Notes
The asymmetry of this pose reveals how our preferences for habitually using one side of
the body (our sidedness) is exhibited in the back muscles. Janu sirsasana can also reveal
sidedness in the relative stability or mobility of the SI joints. Everyone has an “easy” and a
“hard” side in this pose because of the inherent asymmetries of the human body.
The more mobile the SI joint is on the side of the flexed leg, the easier it is to turn and
face the extended leg. This is especially true as the spine extends toward the extended leg.
As hip flexion deepens, less spinal flexion is required. Because this further limits the rotation
in the lumbar spine, more movement then needs to happen at the SI joint.
It is very common to overmobilize the SI joint in janu sirsasana. This happens when the
pose is pushed or flexed too forcefully and movement is directed into one joint, rather than
distributed through several joints. In this pose, as in many others, a little movement in a lot
of places will give you the most range of motion without demanding too much movement
in any single joint. To find this distribution of movement through the joints, it is important
to identify the joints that move most easily (and encourage them to do less) and the joints
that move less easily (and encourage them to do more).
Alternately, immobility of the pelvic joint can lead to excessive torque in the bent-leg
knee joint. Many yogis report meniscus tears occurring as they move into this pose. This
happens in a partially flexed knee as the pelvis flexes forward, taking the femur with it,
which grinds the medial femoral condyle into the medial meniscus. Ensuring that the bent
leg is truly fully flexed will move the meniscus safely to the back of the joint.
All this points to the fact that the potential stresses to the spine and SI, hip, and knee
joints need to be evenly distributed so that no one structure takes all the force of this pose.
Breathing
The breath can be very helpful while moving into this pose. Emphasizing the action of the
exhalation deepens the flexion at the pelvis, whereas emphasizing the action of the inhala-
tion assists in extending the upper spine. This will only occur if the exhalation is initiated
with the lower abdominal muscles and the inhalation is directed toward the rib cage.
It is interesting to experiment with the opposite pattern of breath just to create a contrast:
Try exhaling by compressing the chest and inhaling into the belly region. Notice the effect
on the asana compared with the first suggestions.
Janu Sirsasana (continued)