BOUND ANGLE POSE FOR MAY

Posted on by Zama Yoga

BOUND ANGLE POSE | BADDHA KONASANA

Bound Angle Pose, Cobbler Pose or Butterfly Pose? They're all the same! Bound Angle is a pose which resembles the way the Indian cobblers sit and is our Pose of the Month for May. 

Sitting on the ground bring the soles of your feet together and hold onto your toes. You want to move forward from the hip joints so rather than thinking about getting your forehead to your toes, think about reaching your navel towards the soles of your feet. The goal isn't to get your knees down to the ground either as not all hips are made to do this. However if your knees are very high and your back rounded, be sure to sit on a high support like a block or the edge of a thick blanket. If you're after a little more, bend your elbows and push them against the inner thighs or calves but never on the knees.

Benefits

  • It helps in stimulating the abdomen, pelvis and back.
  • It helps in maintaining the health of the kidneys, prostate and urinary bladder.
  • It helps in relieving the pain from sciatica and also in preventing hernia.
  • It helps in relieving the problem of irregular menstruation and improves the functioning of ovaries.
  • It helps in stimulating the heart and in improving general circulation.
  • It helps in relieving the symptoms of menopause.
  • It is a therapeutic pose for cases of flat feet, high blood pressure, asthma and infertility.
  • Practising this pose consistently until late pregnancy is said to ease the pain during childbirth.
  • It helps in relieving symptoms of mild depression and anxiety.

Variations

  • Warm up the spine with seated cat cow either holding the feet or cross the wrists holding opposite ankles
  • For something a little more active imagine you have two partners, each pressing inward (toward the pelvis) on a knee. From the middle of your sacrum, push out along the outer thighs against this imaginary resistance. Then push the heels firmly together from the knees.
  • For the nervous system it's nice to rest the forehead down. You can place a block in between the soles of your feet, use a bolster or rest your head on the edge of a chair.
  • You can always practice this posture reclined. You can support your body by laying down over a bolster and placing a blanket or blocks under your thighs.