Purvottanasana

Purvottanasana (inclined plane).

Purvottanasana (Sanskrit पूर्वोत्तानासन, IAST pūrvottānāsana), English inclined plane, is an exercise in yoga. Depending on the type of yoga, it is also referred to as reverse plank, inverted plank or front body stretch. The Sanskrit name pūrvottānāsana is formed from the words pūrva "east", uttāna "stretched out" and āsana "seat" or more generally translated as "posture". It can be literally translated as "posture of the intense expansion of the east". According to Indian tradition, the east refers to the front of the body.

Purvottanasana is part of the first series in Ashtanga Yoga and of the basic series of Yoga Vidya. Although it is not included in the so-called Rishikesh series attributed to Swami Sivananda, the inclined plane is often performed in the practice style of his tradition after Paschimottanasana the seated forward bend.

In the older writings on Hatha Yoga, namely in the Hathapradipika (written in the 14th century) and in the Gherandasamhita (probably from the 17th century), this yoga exercise is not mentioned.

Physical execution

Purvottanasana with fingers pointing to the feet and head held high.

The starting position is sitting on the floor with your legs stretched out. The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center provides further instructions: "[…] and your palms flat on the floor behind you, fingers pointing away from the body. Lean back slightly on your hands." The hips are now raised up as high as possible and the feet are brought down flat on the floor.Legs are kept straight.

Erling Petersen, who calls the exercise setuāsana - setu is the Sanskrit term for "bridge" - has a different idea for how to perform the exercise. He does not talk about lifting the hips, but says: "Lower your shoulders, lift your chest, and straighten your back."

B. K. S. Iyengar positions the fingertips towards the feet and gives the following instruction regarding the final position: "The arms will be perpendicular to the floor from the wrists to the shoulders. From the shoulders to the pelvis, the trunk will be parallel to the floor. Stretch the neck an throw the head as far back as possible."

Heinz Grill emphasizes a mental preparation to tense the whole body. After this preparation the body is lifted up in a big movement. The head then should fall back at the neck. He recommends to hold the pose at least half a minute up to one minute. The decision about the duration is to be taken before entering.

Focusing attention during the exercise

Attention can be directed towards the free flow of the breath. Furthermore a calm clarity and serenity should be maintained during the exercise.

The picture and the meaning of the exercise

Heinz Grill describes the spiritual meaning of Purvottanasana as follows:

The body is extended into an almost horizontal plane. This horizontal plane is like a contrast to the vertical extension and therefore is of a fundamentally different nature. The horizontal plane is a symbol for the earthly world, while the vertical orientation reflects the celestial dimension of the human being. Here practitioners consciously enter into the tension throughout their body and hold themselves stable in the horizontal, exposed state for a predecided length of time. The movement itself attains its lightness through the fact that practitioners become conscious of the body and experience it in a kind of "tension without being tense", or as the Bhagavad Gītā says, in an "action in inaction". This perfectly free movement seems like a great contraction of the body to its own mid-point in mūlādhāra-cakra. It is in this aesthetic lightness expressed by the movement that the learning step and the meaning of the exercise lies.

Reports on healing effects

B. K. S. Iyengar recounts the experience, that the posture strengthens the wrists and ankles. Erling Petersen mentions the improving effect on the breathing, as tension of the breathing muscles is eliminated.

Heinz Grill indicates the strengthening effect on the muscular system but also emphasizes the strengthening of the nervous system. This strengthening occurs because the practitioner deliberately and consciously rises above the body’s sensations of heaviness. "By rising above the body’s states, the practitioner experiences themselves in the immediacy of potential acts of will."

Vashistasana - Side Plank with an ascending leg.