During Prasarita Padottanasana with a Bind, what is the instruction after exhaling into the pose?

• A. Option to release your grip if this is uncomfortable in your shoulders.
• B. Shift your weight into the ball mounds of your feet stacking your hips over your shoulders.
• C. Fold forward at your hips and allow your head and neck to hang heavy.
• D. Inhale to lengthen.

Answer: (C)

The breath guides the transition into a deep forward fold. After you exhale into Prasarita Padottottanasana with a Bind, the next cue is to hinge from the hips and fold forward, letting the head and neck hang heavy. Exhaling helps soften the torso and release tension, so gravity can safely deepen the bend without rounding the spine. Keeping the spine long by folding from the hips protects the back and prepares the shoulders for the bind. The head and neck hanging heavy reduces neck strain and allows the shoulders to release toward the bind position. Releasing the grip or shifting weight into the feet aren’t the immediate cues after the exhale in this moment, and inhaling to lengthen is a different part of the breath sequence rather than the instruction that follows the exhale into the pose.