Yoga as Therapeutic Exercise: A Practical Guide for Manual Therapists

Selected aSelected asanas̄̄sanas Selected aSelected āsanas̄sanas

•    Place  a   thicker folded  blanket or  a   brick   or  

if necessary the blanket on top of the brick

underneath both buttocks.

•    Use    a   belt    around  the foot    of  the straight    leg 

(Figure 7.68).

•    Place  a   rolled  towel   underneath  the lower   shin    

bone of the bent leg (Figure 7.6 9 ).

19. Baddha Ko āsana (Figure 7.70)

Meaning of the āsana and its name

Baddha means bound, held. Ko a is an angle. In

this posture the angle of the knees is as small as

possible, the hands are holding the feet. In India

shoe- makers spend most of their time in this posi-

tion. The posture develops mobility, it teaches

you to lift the spine and trunk, and awareness of

symmetry.

Getting into the posture

1. Sit on the floor with straight legs.


2. Bend your knees and move your feet as close as
   possible towards the pelvis without using the
   hands, to learn how far your knees can bend on
   their own.


3. Bring the soles of your feet together and let the
   knees sink towards the floor.


4. Holding your ankles with your hands, move the
   feet towards the pelvis as far as possible without
   straining the knees.


5. The soles of the feet are together in the central
   plane of the body; the outer edges of the feet are
   on the floor.


6. Hold the feet with your hands close to the
   toes; if you cannot lift well with this hand
   position, hold a short belt loop around your
   feet (Figure 7.70), or hold your ankles with
   your hands (Figure 7.71).

Figure 7.70

Figure 7.71