Duck Pose · Karandavasana

Karandavasana · 카란다바사나 · 히말라야 거위 자세

Intermediate Series · Nadi Shodhana (Nerve Cleansing) — Leg-Behind-Head & Arm Balances

Breath: 5 · Drishti (gaze): nose tip

From forearm stand, fold the legs into lotus in mid-air, lower the knees slowly onto the upper arms, and lift back up on the strength of the bandhas. Intermediate's storied gate — both the controlled descent and the return are built over years.

Alignment

Hands — forearms pinned, shoulders pressing the floor away
Feet — the lotus folds in mid-air, insteps hooking the thighs
Knees — lowering with control onto the backs of the upper arms, then lifting again
Gaze — the nose tip, counting the breath all the way down

Entering the pose

In pincha, fold the lotus mid-air
Lower the knees slowly to the upper arms
The bandhas lift you back up

Common mistakes

An uncontrolled descent
Rebounding up with a whipped, arched back

Modifications & props

Practice it in three pieces — holding Pincha, folding lotus fast while seated, lifting the body in lotus — assembly comes last.
Lowering only, then simply exiting from the landing, is a respectable stage; the lift can be years away.
A teacher supporting the pelvis is this pose's traditional pedagogy — it was never meant to be completed alone.

Benefits

Extreme core control while inverted
Completes the bandha-driven lift
The storied gate of the Intermediate series

Role in the sequence

Widely named the hardest pose of Intermediate — its comprehensive exam. Standing in Pincha Mayurasana, a lotus is folded in mid-air, lowered to rest on the upper arms, then lifted back up: forearm balance, lotus, and bandha control — the series' three branches of skill — all staked on one movement. Rising is several times harder than descending, making it the final version of the retrieving strength first learned in Laghu Vajrasana.

Practice notes

Karandava is the name of a Himalayan duck. From a forearm stand you fold the legs into lotus, lower that lotus slowly onto the upper arms, and lift it back up. It is widely counted the hardest pose of the Intermediate Series because it needs strength, balance and lotus all at once.

Coming down usually works; going back up usually does not. The lift comes from the back and the lower belly rather than the arms, and the centre of gravity has to return exactly over the elbows for the body to follow. Dropping uncontrolled on the way down removes the point you would have lifted from, so the speed of the descent is the ability to ascend.

Breaking it into stages is the standard method: hold a steady five breaths on the forearms; build the lotus there; lower a little way onto the upper arms and return; and only then sit all the way down and come up. Spending months, sometimes years, on the third stage is ordinary — that is the path, not a delay.

Two checks: do the elbows stay put while the lotus is built, and is the lower belly engaged so the back does not bow as you lower? Practise facing a wall, but with a hand's width of distance, so it catches you rather than holds you.

Fold the lotus in pincha only; lower at the wall.

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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