RECLINING BOUND ANGLE POSE (supta baddha konasana)
Benefits
• Relaxes the mind and the central nervous system
• Helps relieve the symptoms of stress, mild depression, PMS and menopause
• Frees energy flow in pelvic area
• Stretches inner thigh and groin muscles
• Stimulates abdominal organs and improves mobility in digestive organs
Contra-indications
• Groin or knee injury: see Modifications & Variations
• Lower back injuries
Step by Step
Supta Baddha Konasana (SOUP-tah BAH-dah cone-NAHS-anna)
supta = lying down, reclining
baddha = bound
kona = angle
1. Lie supine on the floor. Bend your knees and place your feet together flat on the ground. Slide your heels comfortably close to the groins. Press the palms down into the floor beside the hips. As you exhale, contract abdominal muscles and move the tailbone under and towards the pubic bone. Feel how the pelvic tilt has lengthened the lower back and stabilises the spine. Maintain this pelvic tilt
2. With the next exhale, slowly allow your knees to naturally open and float towards the ground creating a stretch across the inner thighs and groin. If you feel discomfort in the knees, back, or groin or you feel the stretch is too deep, perform the supported version suggested in Modifications & Variations. Place the soles of the feet together as the outer edge of feet rest on the ground. Try to keep the heels close to the groins
3. Maintain the slight pelvic tilt to keep awareness to the lower back and to prevent the lower spine from moving into a forceful arch. Relax the shoulders after spreading the shoulder blades and moving the shoulders down and away from the neck. Place your arms 45 degrees away from the torso with the palms turned up
4. To settle into the pose, you may use your hands to slightly rotate the thighs externally (outwards) to create the effect that the inner groins are descending into the pelvis. Another way to visualise this is having the back of the pelvis spread while the hip points or front pelvis narrows. Resist any desire to force the knees toward the floor. Instead allow your knees to float or hover and set your focus on relaxing your groins deep into your pelvis. As your groins release toward the floor, so will your knees descend
5. Hold the pose unsupported for 30 seconds to 1 minute breathing slow and fully into the belly. If supported with cushions or blankets, comfortably hold the pose for 2 to 5 minutes. To exit the pose, exhale and contract abdominals. Gently press the lower back into the floor as you hold onto the outside of the thighs with your hands. As you inhale, use your hands to press the knees up and together. Once the knees are together, lift the feet and circle the knees in one direction several times and then circle the other direction. This will send a massaging motion in the hip joints and into the back of the pelvis through the sacral region. Hug the knees into the chest and rock side to side
Modifications
If you experience strain in the inner thighs and groins, slightly elevate your feet (a couple inches) with a block or cushion. You can relieve knee and groin strain more by supporting under each of your thighs with a thick cushion or folded blanket. The height of the support should be slightly above the maximum stretch of the groins. As you create each support, ensure both are the same height to prevent development of imbalances
• If you feel some discomfort in the neck or the chin continually lifts away from the chest, place a small, but firm pillow under the head. The head should be elevated slightly higher than the shoulders. This slight elevation of head will decrease the excess arching of the neck and reduce compression between the cervical vertebrae
