Bhadrasana

The Gheranda Samhita gives bhadrasana with the soles pressed together, the hands holding the feet and the gaze fixed — and calls it the destroyer of every disease, the language the text reserves for its most useful seats. Held with a straight spine it is both a hip opener and a stable meditation posture, and in several lineages it is the seat taken for jalandhara bandha because the base is so broad and settled. The classical instruction to hold the feet and gaze at a single point is the whole practice: a wide, quiet base beneath an upright spine and an unmoving attention.

1. Sit on a folded blanket, knees bent, soles of the feet together in front of you.
2. Draw the heels a comfortable distance toward the pelvis — closer is not better.
3. Hold the feet or ankles with the hands, or rest the hands on the thighs.
4. Let the knees fall open; place cushions under the outer thighs if they hang.
5. Lengthen the spine, soften the shoulders, fix the gaze on one point.
6. Hold three to ten minutes with slow, even breathing.
7. To release, lift the knees together with the hands and extend the legs.

The position requires hip external rotation and abduction, and the knees descend only as far as the hips allow. Pressing the knees down with the hands is the one thing to avoid: it loads the medial knee structures rather than the hip. Sitting on a folded blanket tips the pelvis forward and lets the thighs release more readily — the same adjustment that makes every seated posture easier to hold. Long, gentle holds increase tolerance far more reliably than forceful pressing, and support under the outer thighs allows the muscles to release instead of guarding. As a restorative variation, reclining over a bolster in this leg position is a well-tolerated way to settle the nervous system.