Garbha Pindasana ( sa , ङर्भ Pइण्डआसन, IAST: ''Garbha Piṇḍāsana''), Embryo in Womb Pose, sometimes shortened to Garbhasana, is a seated balancing asana in hatha yoga and modern

yoga as exercise Yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting mainly of postures, often connected by flowing sequences, sometimes accompanied by breathing exercises, and frequently ending with relaxation lying down or meditation. Yoga in this form has ...

. The pose is identical to Uttana Kurmasana, the inverted tortoise pose, except that the body is on the back in that pose instead of balancing upright.

Etymology and origins

The name comes from the Sanskrit words ''garbha'' meaning "womb"; ''piṇḍa'', meaning "embryo" or "foetus"; and ''āsana'' (आसन) meaning "posture" or "seat". The pose is described in the 17th century '' Bahr al-Hayāt''. revised from American Academy of Religions conference, San Francisco, 19 November 2011. The limb positions of Garbha Pindasana are identical to those in Uttana Kurmasana, which is illustrated in the 19th century ''

Sritattvanidhi The ''Sritattvanidhi'' (, "The Illustrious Treasure of Realities") is a treatise written in the 19th century in Karnataka on the iconography and iconometry of divine figures in South India. One of its sections includes instructions for, and ill ...

''.

Description

The legs are crossed in Padmasana; practitioners who cannot easily keep the feet in Padmasana may cross the legs in Sukhasana. The arms are threaded through behind the knees, and the hands then reach up to grasp the ears. The body is then balanced on the

coccyx The coccyx ( : coccyges or coccyxes), commonly referred to as the tailbone, is the final segment of the vertebral column in all apes, and analogous structures in certain other mammals such as horses. In tailless primates (e.g. humans and othe ...

(the tailbone). In Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, the pose is in the primary series.

Variations

The arm position may be varied. Another form is the reclining Supta Garbhasana with the ankles crossed behind the neck, the same as

Yoganidrasana Yoganidrasana, ( sa, योगनिद्रासन) or Yogic Sleep Pose is a reclining forward-bending asana in modern yoga as exercise. It is sometimes called Supta Garbhasana (Reclining Embryo Pose). The name Dvi Pada Sirsasana is given to t ...

Claims

Twentieth century advocates of some schools of yoga, such as B. K. S. Iyengar, made claims for the effects of yoga on specific organs, without adducing any evidence. Iyengar claimed that this pose makes the blood circulate well around the abdominal organs, which are "contracted completely", keeping them "in trim".

References

Sources