पश्चिमोत्तानासन
Paschimottanasana — Seated Forward Fold
paścima = the west (the body's back), uttāna = intense stretch — stretching the western side
Sitting tall, the body folds slowly over the legs — the classic quieting stretch.
In the simplest words
Sit with your legs straight out like two rails, sit up tall, then slowly lean forward like you're folding in half. Reach toward your toes — it's fine if you only reach your knees! Every day you'll fold a tiny bit more.
What it is
Legs stretched forward, the body hinges at the hips and lengthens out over them — in yogic language the "west side" of the body, heels to head, is being stretched. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika calls it the foremost of asanas (I.28–29). It is won by patience, never by pulling: the spine stays long, the fold deepens breath by breath over months, and where the hands land (knees, shins, feet) is completely unimportant. Forward folds turn the senses inward, which is why it sits so well at the end of practice.
Before you practise — health first
With sciatica, disc problems or late pregnancy, fold only slightly with a long spine or skip it. Bent knees are always allowed — the back matters more than the reach.
Getting into it
Sit with legs stretched forward, feet together, flesh rolled out from under the sit-bones.
Inhale, stretch the arms up, and grow the spine as tall as it will go.
Exhaling, hinge forward from the hips, leading with the chest, not the head.
Hold shins, ankles or feet — or loop a cloth around the soles.
With each exhale, fold a feather's-width deeper; never bounce. Inhale to rise.
The breath
Lengthen on the inhale, deepen on the exhale — the fold is made of breath.
What it is kept for
Hamstrings and back-line release, quieting the senses at the end of practice or day.