Gomukhasana

The Gheranda Samhita names this posture for its shape: the crossed legs and splayed knees are said to resemble a cow's face. The classical description is of the feet placed to either side of the hips and the body held upright — a seat, not a stretch. The arm clasp that most practitioners now associate with the posture belongs to the later tradition, where gomukhasana is used to open the chest and shoulders before pranayama so the upper ribs can move. The texts treat it as one of the postures that keeps disease away, which in their language points to the way it undoes habitual patterns: hips locked from long sitting, shoulders rolled forward from daily work.

1. From sitting, bend the right knee and place the right foot beside the left hip.
2. Cross the left leg over so the left foot rests beside the right hip, knees stacked.
3. Sit on a folded blanket if the hips will not settle or the spine rounds.
4. Raise the right arm, bend the elbow and drop the hand behind the neck.
5. Take the left arm behind the back, palm outward, and reach up to meet it — or hold a strap.
6. Lift the chest, keep the head neutral and the neck long.
7. Hold five to ten slow breaths, then repeat with the legs and arms reversed.

The leg position demands hip adduction combined with external rotation, and the arm position combines shoulder external rotation with internal rotation on opposite sides. Uneven capacity between the two sides is normal and not a defect. Where shoulder range is limited, forcing the hands together loads the shoulder joint capsule and the rotator cuff tendons; holding a strap between the hands gives the same lengthening without that load. Chest-opening positions measurably increase upper-ribcage expansion during inhalation, which is why they are useful before breath work. As with all sustained stretching, the gain comes from tolerable holds repeated over weeks, not from one forceful attempt.