Yoganidrasana

Yoganidrasana, (Sanskrit: योगनिद्रासन) or Yogic Sleep Pose is a reclining forward-bending asana in modern yoga as exercise. It is sometimes called Dvi Pada Sirsasana, but that name describes the balancing form of the pose.

Yoganidrasana

In hatha yoga, the pose, Pasini Mudra, was a mudra, a seal to prevent the escape of prana, not an asana.

Etymology and origins as a mudra
Vishnu asleep on Ananta. Deogarh Temple, Dasavatara

The name of this pose comes from योग​ yoga meaning "uniting", निद्र nidra meaning "sleep", and आसन āsana meaning "posture" or "seat".[1] The asana's name derives from the yogic sleep mentioned in the Hindu epic Mahabharata:[2]

[The Ocean] becomes the bed of the lotus-naveled Vishnu when at the termination of every Yuga that deity of immeasurable power enjoys yoga nidra, the deep sleep under the spell of spiritual meditation.

— Mahabharata, Book 1, section XXI

Yoganidrasana is described in the 17th century Haṭha Ratnāvalī 3.70.[3]

The pose is illustrated in an 18th century painting of the 8 yoga chakras in Mysore.[4]

The pose is illustrated as "Pasini Mudra" (not an asana) in Theos Bernard's 1943 book Hatha Yoga: The Report of A Personal Experience.[5] Pasini Mudra is described in the Gheranda Samhita 3.84: "Throw the two legs on the neck towards the back, holding them strongly together like a noose (Paśa). This is called Paśini Mudra; it awakens the Shakti (Kundalini)."[6]

The pose appears as an asana in the 20th century in works such as the 1966 Light on Yoga.[1]

Description

In Yoganidrasana, the back is on the ground, the feet are crossed behind the head, and the arms are wrapped around the legs and body, the hands clasped behind the lower back.[1][7] The effect is of a strong forward bend; B. K. S. Iyengar rates its difficulty as 18 out of 60.[1][8] The practice is said to warm the body rapidly.[1][9]

In Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, the pose is in the intermediate series.[7]

In Sivananda Yoga, as described by Vishnudevananda Saraswati, the pose is named "Dwipada Sirasan" (sic) and "head-knee pose"; other authors treat Dvi Pada Sirsasana and Janusirsasana as quite different poses.[10]

In literature

The pose appears in Barbara Henning's 2005 novel You, Me and the Insects, where the protagonist travels to India to study with a meditation and hatha yoga master.[11]

See also
  • Dvi Pada Sirsasana - an upright pose with a similar leg position
  • Garbha Pindasana - another upright pose with a similar arrangement
  • Uttana Kurmasana - a seated forward bending pose with a similar leg position
  • Yoganidra - "yogic sleep", a meditative reclining practice

References
  1. Iyengar 1979, pp. 304-307.
  2. "Mahabharata Book 1 Section XXI". Sacred Texts. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  3. Birch, Jason; Hargreaves, Jacqueline. "Yoganidrā". Embodied Philosophy. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  4. Sjoman, Norman E. (1999) [1996]. The Yoga Tradition of the Mysore Palace (2nd ed.). Abhinav Publications. pp. 80, 89, 96. ISBN 81-7017-389-2.
  5. Bernard, Theos (2007). Hatha yoga : the report of a personal experience. Harmony. p. 128, plate 27. ISBN 978-0-9552412-2-2. OCLC 230987898.
  6. Bhatt, Govardhan P. (2004). The Forceful Yoga: Being the Translation of Haṭhayoga-pradīpikā, Gheraṇḍa-saṁhitā and Śiva-saṁhitā. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 114. ISBN 978-81-208-2055-5.
  7. Maehle, Gregor (2012). Ashtanga Yoga - The Intermediate Series: Mythology, Anatomy, and Practice. New World Library. p. 144. ISBN 978-1-57731-987-0.
  8. Doane, Nicki; Modestini, Eddie (28 August 2007). "Get Wrapped Up in Yogic Sleep Pose". Yoga Journal. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  9. Vasireddy, Nishanth Babu (31 July 2015). "Yoganidrasana". Abhyasa Yoga. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  10. Vishnudevananda 1988, pp. plates 71, 74.
  11. Henning, Barbara (2005). You, Me and the Insects: A Novel : Mysore, India. Spuyten Duyvil. pp. 32, 263. ISBN 978-0-9720662-6-6.

Sources
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