Little Thunderbolt · Laghu Vajrasana
Laghu Vajrasana · 라구 바즈라사나 · 작은 벼락 자세
Intermediate Series · Nadi Shodhana (Nerve Cleansing) — Backbend Sequence
Breath: 5 · Drishti (gaze): third eye
From camel, hold the lower legs and lower the crown to the feet on an exhale — then rise on an inhale by thigh strength alone. The return is the pose; it forges the strength and control kapotasana will demand.
Alignment
- Hands — holding the ankles (or thighs), arms straight as struts
- Feet — insteps pressing down, anchoring the lower body
- Knees — never leaving the floor, hips pressing forward
- Gaze — the third eye, breathing steady until the crown meets the soles
Entering the pose
- From camel, hold the lower legs
- Exhale, lower the crown toward the feet
- Inhale, let the thighs bring you up
Common mistakes
- Descending with no strength left to rise
- Hanging off the arms on the way down
Modifications & props
- Descending halfway and returning, again and again, is a hundred times better than reaching the floor once and being stranded.
- A bolster where the head will land — the certainty that failure is safe — lets the thighs commit fully.
- The moment the hips sink toward the heels, stop descending; vertical thighs are this pose's contractual term.
Benefits
- Thigh strength held inside a backbend
- The controlled descent and rise prepares kapotasana
- Strengthens the spine's extension
Role in the sequence
The bridge of strength set between Ustrasana and Kapotasana. Holding the knees, the head lowers all the way back to the floor — and the assignment is coming back up: what is examined is not the flexibility of descent but the thigh strength of return. Only with that strength can a body lowered into Kapotasana retrieve itself, which is why tradition calls this pose Kapotasana's key.
Practice notes
Laghu means little and vajra means thunderbolt. Kneeling upright, you arch back until the crown of the head touches the floor, hold the ankles or calves, and then come back up. This is the first pose in the Intermediate Series where going down is easier than getting up again.
Gravity helps on the way down, so most people succeed there. The problem is returning after five breaths, and the engine for that is the thighs, not the arms. The shins press the floor beneath the knees, the quadriceps contract, and the body is drawn back up. The hands only hold; they do not pull.
If the return looks doubtful, do not go all the way to the crown. Descend as far as you can control, come back, and repeat. That is the safest progression available without a wall, and it is also the preparation for Kapotasana. Reaching the floor with no way back up leaves nothing but collapsing sideways.
Two checks: are the thighs staying close to vertical (once the hips sink toward the heels this stops being a backbend and becomes lying down), and is the neck comfortable enough to carry the crown on the floor?
The rise comes first — practice going halfway down.
Written by Choi Seongjin — 20 years of Ashtanga practice, currently teaching three classes a week. Last updated: .
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
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