Ardha Uttansana, or Standing Half Forward Bend, is possibly the most important pose for you to understand and try.

Many come in and out of yoga classes -- and through life! -- rounding the back when we’re also bending forward. This is harmful 🙈🙉🙊. Forward folding with at least the abdomen solid, and at best the legs and abdomen engaged, is the name of the game. This is because in all actions, but in forward folding especially, the vertebrae are at their best when they are lengthening through their normal, natural curves.

In #iyengaryoga, we also call this pose “Concave Uttanasana,” which is shorthand for the normal dip the low-back spine makes toward the floor.