(Note from Holistic Yoga Therapy Institute:  Please note that when the writer refers to a backbend in forward folds she is ONLY referring to the natural arch in the low back that restores normal lordosis NOT a backbend beyond this point).

In almost every yoga class today, we practice Ardha Uttanasana (Half Forward Fold). It’s a key posture of the Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation), where it’s inserted on the inhale, after Uttanasana (Forward Fold) and before jumping back to Phalakasana (Plank) or Chatturanga Dandasana (Low Plank). We do it so often, yet it’s regularly misunderstood or done with poor alignment. Yoga teachers have a whole slew of ways to describe this asana, some of which surely help, and others that probably cause more confusion. Here are some you may have heard:

inhale, half way lift

inhale, extend your spine

inhale, arch your back

inhale, look up

inhale to a flat back

None of these descriptions are necessarily wrong, but they don’t exactly describe what is being asked of us. It’s difficult for teachers to describe it in the one breath we get in the middle of our flow, before we fly back to Plank, so let me break down what’s important in this pose and why we do it.

Why We Do It

Ardha Uttansana is an elongation of the spine. It’s also meant to be a back bend. When we inhale and lengthen, it’s to create an arch in the low back that restores lordosis.

This natural curve — that moves the low back into the body, rather than towards the posterior — is one way that the intervertebral discs of the lumbar region are protected.

What’s Important

When we lose lordosis, it’s dangerous. The discs, which act as cushions and spacers between the bones of the spine, are more prone to slip, rupture or pinch a nerve.

To keep your spine safe, it’s crucial to get the low back into a back bend in Ardha Uttanasana. The pose is not about simply lifting up or just looking forwards with your head and face.

Landmarks of Safety

Begin with Uttanasana. Your sacrum (the bony plate at the back of your pelvis, at the base of your spine) needs to tip down towards your head. Your sitting bones and bum will look higher than your spine when you do this. Use your hand to feel, or look at it in a mirror.

Modify your Forward Fold first (read below for tips on that) as Half Forward Fold increases the stretch and requires even more flexibility to do in good alignment. The lordosis needs to be created in Half Forward Fold by working your legs and the muscles around the pelvis and low back. In effect, it should feel somewhat like you are sticking out your bum.

What You Can Do About It

Tight hamstrings and sitting for extended periods of time are two of the major contributors to loss of lordosis and increased risk of injury. Flexible hamstrings (or bent legs if they aren’t loose) alleviate this pull and restore the natural curve of the low back. It’s for this reason that doctors and OSHA videos tell you to lift heavy objects with your knees bent. If folding forward rounds your lumbar region up, towards the sky, you need to modify your pose.

Here are three easy solutions:

Separate Your Feet

Classically Uttanasana and Ardha Uttanasana are done with the feet together, but separating them will make the pose safer. Over time, as your legs and back become more limber you can move your feet closer together.

Bend Your Knees

You may need to bend your knees, a little (or a lot), in Ardha Uttanasana to create lordosis in your lumbar spine. Work to lift your sitting bones up and get your spine in while you do this. If you are particularly tight, you may even have to bend your knees in Uttanasana; just make sure to keep them parallel.

Place Your Hands On Blocks

If your lumbar region is rounded up higher than your pelvis, never let your hands and spine dangle unsupported. Place your hands on blocks to bring added support and increased safety. If you are moderately tight, a good intermediate step is to put your hands on the floor in Forward Fold, then move them up on blocks, or to your shins, in Half Forward Fold.