Asana · Learn with a teacher
Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana
Standing half-bound lotus forward fold
Standing half-bound lotus forward fold. One foot in half lotus, bound from behind, folding over the standing 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, uttana = intense stretch, asana = seat or posture
- Family
- Standing forward bend
- Level
- Advanced
- Gaze
- Nose
Take care
Half lotus loads the knee. Never force the foot into place; learn this with a teacher, and use the tree-foot modification if the knee complains.
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 Samasthiti, draw the right foot into half lotus at the top of the left thigh.
- 2
Breathe out
Reach the right arm behind the back to hold the right foot, if it comes.
- 3
Breathe out
Fold forward and place the left hand beside the standing foot. Stay for five breaths.
- 4
Breathe in
Lift the head, come up, release, and repeat on the other side.
Holding it
Five breaths on each side.
Making it easier
Rest the foot against the inner thigh in tree position, without the bind, and fold only halfway.
What the tradition says it does
- Opens the hip of the bent leg
- Stretches the hamstrings of the standing leg
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