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Also known as: Karnapidasana.

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Technique

  1. From a seated position with legs in front of you, lay down.
  2. Take the legs up and over, keeping the feet together.
  3. Extend the arms behind your back and interlace the fingers.
  4. Bend the knees to bring them towards the ears.
  5. Keep the feet together.
  6. To come up, release the arms and rock up.

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Form tips

  • Extend the spine up by reaching the sit bones towards the ceiling
  • Take the chin away from the chest to put weight on the back of the head rather than on your neck.
  • If your shoulders are not open enough to interlace the fingers behind the back, or if you need support to stay in the pose, try the hand-supported version.
Risks
  • If the shoulders are not sufficiently elevated, the weight of the torso can put pressure on the neck.
  • You can place a folded blanket under the shoulders to allow the neck to hang freely and avoid direct pressure on the cervical spine

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Muscles

Flexibility

Primary

  • Spine
  • Neck

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Equipment

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

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Appears in

Other disciplines
Joint movements
Trunkflexion
Neckflexion
trains stretches

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Progressions

w01w

Primary series finishing sequence 1

Elite
e198

Hand-support Ear Pressure Pose

Intermediate
e19b

Embryo Pose In Shoulder Stand

Advanced
e18q

Sleeping tortoise pose with hands bound

Intermediate
e18o

Half Tortoise pose

Intermediate
e18y

Supine straddle pike fold

Novice
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