Seated Forward Bend
पश्चिमोत्तानासन
Paścimottānāsana — a beginner forward bend that works the hamstrings, spinal erectors, calves.
How to do Seated Forward Bend
Read all of it before starting, and read the cautions further down before starting at all.
Sit in Dandasana on a folded blanket with the legs straight and the feet flexed.
Inhale and lengthen the spine upwards, reaching the arms overhead.
Exhale and hinge forward from the hip crease, leading with the sternum rather than the forehead.
Hold the shins, ankles, feet or a strap around the soles, wherever the spine can stay long.
Bend the knees as much as needed, hold with slow breathing, then rise with a long spine.
Hold: 1–3 minutes. Keep the breath moving throughout — if you are holding it, the pose is too much for today.
Muscles worked
Where the effort and the lengthening land. Primary groups do most of the work; secondary groups assist or are stretched.
What Seated Forward Bend does
Described mechanically — what the movement does to muscle and joint. Not a list of conditions it treats, because a pose does not treat conditions.
- Lengthens both hamstrings simultaneously with the pelvis fixed by the seat.
- Stretches the calves when the feet are flexed and the heels press away.
- Lengthens the whole back line from the heels to the base of the skull in one continuous hold.
Seated Forward Bend is one of 22 forward bends in this library and one of 88 poses rated beginner. Poses that fold the torso towards the legs, lengthening the whole back line of the body.
Who should skip Seated Forward Bend, or change it
- Low back or disc injury — bend the knees generously and sit much higher, or skip.
- Hamstring tear.
- Sacroiliac pain, where a deep seated fold can be aggravating.
- Later pregnancy: take the legs wide so there is room for the belly.
General information only — not medical advice. Some asanas are unsuitable during pregnancy, injury or specific conditions. Learn from a qualified teacher and stop if anything hurts. If you are pregnant, recovering from surgery or managing any health condition, ask your doctor before starting a practice, and learn the pose itself from a qualified teacher who can see you move.
Common mistakes in Seated Forward Bend
What tends to go wrong, and the specific correction — not "engage your core".
MistakeReaching for the feet by rounding hard from the waist.
FixUse a strap around the feet, bend the knees, and fold from the hip crease instead.
MistakeSitting flat on the floor with the pelvis rolled back.
FixSit on the front edge of a folded blanket so the pelvis can tip forward.
What a practice like this costs in energy
Nobody has measured a single asana in a metabolic cart. The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities publishes MET values per style of practice, so Seated Forward Bend is mapped to the nearest published code — 02150, yoga, Hatha, 2.5 MET — and the figures below are for a practice of that kind, not for holding this one pose.
| Time practising | 10 min | 20 min | 30 min | 45 min | 60 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 31 | 61 | 92 | 138 | 184 |
Calculated as MET × 3.5 × 70 kg ÷ 200 kcal per minute — the standard ACSM relationship, shown in full on the method page. Scale it to your own weight by multiplying by your weight in kilograms and dividing by 70. The whole activity dataset, including every non-yoga activity, is at BurnLab.
Questions
How do you do Seated Forward Bend?
Sit in Dandasana on a folded blanket with the legs straight and the feet flexed. Inhale and lengthen the spine upwards, reaching the arms overhead. Exhale and hinge forward from the hip crease, leading with the sternum rather than the forehead. Hold the shins, ankles, feet or a strap around the soles, wherever the spine can stay long. Bend the knees as much as needed, hold with slow breathing, then rise with a long spine. Hold for 1–3 minutes.
What does Seated Forward Bend work?
Primarily the hamstrings, spinal erectors, calves, with the glutes, lower back, latissimus dorsi assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: lengthens both hamstrings simultaneously with the pelvis fixed by the seat.
Who should not do Seated Forward Bend?
Low back or disc injury — bend the knees generously and sit much higher, or skip. Hamstring tear. Sacroiliac pain, where a deep seated fold can be aggravating. Later pregnancy: take the legs wide so there is room for the belly. This is general information, not medical advice — if any of these apply to you, ask your doctor and learn the pose with a qualified teacher rather than from a page.
Is Seated Forward Bend suitable for beginners?
Yes. Seated Forward Bend is a beginner-level pose on this site, which means it is learnable in a first class and has a version that works for most bodies. The cautions above still apply.
How many calories does Seated Forward Bend burn?
The honest answer is that nobody has measured a single asana. The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities publishes MET values for styles of yoga, not for individual poses. Seated Forward Bend sits closest to Compendium code 02150, yoga, Hatha, at 2.5 MET — about 92 kcal for 30 minutes of that kind of practice for a 70 kg adult. Holding one pose for a minute is a rounding error either way.
Related poses
More forward bends — first at the same level, then the rest of the family.
Asana names are traditional. Every step, benefit and caution on this page is written for YogaPath rather than reproduced from any book, studio or other library — see how this site is written. Energy figures derive from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. General information only — not medical advice. Some asanas are unsuitable during pregnancy, injury or specific conditions. Learn from a qualified teacher and stop if anything hurts.