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Also known as: Kukkutasana, Cockerel Pose.

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Technique

  1. From a seated position with legs extended in front, take lotus with the right leg first.
  2. Thread the arms through the legs, starting with the right one.
  3. Roll back slightly to gain momentum, bring the hands in front of you and catch the balance on your hands.
  4. Lower down to exit the pose.

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Form tips

  • Don’t hesitate to use momentum to come forward and catch the balance.
  • Have your hands ready to catch you.
  • Engage your core to brake and balance.
  • Keep your knees as high as you can.
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.
  • This arm balance puts pressure on the wrists, which are bent to a 90° position. Wrists get stronger over time, but stop if you feel any sudden, acute pain.

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Muscles

Strength

Primary

  • Serratus anterior
  • Chest
  • Back

Secondary

  • Abs
  • Obliques
  • Pelvis
Flexibility

Primary

  • Glutes

Secondary

  • Pelvis
  • Hamstrings
  • Serratus anterior
  • Lower trapezius
  • Latissimus dorsi
  • Pectoralis minor

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Equipment

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

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Appears in

Flexibility
Other disciplines
Joint movements
Hipexternal rotation
trains stretches
e19g

Lotus V-sit

Advanced
e18w

Lotus L-sit

Intermediate
e19r

Lotus crane pose

Elite
e0xk

Lotus

Intermediate
e0xl

Half lotus

Novice
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.