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Also known as: Baddha Padmasana.

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Technique

  1. From a seated position with legs in front of you, bring your legs into Lotus, right leg first.
  2. Take the left arm behind the back and grab the left big toe.
  3. Take the right arm behind the back and grab the right big toe.

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Form tips

  • Make sure the feet are in the hip creases so the bind is easier.
  • If you cannot bind on both sides, use a strap or towel to bind the second side. Or try Cross-legged sit with arms behind
Logging: Work each side for the time indicated.
Risks
  • The lotus pose requires a significant degree of external rotation in the hip joints. If the hips are tight, the body may attempt to compensate by putting pressure on the knee joints, which can lead to meniscus tears and ligament strains.

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Muscles

Flexibility

Primary

  • Glutes
  • Shoulders
  • Chest
  • Rotator cuff

Secondary

  • Pelvis
  • Hamstrings
  • Biceps

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Equipment

Ground (hands or body)
Ground (hands or body)

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Appears in

Other disciplines
Joint movements

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Progressions

e19d

Bound lotus bow

Advanced

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Regressions

e0xk

Lotus

Intermediate
e0vh

Sitting bound half lotus forward fold

Intermediate
e19g

Lotus V-sit

Advanced
e19b

Embryo Pose In Shoulder Stand

Advanced
e18v

Rooster Pose

Advanced
e19e

Cross-legged sit with arms behind

Beginner
Want to log this exercise? Open it in Calistree. Text and images are used under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0; the video plays from the original source.