Daṇḍāsana – LOUISIANA YOGA & PADDLE

दण्डासन

Sit with the legs out in front of you, your knees can be bent or straight. Wiggle from side to side settling just in front of the sizts bones.
Bring your hands to the floor [or a block] outside of the hips with the fingertips pointing toward the feet.
Activate the soles of the feet by flexing the feet toward you and spreading them wide.
Hug the muscles of the legs to bones and swallow the inner thighs back making space in the groins.
Press the palms of the hands into the floor [or block].
Root the sitz bones back and wide and lift the pit of the abdomen and the kidneys.
Soften the bottom of the shoulder blades down and into the back.
Broaden across the chest and the top of the shoulders.
Lengthen through the back of the crown of the head.

The feet should be hips distance with about one fist between them. Line up the outer edges of the feet so that there is a little more space between the heels than the big toe mounds. This action opens the energetic line to Mulādhāra Cakra. Keep the pinkies in line with the big toes.
Pull the glutes out from under you, rotate the leg bones internally, opens the groins for the pelvis to rotate forward and Mulādhāra to open to the Earth.
If the pelvis will not rotate forward place the edge of a blanket at the sitz bones and then let the sitz bones roll forward over the edge of the blanket.
If the hamstrings are tight and inhibiting the rotation of the pelvis prop under the knees until the legs are supported and the pelvis is freed [this may be a very small change at first].
Root down through the sitz bones and lengthen up through the crown of the head. This action causes the pelvic diaphragm to lift [mulābandha], the abdominal diaphragm to lift [uḍḍiyana bandha], and the vocal diaphragm to lift jalandhara bandha]. Lifting these three diaphragm join the energies in the body and stimulates the central energy channel [suṣumna nāḍī].
If holding the body upright is too challenging then bring the back to the wall for support.
If activating the legs is unfamiliar sit with the souls of the feet pressing into the wall, even if the legs are bent.

Visualize a red stream of energy traveling up from the earth through the pelvis and out through the crown of the head and the souls of the feet.
Visualize a purple stream of energy flowing down through the crown of the head down through the pelvis into the ground.

Correct the feet, move the toes to point up in dorsiflexion, broadening the toes.
Placing the hands on the soles of the feet give the direction to push into your hands.
Kneeling behind place the hands in the hip crease on either side, rotating the pelvis forward.
Standing gently place the palm of the hand on the crown of the head giving the direction to press into my hand.
If the shoulders round forward, stand sideways behind aligning the leg with their spine, take one hand to each shoulder and direct them back to your leg.