Hot Yoga Pose Forums > Supta Vajrasana: Fixed Firm Pose
My hips are down in this pose, but my knees always hurt! Is it OK to go into the full extension with your knees in a V? The wider apart they are, the better they feel.
KristinaS
Yes that's fine Kristina: working your knees together when you're all the way down on your back can be a gradual ( and wonderful) thing; just keep on keeping those hips to the floor.
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
A few months ago I felt soooo much better in this pose when I tried doing exactly what Kristina said; keeping my knees wide apart then trying to keep them closer together once I was down on the floor. nice !
AlexandriaS
Just like enlightenment, it's a work in progress a little at a time
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
:)
AlexandriaS
I adore this pose. It makes me feel opened up and relaxed after all the serious exertion of the back strengthening series. One small detail that evades me: how to grab opposite elbow tips while ALSO having your wrists/forearms on the ground instead of poking up?
Also - I'm working steadily on closing the gap between my lower back and the floor. Some days I can sink further down on my exhales, other days it feels much more 'stuck'.
Melina
I love this pose too - sometimes I offer my students a "double-set" option.
So - first you grab the opposite elbow tips overhead; then you gradually pull the wrists and forearms to the ground. Like most hot yoga pose adjustments, this one is a back-and-forth checking in on your effort in these two opposite directions.
Some people do this pose as a "backbend: keeping the lower back way up and off the floor. I prefer to sink my lower back while at the same time pushing the hips and ribcage down which makes it more of lower-back lengthening.
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
As I often do yoga at 530am and then again the same day at 615pm, I notice major differences in what I can do. In the morning, going all the way back is very difficult but come the night class, I'm flat as a pancake! I always work on getting my knees together as that is what I work on. I think the biggest challenge for me in this pose is COMING OUT OF IT. It's like "oh, hey knees, how are you" and they are screaming.
HeatherS
Heather, it's common that after a day of walking/bending/using those knees, the feel more oiled and more willing to yield for you in Supta Vajrasana. In the morning, think of this pose as instant circulation for the knees but realize they've been sleeping and, as with all sleeping babies, wake them gently. Depend on your forearms to support you as you ease in and come up out of this pose and keep your knees in that V shape for a while at least....ease both into and out of the pose gently and be mindful of those knees - they want attention and hey, for all they for you they deserve it so don't make them scream before they get yours!
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
I usually need to separate my knees in the first set, and sometimes cant lie back in the first set either. When I get there, on my back w arms overhead, breathing, it feels great. This one does hurt my knees about half the time, but its all worth it when you IN it!
KimA
As Rhonda mentioned above, be gentle on your knees and it is work in process one little step at a time Kim, no pushing yourself in the state of pain but gradually work your way into a feeling better position.
I love when we do double-sets of this pose. Love to get all the way down, grab the opposite elbows, and sing my lower back to the floor as low as possible. It does feel so good on my lower back, then deep belly breath and all gets realigned on its own. Sometimes, I could put the knees together but it is still work in progress. As I understand, your legs should be parallel when you start the pose but how should I bring the knees together and keep the right form. I am not sure about it. It is good to lift your body our of the pose and then I feel the best feeling in my knees like they just got oiled with something good and beneficial for them. I wonder how it works on the anatomical and chemical level? In other words, what "oils" the knees that it feels so good?
Alfia
Blood flow is that oil mostly, Alfia. The intense stretching in this pose across the knees - as well as ankles, and whole front side of the body - makes this a total stretching pose. Even the internal organs get stretched here.
But don't sink your lower back to the mat - instead, press your hips to the mat and press your ribcage inward towards your mldline.
You stlll want to maintain the bend of the lower back.
Bringing the knees together enhances that lower back lift
No, you dont have to start with the knees/legs parallel - most people do because its easier, and then walk the knees together once you're down on your back.
I love the double set, too. I could fall asleep in Supta Vajrasana its that relaxing to me.
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
A Supta Vajrasana nap sounds wonderful! This asana for me as well is a relaxing, deep stretching one. With chin tucked and deep belly breathing, its a wonder why I haven't fallen asleep in it before…
I love how you describe blood flow to the knees as the "oil" that Alfia is talking about in "the well-oiled knees" feeling following this pose. Great and accurate visual!
I have had confusing ideas about the role of the lower back in the full extension of this pose…some teachers' instruction lead me to think that I must lower my back to the mat with each deflation of the belly, while others speak in a way that makes me think of a deeply arched lower back with hips pressed to the mat. I personally like the feeling of the latter, though both ways feel good differently.
I tend to like the way that is pictured on the front of the Hot Yoga Master Book (Gabrielle Scanlon's), with the yogini arched back with firmly planted hips. It just feels so good. Is that the way of Supta Vajrasana? Or is there a middle road I don't know about yet?
Grace
I understand how you can get confused Grace regarding the role of the low back in this pose. I have heard teachers in other studios say make a "little bridge" out of your back. When i do this, then my low back and rib cage are arched up and i concentrate on pressing the hips to the mat.
I have also heard press the ribcage down and i'm wondering if they meant "inward towards your mldline" like Rhonda says above. When i do this then my low back definitely presses down closer to the mat.
Supta Vajrasana on the cover on the master book looks like a "little bridge" to me. Her low back is no where near the mat.
I'm not sure about the middle of the road way for Supta Vajrasana, I'll let Rhonda answer that one.
This pose stretches knees, ankles and front of the body, but i feel the stretch much more internally in my organs and this is a magnificant feeling. I've never felt this in a Zumba class! .
TinaA
i agree with you tina that it is confusing to make a little bridge out of the lower back and also press the rib cage down. i also agree that you get an amazing stretch down the front of your body and more. this is one of the poses that i feel doesn't get consistently better every time i do it. sometimes i can go down first set, other time second set or sometimes my right knee is not having it at all. when i had less muscle on my thigh i used to move the flab from the inner right knee over towards the outside of my knee before i sat back and that would make it easier to go back all the way. now that i have less fat there and more muscle it doesnt feel the same. i also like this pose because its a good time to get a longer water break
danielle bumber
personally I love this pose, I find it very calming and relaxing. Still working on getting my knees in closer, but over time it will happen
Becky
Love it or hate it, Supta Vajrasana can be just what the organs in the front of your body - liver, spleen, pancreas, digestive system - are longing for and never get otherwise: a good stretch, an opening for you to take deep belly breaths and finally feed those organs. Relax into it. This can be challenging if hips, knees or ankles are tight so take it slowly and ease into it - and never go back until your hlps are on the floor. Bringing the knees together, Becky, is a simple one knee-at-a time inwards walkng of the knees together; just be sure your knees stay connected to the ground and the hips as well, not popped up.
Tina and Danielle its true: "ribcage down and in towards the midline" sounds like an opposite movement to the rounded bridge of the lower back - know that your lower back will always be in that little natural arch - but you can maintain that without THRUSTING the ribcage up which is what many of us do when we lie on our backs and once you notice it, you can let it relax. Thrusting feels like s struggle, much like the instruction to be "standing up straight with shoulders down and gently back" is often confused with thrusting the chest forward and pulling the shoulders way back. There is a middle ground and it is not about struggle; it is about the ease of alignment. So let the ribs gently sink down - no need to push them down - and your lower back relax. Both areas will both find the place of alignment and to you, it will feel like ease and flow.
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
When I first started hot yoga, I was like "COOL! This is a pose that I used to do as a kid." I would sit with my legs bent back because it was comfortable, and it used to help with my growing pains (these pains would bring me to tears after soccer practice and even ballet). I could instantly get my hips to the mat and drop to full extension. What I didn't realize was that my knees would need to come together and my heels needed to be hugging my hips. So, I had to back out of the pose and work on form over depth; and this provided me with a much more meaningful stretch.
I like this part: "Supta Vajrasana can be just what the organs in the front of your body - liver, spleen, pancreas, digestive system - are longing for and never get otherwise: a good stretch, an opening for you to take deep belly breaths and finally feed those organs." I love this pose. No where else in my day do I get this feeling. There is something about ballooning my belly out and sinking down into this mat and targeting these organs in the front of my body that is just so empowering. I love holding this pose for a double set as I fee like my body gets that much more time to sink down and soak in the benefits.
I am a big fan of finding the natural arch of my back and breathing into lowering down to the mat. When I try to bring my shoulders more towards my hips, I get an aching feeling in my lower back. So, for me the natural arch being worked by conscious breathing is exactly what my body desires.
Brittany Yard
Looks like you found your Hot Sweet Spot Brittany - the pose that just makes you sigh with joy (just wait til they ALL become like that!)
You're right - pulling down on the shoulders can lead to more arch of the lower back which can be painful - but pulling the collarbones apart will level the shoulderblades to the mat, spread open the chest and ribs, and allow you to relax the lower back into that natural arch and enjoy it even more. Give that a try and let us know how that goes
We all love doing things we did as kids....isnt it interesting that we tend to think of children as needing to be taught rather than recognizing their - our - inherent wisdom?
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
What I love most about this pose is when I come out and turn around and lie down in Savasana when the RUSH of blood flows through my legs especially the knees, calves and ankles. I can get my hips down to the mat easily although I am very careful going back when Iie on my back. Sometimes my lower back is tighter than other times and I focus on tilting my hips down to lower the lower back to the mat. I like the double set and this gives time to more fully relax. But again, I love the Rush of blood in the legs once the pose is over.
Lisa O'Rourke
I agree, Lisa! The feeling of blood rushing into the knees and legs when you come out of this pose is amazing. This is one of my favorite poses- I feel like it's so relaxing, and so rewarding. I did not get into the extension of this pose for months, and when I had first started, I really didn't think I was going to. I thought I just had too much scar tissue in my knees or something. But then one time, an instructor gave me the cue to spread my knees out into a V, and another instructor literally got on the floor next to me to show me the hip wiggle move. I did that for a couple of months, and now it's effortless to lie down on my back (and it feels awesome!).
Chrissy Graziano
Its fantastic when effort turns to effortless turns to awesome...the transition is always easier than you imagine in hot yoga.
There's no question that realization of a tight lower back, Lisa, and scar tissue in the knee Chrissy can grab your attention ...but once you realize that you can take your time and ease your way in, the physical body seems approachable again and the asana becomes the way in.
I love this pose too mostly for the way it feels on my Freedom Muscle - that part of me that feels completely open to all possibilities which happens when I stretch out in this languid pose.
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
This is an amazing pose. So many opportunities to feel stretching in the front of your body. My focus is on the ankles. Being a runner for so many years really tightened up my ankles. I also had surgery WAY back in high school for breaking both bones in my left ankle. I am working out that stiffness and increasing my range of motion. I am really focusing on pointing my toes to the back wall and having the tops of my feet to the mat. I cant' sit hips to the mat now but I know that will come and it feels great stretching the tops of my feet and ankles,
Jeanne
I relate most to Brittany in this pose. I am incredibly comfortable. I always look forward to this pose. It is almost like a savasana to me. I can bring my knees completely together and begin relaxing into my lower back. It feels really good on my quads, I feel the stretch all the way down the front.
Stephanie
Bad knees beware: this pose is about to change all that! But first you have to get your hips to the ground. So spend some time wiggling those hips down before you lean back into this pose. It's worth the wait.