Awareness

When doing this posture I become very aware of the fact that I have to focus on my balance and my bandhas. The modified version is easier for me because the full posture (bending over) challenges my hamstrings to stretch a lot. I have inflexible hamstrings so I am not able to hold the full posture for a long time. I make sure that I am taking deep and relaxed breaths while doing the full and modified posture so my muscles stay as relaxed as possible while being stretched.Involving the arms isn't that much more challenging. I find bending over into the full posture the most challenging. However, you get a really go stretch when you go into full posture. In the modified version your strictly focusing on balance and I personally don't feel that much of a stretch except for in my hip because my leg is being bent into the other hip. The modified posture really forces me to be focused on my balance and I think that is really important.