Yoganidrasana, ( sa, योगनिद्रासन) or Yogic Sleep Pose is a reclining forward-bending asana in modern

yoga as exercise Yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting mainly of postures, often connected by flowing sequences, sometimes accompanied by breathing exercises, and frequently ending with relaxation lying down or meditation. Yoga in this form has ...

. It is sometimes called Supta Garbhasana (Reclining Embryo Pose). The name

Dvi Pada Sirsasana Yoganidrasana, ( sa, योगनिद्रासन) or Yogic Sleep Pose is a reclining forward-bending asana in modern yoga as exercise. It is sometimes called Supta Garbhasana (Reclining Embryo Pose). The name Dvi Pada Sirsasana is given to t ...

is given to the balancing form of the pose. In hatha yoga, the pose was used in Pasini Mudra, the noose mudra, a seal to prevent the escape of prana; it was not an asana.

Etymology and origins as a mudra

The name of this pose comes from योग ''yoga'' meaning "uniting", निद्र ''nidra'' meaning "sleep", and आसन ''āsana'' meaning "posture" or "seat". The asana's name derives from the yogic sleep mentioned in the Hindu epic ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

'': Yoganidrasana is described in the 17th century '' Haṭha Ratnāvalī'' 3.70. The pose is illustrated in an 18th century painting of the eight yoga chakras in Mysore. It is illustrated as "Pasini Mudra" (not an asana) in

Theos Bernard Theos Casimir Hamati Bernard (1908–1947) was an explorer and author, known for his work on yoga and religious studies, particularly in Tibetan Buddhism. He was the nephew of Pierre Arnold Bernard, "Oom the Omnipotent", and like him became a yo ...

's 1943 book '' Hatha Yoga: The Report of A Personal Experience''. Pasini Mudra is described in the '' Gheranda Samhita'' 3.84: "Throw the two legs on the neck towards the back, holding them strongly together like a noose (Paśa). This is called Paśini Mudra; it awakens the Shakti (

Kundalini In Hinduism, Kundalini ( sa, कुण्डलिनी, translit=kuṇḍalinī, translit-std=IAST, lit=coiled snake, ) is a form of divine feminine energy (or ''Shakti'') believed to be located at the base of the spine, in the ''muladhara'' ...

)." In the 20th century, the pose appears as an asana in works such as the 1966 '' Light on Yoga''.

Description

In Yoganidrasana, the back is on the ground, the feet are crossed behind the head, and the arms are wrapped around the legs and body, the hands clasped behind the lower back. The effect is of a strong forward bend; B. K. S. Iyengar rates its difficulty as 18 out of 60. The practice is said to warm the body rapidly. In Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, the pose is in the intermediate series.

Variations

Dvi Pada Sirsasana (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

द्विपाद शीर्षासन ''dvi pāda śīrṣāsana'' lit. "two foot head pose", called in English "Both Feet Behind the Head pose") has the same limb positions, but the body is balanced upright. This is difficult, as there is a tendency to fall backwards. A preparatory pose, also advanced, is Eka Pada Sirsasana, in which just one foot is placed behind the head. The names of both poses are confused in the literature. '' Light on Yoga'' uses the name Eka Pada Sirsasana both for the preparation for Dvi Pada Sirsasana, and for a headstand with one leg up, one leg down, a variation of

Sirsasana Shirshasana (Sanskrit: शीर्षासन, IAST: śīrṣāsana) Salamba Shirshasana, or Yoga Headstand is an inverted asana in modern yoga as exercise; it was described as both an asana and a mudra in classical hatha yoga, under differ ...

. In Sivananda Yoga, as described by

Vishnudevananda Saraswati Vishnudevananda Saraswati (31 December 1927 – 9 November 1993) was an Indian Modern yoga gurus, yoga guru known for his teaching of asanas, a disciple of Sivananda Saraswati, and founder of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres, International Siv ...

, the pose with both feet behind the head is named "Dwipada Sirasan" (sic) and "head-knee pose"; other authors treat Dvi Pada

(a Headstand variation) and

Janusirsasana Pashchimottanasana ( sa, पश्चिमोत्तानासन, translit=paścimottānāsana), Seated Forward Bend, or Intense Dorsal Stretch is a seated forward-bending asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise. Janusirsasana is a ...

(Head to Knee Pose, a forward bend) as quite different poses. In the 19th century ''

Sritattvanidhi The ''Sritattvanidhi'' (, "The Illustrious Treasure of Realities") is a treatise written in the 19th century in Karnataka on the iconography and iconometry of divine figures in South India. One of its sections includes instructions for, and ill ...

'', a pose named Aranyachatakasana, the Forest Sparrow Pose, is described and illustrated. It matches ''Light on Yoga''s description of Dvi Pada Sirsasana.

In literature

The pose appears in Barbara Henning's 2005 novel ''You, Me and the Insects'', where the protagonist travels to India to study with a meditation and hatha yoga master.

References

Sources