There’s a spot in my mid-back that sometimes feels as though it holds all the tension in my body. Like every keyboard stroke, knife cut, sponge scrub, page flip, steering wheel turn, and slouch collects between my shoulder blades and knots together.
The best method I’ve found to release that tension is a long-held standing forward fold. The yin version of the pose is different than an active standing fold (called uttanasana) as the focus is on holding for a minute or more, relaxing the back body and releasing the shoulders. Bent knees, supportive arms, and resting against a wall are all welcome!
A yin standing forward fold is known as a dangle and that’s exactly the hope: that your upper body hangs and allows the muscles and fascia loosen.
Because your head is below your heart, this pose isn’t great for people with high blood pressure and anyone with low blood pressure should come out of it really slowly. Be cautious and slowly release the posture if you feel any pain.
Dangle
Why it’s good
- Releases tension from the shoulder blades, mid-back, and neck
- Helps decompress the lower spine and sacroiliac region
- Stretches the backs of the legs – if you straighten them
- Promotes good balance
- Compresses the digestive organs, which can improve digestion and alleviate menstrual cramps
- Encourages relaxation and can reduce anxiety and stress
How to do it
- Start by standing tall with your feet parallel and hip width apart
- let your spine stretch upwards and your shoulders drop away from your ears
- feel sturdy and balanced – your hips stacked atop your feet, your shoulders square above your hips, and your head floating above your shoulders
- With an exhale, bend your knees and allow your torso to drop towards the fronts of your thighs
- don’t feel any pressure to have your chest rest on your legs; most people will have significant space between upper and lower body
- Straighten your legs to intensify the stretch along the backs of your legs or keep your knees bent to encourage the stretch in your back
- do not lock your knees
- try leaning against a wall for additional support
- Experiment with arm positioning to find what works best for you
- clasping each elbow with the opposite hand draws more of a stretch into the upper back and shoulders and can make your torso feel heavier
- resting your hands on your thighs lessens pressure through your lower back
- allowing your hands dangle freely or rest softly on the floor helps open the mid-back
- Let you head release and encourage the muscles in your back, shoulders, arms, and neck to be heavy
- Soften your gaze or, it’s comfortable and doesn’t mess with your balance, close your eyes
- Stay dangling for at least a minute and up to five minutes
- mindfully move your arms and bend or straighten your knees to find the best version of the pose for you, but try not to fidget
- if it helps, visualize your spine flowing out of your pelvis like water flowing out of a pitcher, allowing tension to ebb away
- if the pose doesn’t feel right, you can get a similar stretch in a seated forward fold with a rolled blanket or bolster under your bent knees
To come out of dangle:
- If you’ve held the pose for several minutes, be cautious! Slowly come out of it using any of the methods below, then take a few deep breaths to regain your balance before moving to your next pose
- Option 1:
- Engage your abdominal muscles, bend your knees, and take several breaths to roll up to standing
- Option 2:
- Bend your knees and lower your hips downwards to come into a squat. Rest in a squat for at least a few breaths before lowering onto your seat or slowly moving to standing
- Option 3:
- Rest your hands on your shins and straighten your back; strengthen your abdominal muscles and inhale to come halfway up with your back parallel to the floor; exhale and let your upper body and hands release down again. Repeat this halfway raise a couple times before inhaling up to standing with your back straight.
It’s normal to feel some dizziness after your head has been down for a while. Take a few moments to regain your composure and allow the blood to flow throughout your body before progressing with your practice or continuing with your day.
As dangling is a strong forward bend, it can be nice to follow it with a back bend. Even standing and simply drawing your shoulders back as you lift your face and chest to the sky can be enough to release any tension in your front body that may have built up as you dangled.
Repeat whenever that congested mid-back feeling arises. This is a great pose for airports and offices because it requires no mat and no props!
I’m co-hosting a Restorative Yoga workshop next weekend (21 May) with my friend and fellow yoga teacher, Constanza. As part of my preparation, I’ve been re-reading Your Body, Your Yoga (yin yoga teacher Bernie Clark’s latest book) in which he talks a lot about physical differences in yoga students and how important it is to practice for your own body.
