Asana · Learn with a teacher
Supta Kurmasana
Sleeping tortoise pose
Sleeping tortoise pose. Kurmasana with the hands bound behind the back and the feet crossed in front of the head.
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
- supta = reclined or sleeping, kurma = tortoise, asana = seat or posture
- Family
- Seated forward bend
- Level
- Advanced
- Gaze
- Third eye
Take care
Do not attempt this without a teacher. Avoid with any disc, hip or shoulder injury.
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 out
From Kurmasana, bend the knees, bring the hands behind the back and bind.
- 2
Breathe freely
Cross the feet in front of the head. This is usually entered with a teacher's help. Stay for five breaths.
Holding it
Five breaths.
Making it easier
Stay in Kurmasana.
What the tradition says it does
- Deeply flexes the spine and hips
Variations
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