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Technique

  1. Sitting with legs extended, bend the right knee and bring the right foot to rest on top of the upper left thigh with the sole of the foot facing upward.
  2. Hinge at the hips and fold forward, reaching both hands to hold the left foot.
  3. Lower the head and take 5 breaths.
  4. Sit up, switch legs and repeat on the other side.

Form tips

  • Half lotus can be difficult for those with knee issues or tight hips.
  • It requires a substantial external rotation of the hip in order for the foot to come into the opposite hip crease with the sole facing upward.
  • Also, the knee joint needs to be able to close all the way to prevent it from taking too much sideways pressure if the hips are not open enough.
  • Good prep poses for half lotus are Butterfly stretch (baddha konasana) and firelogs pose.
  • Go slow and be patient. If half lotus doesn’t come easily to you, it is recommended you work with a teacher.
  • If your foot is to the top of the thigh and everything feels fine, bring the knee forward (toward the opposite knee) and continue to rotate the upper leg externally as you tuck the foot deeper into the opposite hip crease.
  • If folding forward puts pressure on the knee, continue sitting up and support a straight spine with the hands beside the hips.
Logging: Work each side for the time indicated.

Muscles

Flexibility

Primary

  • Glutes
  • Hamstrings

Secondary

  • Hip adductors
  • Legs
  • Pelvis

Equipment

Appears in

Other disciplines
Joint movements
trains stretches

Progressions

e0vh

Sitting bound half lotus forward fold

Intermediate

Regressions

e0vi

Sitting one-leg forward fold

Novice
e0vk

Supported half lotus

Beginner
e0xs

One-leg forward bend

Beginner
e0z2

Supported partial front split

Novice
e18c

Sitting pike fold on heel

Novice
e0vl

Sitting half lotus fold

Novice
e18b

Sitting pike fold with bent leg

Novice
e0xh

Butt balancing one-leg out

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.