KŪRMĀSANA (TORTOISE POSE)

KŪRMĀSANA (TORTOISE POSE)

Kūrmāsana, also known as tortoise pose, is another pose which provides a deep forward bend, a hip opener and a great stretch for the hamstrings. The pose is supposed to reflect a tortoise, with the back acting as the shell.

Start by sitting straight with your legs together, in daṇḍāsana. Take your legs wide apart, with around 3 feet distance between the feet. Bend your knees slightly and start to learn forward. Tuck your right arm under the right knee, and your left arm under the left knee, and extend both arms out. Reach them out to either side as far as possible, palms facing up, bringing the torso further and further down. Then start to straighten the legs as much as possible, this will give an even deeper stretch. The back of the knees will be placed on the upper arms, close to the armpits. Extend the neck forward and place the chin and chest down on the floor. Stay for ten to fifteen deep breaths. To come out of the pose, gently bend your knees, and slide the arms out one by one.

As an advanced variation to this pose, you can slide the arms backward and around the back, clasping the fingers together. Then place one foot over the other at the ankles. To go even deeper, you can bring the head in between the legs, with the ankles resting on the back of the head. The forehead will be fully down on the floor. This is also known as supta kūrmāsana

One of the benefits of this posture is that it stretches the legs. In particular the hamstrings, thigh adductors and calves. It opens the hips and stretches the groins, helping to circulate blood in the pelvic region. It also tones the spine, stimulates the abdominal organs and provides great rejuvenation to the body. Mentally, it is a calming pose and helps to reduce stress and anxiety.

The contraindications for this pose are back, knee and groin injuries, and pregnancy. You can consider sitting on two blankets, a cushion or a block to raise the hips and prevent over stretching the inner groins. If flexibility is limited, then allow the torso to come down only as far as possible. Be careful not to overstretch.