Angelica GovaertOwner/Founder, Yogalebrity · Online Yoga Empire Builder

Become a Certified Yoga Teacher. Private YTT www.yogateachertraining.yoga

28 Nov 2022 · 1 min

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In this concise yoga teacher‑training segment, the instructor explains the Iyengar‑style execution of Ardha Uttanasana (half forward fold). He emphasizes that students should keep the legs straight and avoid bending the knees, even if they cannot touch the floor. The focus is on lengthening the hamstrings and opening the back rather than achieving ground contact, which he frames as an ego‑driven goal. Hands may rest on the shins for comfort while the practitioner works toward the floor, reinforcing the principle that true progress is measured by internal stretch, not external touch.

Chapters

Welcome to your 1-minute yoga teacher training class. Today we're going to be talking about Ardha Uttanasana or forward fold. Sometimes you'll have students who cannot touch the ground in their forward fold, and oftentimes I'll hear teachers will say, "Just bend your knees if you can't reach down." However, in a classic Iyengar class, you would never do that. Mr. Iyengar would never want you to bend your knees ever, really for any reason. If you ever hope to get the lengthening in those hamstrings and get that stretch in there to ever be able to touch the ground, you're going to want to have your students always keep the legs straight. And then just instead of touching the ground, we're working towards the ground. So we'll just bring our hands onto our shins wherever it feels comfortable and fold from there. You don't have to touch the ground. Touching the ground is your ego. Lengthening the hamstrings is our goal. Letting our backs open up in this posture is our goal. Touching the ground is not our goal.