Sitting forward bends are a big part of the Ashtanga Yoga system. However, with a large portion of the society living more sedentary lives, when they arrive to their yoga class they are not at all ready to move into a seated forward bend. What, more often than not, ends up happening is that they put a lot of strain on their lower backs, collapse their heart centres and miss out on the positive effects of the pose. In fact, possibly doing something that is actually detrimental to both the physical and emotional bodies.
In this short clip, we show one of many ways to adjust the pose. I find this particular adjustment useful on those who can bend forward but tend to drop the chest and head. If the practitioner cannot bend forward without making a big bulge in the lumbar spine, this adjustment is not useful for them.