You can try extended leg supine twist also.
• Many other variations are possible for this pose based on the position of the legs and hands. You can bend your right knee and extend through the right heel, feeling the stretch in the leg muscles and the hamstrings of the extended and bent legs. Feel the stretch in the upper body also. The right leg can be supported by a chair where you can rest your right foot. You can press the left thigh with your hand to press it down towards the floor. Repeat on the other side.

The Physical Alignment Principles of Supta Utthita Tadasana

• When you raise your hands over your head, maintain the spine’s natural curve. Inhale and raise your arms.
• Stretch your arms and keep your big toe pointed outward to deepen the stretch.
• Exhale and draw the belly in, engaging your core and abdominal muscles. Focus on deep breaths and find stability in the pose.
• Do not lift your shoulders. Keep them relaxed, away from your ears. Keep your arms straight and breathe deeply.

Supta Utthita Tadasana and the Breath

• Maintain the integrity of the pose by coordinating breaths with the movements in the pose.
• When you raise your hands, inhale and draw your navel in. Exhale, relax your muscles. Point your toes up with an inhalation. Keep your big toe pointed.
• Maintain deep breaths throughout the practice and engage your abdomen. This will open your body more. You can try various modifications of this pose by placing your legs and arms in different positions.

Interesting Facts about the Pose

• It is a pose for aligning the entire lower body from the hips to the tips of the toes, thus helping build strength and confidence.
• It is a great pose to rewind and destress for the day, thus a good restorative practice pose.
• Practice a good dynamic yoga flow vinyasa sequence with this pose.

Take Away

Supta Utthita Tadasana stretches the entire body and is usually done at the end of the session. The pose stretches almost all the muscles of the body. Practice regularly to get the maximum benefit of the pose.

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