Asana · Learn with a teacher
Ardha Baddha Padma Paschimottanasana
Half-bound lotus seated forward fold
Half-bound lotus seated forward fold. One foot in half lotus, bound from behind, folding over the straight leg.
Awaiting subject reviewWritten from our source material and not yet checked by a teacher of this practice. Read it as reference, and learn the practice from someone who teaches it.
- Meaning
- ardha = half, baddha = bound, padma = lotus, paschima = the back of the body, uttana = intense stretch
- Family
- Seated forward bend
- Level
- Advanced
- Gaze
- Toes
Take care
Half lotus loads the knee. Learn it with a teacher, and never force the foot into place.
Learn this with a teacher
This page is for reading. The practice itself should be learned in person from someone who teaches it, so there are no practice controls here.
Find a teacherHow it is done
- 1
Breathe in
From Dandasana, draw the right foot into half lotus at the top of the left thigh.
- 2
Breathe out
Reach the right arm behind to hold the right foot, if it comes, and hold the left foot with the left hand.
- 3
Breathe out
Fold over the straight leg. Stay for five breaths, then change sides.
Holding it
Five breaths on each side.
Making it easier
Place the foot against the inner thigh, as in Janu Sirsasana, and leave out the bind.
What the tradition says it does
- Opens the hip of the bent leg
- Stretches the hamstrings
To prepare
Sources and tradition
- YOG Union App Content Map, 2 November 2026, p. 4
- Ashtanga Primary Series as commonly taught in the Mysore style; sequence order and counts await subject review