Standing Forward Fold (Uttanasana) folds your torso down over your legs to stretch the backs of your legs. The key is to hinge at your hips, tilting your pelvis forward rather than bending at the waist, and to bend your knees as much as you need so your low back doesn't round. How far down you go doesn't matter; a fold that starts at the hips does.
Set up
Stand with your feet hip-width apart, toes facing forward. Press evenly through the four corners of each foot.
weight spread across the whole foot.
Place your hands on the front of your hip joints, right in the crease where your legs meet your torso. That crease is where you'll fold from.
your fingers marking the hinge point.
Hinge from the hips
Exhale and hinge at the hips: tilt your pelvis forward and lower your torso toward your thighs. Don't bend from the waist. Keep your hips roughly over your ankles as you go.
your pelvis tipping forward, not your back curling.
Bend the knees as needed
Bend your knees as much as you need. If your pelvis stops tilting or your low back starts to round, bend them more. If your legs are fairly straight, keep a slight bend rather than locking them.
soft knees letting the fold come from the hips.
Keep your weight forward over your feet. Don't let it sink back into your heels.
the front of your feet staying grounded.
Rest and hold
Rest your hands wherever is comfortable: the floor, your ankles, your thighs, or blocks set at their tallest height.
support under your hands, no straining to reach.
Hold for 3 to 5 breaths. Think of your sit bones reaching up and away from the floor, and bend your knees more any time you need to.
length along the backs of your legs.
Come up
Keep a bend in your knees as you come up. Ground through your feet, rise slowly with a long spine, and bring your hips back under your shoulders to stand.
legs doing the work, back staying long.
Feel it
A stretch along the backs of your legs, not a strain in your low back. Some discomfort is normal at first, but you should never feel pain; if you do, stop and reset with more knee bend or your hands higher up. Bending over sends blood to your head, so if you feel dizzy or lightheaded, come up slowly and rest. Check with a professional first if you have a disc problem or back injury, glaucoma (head-down poses raise eye pressure), or a heart condition or history of stroke.
Fix-its
- You bend from the waist and round your low back to reach down Put your hands in your hip creases and tilt the pelvis forward instead. Bend your knees until your back stops rounding.
- You lock your knees Keep at least a slight bend, and bend more if the stretch pulls hard behind the knees or in the low back.
- Your weight drifts back into your heels Shift forward until your hips are roughly over your ankles and the front of your feet stay grounded.
- Your hands don't reach the floor Rest them on your thighs, ankles or blocks at their tallest height. Reaching the floor isn't the goal.
- You come up fast with straight legs Bend your knees first, then rise slowly with a long spine.
Drill
- Hip-crease hinge: hands in your hip creases, tilt the pelvis forward a little and back up, feeling the fold start at the hips. Repeat slowly a few times.
- Half fold: knees bent, back flat, hands resting on your upper legs, eyes on the floor. Hold 3 to 5 breaths.
- Block fold: hands on blocks at their tallest height, knees bent as needed. Hold 3 to 5 breaths.
- Full fold: hands to the floor or ankles only if your back stays long with knees bent. Hold 3 to 5 breaths, then come up with bent knees.
Sources
- Cleveland Clinic (Valerie Williams, E-RYT 500) — Yoga for Beginners: 6 Postures To Get Started (2026)
- Cleveland Clinic (Lynda Robinson, OT/L, RYT-500) — How To Do Yoga Sun Salutation Sequences (2025)
- YogaUOnline — How to Do Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana)
- Jasien, Jonas, de Moraes & Ritch — Intraocular Pressure Rise in Subjects with and without Glaucoma during Four Common Yoga Positions, PLoS One (2015)
Last checked 2026-10-26.