Dvi Pada Sirsasana

Both Legs Behind the Head Pose

dvi = two, pada = foot, sirsa = head

Written and reviewed by The Kriya Yogi · Updated 21 September 2026

Both legs crossed behind the head while balancing on the sitting bones.

Family: Seated
Level: advanced
Lineage: modern
Works on: hips · spine · core

The yogic view

A twentieth-century intermediate-series posture, not found in the classical texts.

How to practise

Take the right leg behind the head from a seated position.
Keep the chest lifted and the right ankle hooked, not slipping.
Draw the left knee in and walk the left foot up the left arm.
Cross the left ankle over the right behind the neck.
Balance on the sitting bones, hands in front of the chest.
Hold three breaths, then release one leg at a time and rest.

For seated or floor-based work, use a clean, stable surface. Our natural cork yoga mat offers a grounded 5 mm surface for regular practice.

What research shows

This asks for extreme hip external rotation with sustained spinal flexion, while the neck supports the weight of both legs. It is only sensible after the one-legged version is genuinely comfortable on both sides. The risk is concentrated in the cervical spine and the sacroiliac joints, and neither is well placed to argue.

Questions about Dvi Pada Sirsasana

+ How long should you hold Dvi Pada Sirsasana?

Five to ten slow breaths — about thirty to sixty seconds — works well for most practitioners, and one to two minutes if you are working specifically on range. Where the posture is one-sided, practise both sides for the same length of time. Let the breath decide: if it becomes short, held or noisy, you have stayed too long or gone too deep.

+ Is Dvi Pada Sirsasana suitable for beginners?

No — Dvi Pada Sirsasana is an advanced seated posture. It asks for strength, range and control that take a long time to build, and it is much better learned with in-person guidance than from a page. Work through the preparatory postures listed below first, and treat the full shape as a long-term project rather than a goal for this month.

+ What are the modifications for Dvi Pada Sirsasana?

Work with the shape rather than around it: reduce the range, shorten the lever by bending the nearest joint, and raise the floor toward you. Three adjustments apply to almost any posture: raise the hips on a folded blanket or cushion in seated work, bend the knees in anything that loads the back of the legs, and use a wall, chair or block to take weight and remove the fear of falling. A supported version practised often produces more change than a deep version practised rarely.

+ Who should avoid or modify Dvi Pada Sirsasana?

For Dvi Pada Sirsasana specifically: hip injury; neck injury; spinal injury. More generally, modify or skip it if you have an acute injury or recent surgery in the area it loads, if you are pregnant and have not been given individual guidance, or if the shape produces sharp, pinching, radiating or electric sensation. Numbness, tingling or pain travelling down a limb is a nerve signal to stop and be assessed, not to breathe through. This page is educational and is not medical advice.

+ What should you practise before and after Dvi Pada Sirsasana?

Prepare with Eka Pada Sirsasana (One Leg Behind the Head Pose), Yoganidrasana (Yogic Sleep Pose). Release afterwards with Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend), Shavasana (Corpse Pose). Both lists are links on this page, and either can be shortened when time is limited — but do not skip preparation for a posture that loads a joint at end range.

+ What does Dvi Pada Sirsasana mean in Sanskrit?

Dvi Pada Sirsasana translates as both legs behind the head pose — dvi = two, pada = foot, sirsa = head The name follows Sanskrit convention, but the posture itself is modern and is not described in the classical texts.

Prepare with

Release with

Cautions

hip injury
neck injury
spinal injury

More seated

Keep reading

Educational content, not medical advice. Check with a doctor before starting new practices if you have a health condition or are pregnant.