Pada Hastasan (Standing Head to Knee Pose)

Procedure 

• Stand up straight—in an upright position—with both feet joined together and arms by your sides, i.e. Saral Tadasan.
• Inhale (Radhey) slowly, and simultaneously raise both hands above the head with the palms facing forward.
• Keeping your hands straight, stretch the body upward from the waist.
• As you exhale (Krishna), bend forward from your hips till your hands touch the floor; then slowly letting the trunk go down, place both the hands down on either side of the feet, and try to touch the knees with the chin.
• Try not to bend the trunk at the middle; keep it straight from the waist to the neck.
• Also, keep both knees locked in this condition.
• With normal breathing, hold the position for 15-20 seconds.
• Keep the whole body relaxed in this state.
• With an inhalation (Radhey), return to Saral Tadasan.
• This is one round; do it for two more rounds.
• Lastly, come to Shithil Tadasan and relax.
• Note: Pada Hastasan can also be done with fast movements—without maintaining the final position.  In the beginning, it can be practiced 5-10 rounds and with a regular practice, it can be done for about 20-30 rounds.

Awareness

• On the breaths synchronized with the movements
• On the mental chanting of the Holy Names “Radhey Krishna” through your breaths
• On the relaxation of the back muscles and hamstrings in the final position

Benefits

• The movements in Pada Hastasan massage and tone the digestive organs; it rectifies flatulence, constipation, indigestion, and strengthens the thighs. 
• Besides all these, the hamstrings and spinal nerves are strengthened and the spine is made extremely flexible.
• Pada Hastasan is great  boon for women as it helps in preventing menstrual problems. 
• Many Yog practitioners do it mostly for enhancing the blood flow to the head region.
•  It even eliminates problems related to the thyroid and pituitary glands.

Contraindications

• People who have sever hypertension (high blood pressure), vertigo (dizziness), serious back problems, sciatica, heart disease, hernia, and disc prolapses should avoid this asan.