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Also known as: Kurmasana.

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Technique

  1. From a downward facing dog position, bend the knees and crouch, keeping some weight on your hands.
  2. Jump both legs around the arms and lower down to the floor with the arms under the legs.
  3. Straighten the legs in front of you and take the arms to the side, in line with the shoulders.
  4. Bring the chin to the floor.
  5. Engage the quadriceps to lift the heels off the floor.

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Form tips

  • Keep the knees close to the shoulders.
  • Broaden the collar bones and lead with the sternum.
  • Point the feet to protect the hamstrings
  • If you lack the hamstring flexibility, you can try the version with bent legs and less forward bend, or the version with straight legs and heels on the floor. You can also practice poses like forward folds and wide leg forward fold (upavishta konasana).
  • If you don’t have the strength to jump into the pose, you can try the version with the entrance from standing.
Risks
  • This pose demands significant flexibility in the hamstrings, hips, and shoulders. Straightening the legs with the torso’s weight can create intense leverage that may result in meniscus tears, ligament strains, or hamstring attachment injuries at the sit bones.
  • Additionally, excessive rounding in the lower back when bringing the chin to the floor can create injury.

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Muscles

Flexibility

Primary

  • Glutes
  • Hamstrings
  • Hip adductors

Secondary

  • Rotator cuff
  • Spine
  • Shoulders

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Equipment

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

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Appears in

Other disciplines
Joint movements
Trunkflexion
Shoulderinternal rotation
Hipabductionflexion
trains stretches
e18p

Sleeping tortoise pose

Elite
e18n

Tortoise pose

Advanced
e18q

Sleeping tortoise pose with hands bound

Intermediate
e18o

Half Tortoise pose

Intermediate
e18r

Sleeping tortoise pose without bound

Novice
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