Which is the best alignment for paschimottanasana (Forward fold)?

​I shared a story last week asking which one of the 2 poses is the most correct alignment for Paschimottanasana... A or B?
Perhaps, I've been a little sly, to offer a choice suggests picking between the 2.
In fact, both approach and alignments are viable options for a Forward Fold 
What it comes down to is your intent as the two have very different effects to the body.
'A' probably feels more active & strong whilst 'B' is likely to feel more passive & relaxing. Try to bring your awareness to the sensation across the back body; energetically - 'A' would feel like it's converging at the lower back area, in contrast to 'B' which may feel like it’s extending from feet to beyond the spine.
You may want to take Pose A when you wish to work on the hamstrings without moving too much of the spine.
While Pose B, akin to a yin pose, is great for releasing, across the entire back line of the body. The common problem is that we simply flop over, in such instances, the movement may end up limited to only the upper spine area. You want to involve the entire spine; throw the sit-bones back & tip your weight forwards to mobilise the entire spine, allowing it to cascade forward from base to the top. 
The moral of the story is that there’s no single alignment for any pose or 1 method is better than another - we take different versions to achieve different results. Try to mix it up so you’re getting the different benefits from just a single pose - I've added some instructions below for transitioning to both so you can try them yourself. Enjoy!

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Method - 
1. Come to Dandasana - bring feet together, extend the legs in front of you and sit up tall like an L-shape; you may want to bend the knees slightly, especially if you are finding it a struggle to sit up.
2. Flex the feet to activate hamstrings, place your hands by the sides of your bum and press the heels of your palms down to extend the arms and to lengthen out the spine.
3. Draw navel to spine to give it an extra lift; hold the core activation as your walk the hands towards the calves/ankles/feet, keeping the spine long as you fold forwards.
4. Hold the pose and breath at a slow and steady pace.
5. Release after 5-8 breaths, sitting back to an L-shape, giving yourself a quick scan to feel the effects on your body. 

Method - 
1. Sit up in an L-shape but with feet hip width apart and knees bent.
​2. Flex the feet to activate hamstrings, place your hands by the sides of your bum and press the heels of your palms down to extend the arms and to lengthen out the spine.
3. Draw navel to spine to give it an extra lift; without actually moving the seat, tip the weight of your body to the front of your sit-bones and throw the tail-bone back, this will help to pivot the torso forwards.
4. Walk your hands towards calves/ankles/feet, keeping the spine long as your fold forwards.
5. When you arrive at the limit of your fold, let the core activation go; turn your attention to the base of your spine, begin to let yourself go, allowing the spine to roll forwards, section-by-section, from base to crown of the head.
6. Roll-up to sit in an L-shape after 5-8 breaths, give yourself a quick scan to feel the effects on your body. 

A shorter version of this post appears on my Instagram on 29 August 2020, click on icons below to follow me!