Yoganidrasana

Despite the name, this is neither the relaxation practice known today as yoga nidra nor a posture from the classical texts — it is a twentieth-century shape that borrowed a suggestive name.

• Deeply stretches the hips, hamstrings, and groins through the legs-behind-head position
• Opens the shoulders and upper back as the arms bind around the calves
• Offers an intense internal focus once settled, often used as a near-meditative hold
• Builds significant flexibility in the hip joints over consistent practice
• Provides a full release of the outer hips when the pose is entered gradually and without strain

1. Lie on the back and draw both knees towards the chest.
2. Take the right leg behind the head, then the left, crossing the ankles.
3. Reach the arms around the outside of the thighs and clasp the hands behind the back.
4. Rest the back of the pelvis on the floor rather than rolling onto the neck.
5. Breathe slowly for three to five breaths.
6. Release one leg at a time and rest with the knees bent.

• Forcing a leg behind the head before the hips are adequately open: build hip flexibility with simpler openers first.
• Straining the neck by pushing the head down onto crossed ankles: keep the head resting naturally rather than forcing contact.
• Yanking the legs into position quickly: move slowly, breathing through resistance rather than pushing past it.
• Collapsing the lower back into a hard rounded curve: keep some length in the spine even as the legs come in close.

• Easier: work on single Eka Pada Sirsasana, one leg behind the head, before attempting both.
• Easier: use a strap around the upper back and feet to assist the bind without forcing the shoulders.
• Harder: fully clasp the hands or wrists behind the back once both legs are in place.
• Harder: hold the pose in stillness for an extended, meditative duration once the position is secure.

Yoganidrasana translates roughly as yogic sleep pose, and the deeply folded, self-contained shape is traditionally associated with a state of profound internal withdrawal, pratyahara, the senses turning inward as the body closes in on itself. Slow, minimal breathing is typical once the position is settled, reflecting the pose's traditional framing as an advanced meditative seal rather than an active stretch.

Because the practitioner is on their back, the spine is supported and the neck carries less than in the seated versions, which is why many people find this more accessible than dvi pada sirsasana. The limit is hip external rotation and flexion; the hands clasping under the back should not be used to crank the legs deeper. Breathing stays possible only if the throat is left open, and that is the honest test of whether the posture is available today.