Gomukhasana ( sa, गौमुखासन;

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...

: ''Gomukhāsana'') or Cow Face Pose is a seated

asana An asana is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and later extended in hatha yoga ...

hatha yoga Haṭha yoga is a branch of yoga which uses physical techniques to try to preserve and channel the vital force or energy. The Sanskrit word हठ ''haṭha'' literally means "force", alluding to a system of physical techniques. Some haṭha ...

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 ...

, sometimes used for

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

Etymology and origins

The name comes from the Sanskrit गौ ''go'' meaning "cow", मुख ''mukha'' meaning "face" or "mouth", and आसन ''āsana'' meaning "posture" or "seat". The crossed legs are said to look like a cow's mouth, while the bent elbows supposedly look like a cow's ears. The pose is ancient as it is described in the '' Darshana Upanishad'' (3.3–4), written around the 4th century. For instance, it is listed and described within the 84 asanas in the 17th-century '' Haṭha Ratnāvalī'' (3.7–20). However, the current form of Gomukhasana with the hands behind the back is mentioned only in such ancient tantric texts as the ''

Ahirbudhnya Samhita The ''Ahirbudhnya Saṃhitā'' belongs to the Pancharatra religion,it is a Vaishnava tantrika composition, and was composed possibly over several centuries within the 1st millennium CE, after 300 CE. Ahirbudhnya-Saṃhitā literally means a compend ...

''. It is sometimes used for

and

pranayama Pranayama is the yogic practice of focusing on breath. In Sanskrit, '' prana'' means "vital life force", and ''yama'' means to gain control. In yoga, breath is associated with ''prana'', thus, pranayama is a means to elevate the '' prana'' ''s ...

Description

The pose is entered from kneeling by crossing the legs; the heel of the upper leg is tucked in under the lower thigh near the buttock. The arm on the lower leg side is raised, the forearm bent down, while the other arm reaches down behind the back, the forearm bent up, so the hands can clasp between the shoulder blades. The sitting position can be modified either by putting a folded blanket on the heels, and if need be also one beneath them. The pose stretches the shoulders. The hand position can be modified using a strap to extend the reach for those who cannot bring the hands together behind the back. The pose is contra-indicated for people with a

rotator cuff The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the human shoulder and allow for its extensive range of motion. Of the seven scapulohumeral muscles, four make up the rotator cuff. The four muscles are the supraspi ...

injury. Preparatory poses for Gomukhasana include

Baddha Konasana Baddha Konasana ( sa, बद्धकोणासन ; IAST: ''baddhakoṇāsana''), Bound Angle Pose, Butterfly Pose, or Cobbler's Pose (after the typical sitting position of Indian cobblers when they work), and historically called Bhadrasana, Th ...

and

Garudasana Garudasana ( sa, गरुडासन; IAST: ''Garuḍāsana'') or Eagle Pose is a standing balancing asana in modern yoga as exercise. The name was used in medieval hatha yoga for a different pose. Etymology and origins The name comes from ...

. Counter poses include

Dandasana Pashchimottanasana ( sa, पश्चिमोत्तानासन, translit=paścimottānāsana), Seated Forward Bend, or Intense Dorsal Stretch is a seated forward-bending asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise. Janusirsasana is a v ...

Paschimottanasana Pashchimottanasana ( sa, पश्चिमोत्तानासन, translit=paścimottānāsana), Seated Forward Bend, or Intense Dorsal Stretch is a seated forward-bending asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise. Janusirsasana is a ...

, and Purvottanasana.

Etymology and origins

Description

See also

References

Further reading