Explore the pose in detail
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See what is included →Practising with care
If you have an injury or a medical condition, take medication, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have another circumstance that may affect your practice, consult a qualified healthcare professional about suitable activities and necessary adaptations.
Learn new and demanding poses with a qualified yoga teacher. Adapt the range to your body and stop if you feel pain or dizziness. A short video illustrates movement; its length does not prescribe how long to hold a pose.
Headstands, shoulder stands and lotus are not starting poses for beginners. Injuries, balance problems or glaucoma are examples of reasons to assess suitability individually. Do not force a bind or use the body as leverage against the knee.
The pose in context
Haṭhayogapradīpikā 1.25 describes a hold of the big toes and a drawing movement towards the ear, compared with drawing a bow. The text calls the shape Dhanurasana. It provides an older record of drawing a foot towards the ear, but gives neither today’s name Akarna Dhanurasana, variant letters nor every leg and arm arrangement of the modern form.
Sources for this page
- Svātmārāma: Haṭhayogapradīpikā, with the Jyotsnā and Manobhilāṣiṇī commentaries (1895)1.25, p. 17 · Wellcome Collection
Yoga forms and variations
These links compare teaching contexts and related shapes. Read the named form, supports and limits on this page before using a position.