Purvottanasana is a counter pose for paschimottanasana. To keep the body straight and to prevent the feet from moving apart from each other requires a certain strength. For me it’s not a back bending asana, it’s rather an asana that builds strength. Without engaging the core, one cannot keep the body straight i.e.

Before you keep reading, do yourself a favor and try a little exercise: Stand up and swing your arms around your body naturally. Don’t force anything, only move them from the front of the body to the back.

You’ll notice that the palms of the hands will show forward while you swing the arms backwards. The finger point backwards not forward. This makes it much easier to open the chest. The shoulders can move backwards easily as well. It feels awkward to point the fingers forward.

In Ashtanga yoga the fingers point to the feet in that pose. This is a burden for the shoulders. It makes it more difficult to lift up the upper body. The shoulder carry the weight of the body in a rather unnatural position. This prepares for injuries. Whatever one exercises on a daily basis or almost daily basis is worth to scrutinize.

About 2 years ago I had this back injury. Purvottanasana was no more possible for me after this sacroiliac joint injury to be more precise . I tried to find alternatives or variations for this asana and studied this pose in greater detail. The different hand position makes this pose safer for me. This pose feels much better when the fingers are posed like in the picture. Since I changed the hand position, this asana is possible again for me.

Btw, last year I practiced with the Sivananda yogis. The teacher corrected me at once when they saw my hand position that I usually practiced. I should pose the hands like on the picture above, they told me. That’s how I practice this asana at home these days.

Please experiment and tell me what feels better for you.