JĀNU ŚIRṢĀSANA (HEAD TO KNEE POSE)

JĀNU ŚIRṢĀSANA (HEAD TO KNEE POSE)

Jānu Śirṣāsana, also known as head to knee pose, is a deep forward bend that stretches the hamstrings and opens the hips.

Start by sitting down on your mat. Bring your legs forward and sit on your sitting bones. It is important to sit fully on the sitting bones and you can do so by moving the flesh of the buttocks away to the sides, away from each other. Have full awareness of the sitting bones pressing down into the ground. Keep your feet together and ensure that the legs are straight. Bend your right knee and externally rotate the leg, placing the foot against the left inner thigh close to the pelvis. Press the foot firmly into the thigh, making sure there is no gap. Lengthen your spine upward and lift your sternum up. Open the chest and draw the shoulders back. Turn your torso slightly toward the left leg, keeping the hips squared. Raise your arms up on an inhalation, and exhale bend forward and down over the left leg. Grab hold of the foot with both hands, and ensure that the foot stays flexed. Then work on lengthening the spine by drawing the sternum forward, and away from the pelvis. Avoid rounding the upper back and keep the neck aligned with the spine. Place your forehead on your left leg, or rest the chin on the chin as an alternative. Stay for 5 - 10 deep breaths and then repeat on the other side.

If you have tight hamstrings you can sit on a folded blanket or block. The raised hips will assist in the post and reduce pressure on the hamstrings and back. It will allow you to sit more comfortably. If you have any pain or discomfort in the knee, you can place a blanket under the knee as support. If you cant reach your foot with your hands, then use a strap around the foot. Avoid overextending the spine and thereby rounding the back to go down. Keep the spine lengthened and come forward only as far as the body allows. As an advanced variation, you can place the foot in the crease of the left groin and bend over the left leg.

One of the benefits of this posture is that it stretches the hamstrings, the calves and the groins. It lengthens the spine and stretches the kidney area. It gives a gentle massage to the internal organs as the belly gets drawn in. It is a calming pose for the mind and helps with relieving depression, anxiety and fatigue.

The contra indications are knee injuries and back injuries. Use blankets as a support for the knee to protect it and also to sit on to relieve pressure on the back.