Bound Angle A·B · Baddha Konasana A·B

Baddha Konasana A·B · 받다 코나사나 · 나비 자세

Primary Series · Yoga Chikitsa (Yoga Therapy) — Seated Sequence

Breath: 5×2 · Drishti (gaze): nose tip

Soles together, heels drawn close, feet opened like a book while the spine stays tall. A folds from the hips with the chin reaching forward; B rounds the back to bring the crown toward the feet — never pressing the knees, letting breath open the inner hips.

Alignment

Hands — both hands open the feet like a book, elbows near the inner thighs
Feet — soles pressed together, heels drawn close to the perineum
Knees — never forced; they lower toward the floor on each exhale
Gaze — the nose tip (in B, the crown releases toward the floor beyond the feet)

Entering the pose

Soles together, heels drawn close
Open the feet like a book
Inhale lengthen, exhale fold

Common mistakes

Pressing the knees down with the hands
Rounding and leading with the head

Modifications & props

High-floating knees ask for heels a little farther from the perineum — the gentler angle lets them descend.
Blocks or blankets under both knees give the legs' weight somewhere to rest, and the inner thighs release first.
If B's rounded fold troubles the lower back, stop at A's flat fold and complete the breath count there.

Benefits

Opens the inner hips and adductors
Supports circulation around the pelvis
Restores hips stiffened by chair living

Role in the sequence

After the commotion of rolling and lifting, the sequence enters a quiet passage that faces the hips directly. Baddha Konasana opens it — the sole-to-sole shape traditionally described as supporting circulation through the pelvis. The adductor and external-rotation opening made here pre-builds half the angle that Upavistha and Supta Konasana are about to request.

Practice notes

Baddha means bound, kona means angle: the angle made by the soles pressed together and held by the hands. In India it also carries the name of the pose a cobbler sits in to work. It is easily mistaken for a knee-pressing pose, but the joint that actually has to open is the hip, not the knee.

A holds five breaths with the spine upright; B brings the chin or forehead to the floor in front of the feet for another five. Rounding the back and leading with the head into B leaves the hips exactly where they were and stretches only the lower back. The order of folding never changes: the pelvis tips first and the torso follows as a consequence.

Change over the months shows up not as lower knees but as heels drawing closer to the body. Pushing the knees down with the hands is a particularly costly habit, because before the hips are ready every bit of that force lands in the inner knee ligaments. Two checks: are the soles opening upward like a book, and is the chest open rather than the shoulders rolling forward? The knees come down on their own, given time.

Never press the knees down — let breath do the opening.

Written by Choi Seongjin — 20 years of Ashtanga practice, currently teaching three classes a week. Last updated: 2026-09-05.

This guide is for general information and is not medical advice. If you are pregnant, injured, or have a medical condition, consult a qualified teacher or physician before practising. Disclaimer & Legal Notice

Other poses in this sequence

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