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Pashimottanasana A (the state of the asana)

The shoulders move away from the ears in Pashimottanasana. Contracting the trapezius and levator scapulae muscles hunches the shoulders around the ears and blocks the flow of energy to the cervical spine. Excessive contracting of the neck muscles can lead to a red face in forward or back bending, which indicates a constriction of the blood flow to the head. Use the anchoring of the hands to counteract this, by drawing the shoulder blades down the back, which is called depressing the shoulder girdle (latissimus dorsi), and by drawing them out to the sides, called abduction of the scapulae (serratus anterior).

Pashimottanasana is another great posture to demonstrate the principle of simultaneous expansion in opposing directions. The feet, the heart, and the crown of the head are reaching forward to elongate the spine. The shoulder blades, the sit bones, and the heads of the femurs are extending backward. The elbows and the shoulder blades reach out wide to the sides. The muscles hug the body, compressing prana into the core. The core remains open, receptive, and bright. Its luminescence permeates the whole of the posture and shines forth.

Surrender is most important in Pashimottanasana. This posture is not about conquering the hamstrings but about letting go. To breathe into and release the hamstrings can be very upsetting. We store many powerful emotions, such as suppressed anger, competitiveness, and fear of inadequacy, in our hamstring muscles. All suppressed emotions are potentially crippling to our health: they are toxic and have an impact on our personality. It is essential that, if strong emotions do arise when we breathe awareness into the hamstrings, we acknowledge whatever we feel and then let go of these emotions. Breathing through a posture requires that the stretch be kept at a manageable intensity. If the stretch is too strong we will harden and numb ourselves further. One needs to stretch with compassion and intelligence. Otherwise, instead of letting go of our old unconscious conditioning, we will superimpose yet another layer of abuse. Stay in the state of Pashimottanasana A for five breaths.