I love this pose. In fact, it holds the rare honor of being the only pose to remain on my "love list" for my entire 20+ years of yoga. I have always felt good while in this pose and after coming out. I am flexible in this position, too, so I am pretty sure my love of this pose has a little something to do with ego! :-)
After reading Mr. Iyengar's words on this pose, I played more with having the head truly in line with the hands and feet. I had not realized that I had been "cheating" for quite some time now placing my head in front of the feet and hands, making balance in the pose infinitely easier. With the head truly tucked and in place, the legs must work much harder.
While reading about and playing with this pose, I went on to play with Prasarita Padottanasana II (with the hands in Reverse Namaste.) It was remarkably harder! In fact, I was a bit surprised at how much harder it was. The legs really have to work to keep you balanced when the hands aren't in place. Looking forward to continuing to challenge myself in this pose.
Yep, still love this pose!
Prasarita Padottanasana D
Originally uploaded by Melissa Holyfield
Originally uploaded by Melissa Holyfield
