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Baddha Konasana (Sanskrit: बद्धकोणासन; IAST: baddhakoṇāsana), Bound Angle Pose, [1] Butterfly Pose, [2] or Cobbler's Pose (after the typical sitting position of Indian cobblers when they work), [3] and historically called Bhadrasana, [4] Throne Pose, [4] is a seated asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise.
[9] [10] Baddha Konasana is a safer alternative, provided the knees are not pushed down. [11] A simple modern meditation stool, used to assist in sitting with the back upright and the legs crossed. Cushman notes that since meditation is not a posture, no particular posture is required.
A single asana is listed for each main pose, whether or not there are variations. Thus for Sirsasana (Yoga headstand), only one pose is illustrated, although the pose can be varied by moving the legs apart sideways or front-and-back, by lowering one leg to the floor, by folding the legs into lotus posture, by turning the hips to one side, by placing the hands differently on the ground, and so on.
The practice of yoga as exercise is modern, though some of the asanas are ancient and many more are medieval. A band or strap of cloth was however used in ancient times, some 2000 years ago, to support the body in one asana in particular; this device was the yogapaṭṭa, a term defined in Monier Monier-Williams's Sanskrit-English dictionary.
In the Supported Headstand (Salamba Shirshasana), the body is completely inverted, and held upright supported by the forearms and the crown of the head. [9] In his Light on Yoga, B. K. S. Iyengar uses a forearm support, with the fingers interlocked around the head, for the basic posture Shirshasana I and its variations; he demonstrates a Western-style tripod headstand, the palms of the hands ...
In pregnancy, the pose can be practised as "Wall Butterfly", with the buttocks and feet against a wall, feet together as in Baddha Konasana, the knees falling to the sides. The hands can be used to press the knees.
To enter the pose from sitting, the knees are bent, and the body's weight is shifted back until the soles of the feet lift off the ground. In the pose, the body is balanced on the sitting bones, not leaning right back on to the tailbone.
Utkata Konasana, Goddess Pose, has the legs wide apart, the feet turned outwards in line with the thighs, and the knees bent. The arms are usually raised with the elbows bent; variants have the arms straight up, or the hands may be held in Añjali Mudrā , prayer position in front of the chest.