Bound Lotus is an iconic and classic restorative yoga posture, that binds the body into two infinity symbols. The practice of Bound Lotus can be traced back to the Hath Yoga Pradipika. It is also called Baddha Padmasasa, and you will often find historic photos of yogis sitting in this posture.

Bound Lotus works very intensively on the practitioner, and strengthens and repair the nervous system, stills the mind and develops neutrality, and it increase the energy flow to the heart and opens the heart chakra. When the legs are bound in the lotus posture the lower chakras are locked, bringing that energy up toward the higher chakras. The arms crossed behind the back locks the higher chakras, and brings that energy downwards. The energies meet at the heart center, and on a physical level increases the circulation of the heart and the lungs, and on an energetic level it opens the heart chakra.

The body is bend forward and the head is rested on the third eye point, stimulating the pituitary gland—the master gland—which is said to open up the intuition. The thumbs press on the big toes, which further stimulates the pituitary gland, and opens the third eye. When the third eye is open, we are intuitively in tune with the world, and we simply know without relying on the logical mind for explanations. We can operate much faster when we are rooted in our intuition, and we take the actions which are right for us.

The challenges with the Bound Lotus is that it can be physically very demanding. Some people simply can’t get into the posture, and even for those who can, holding the posture for a long time requires a great deal of mental and emotional + nervous system strength.

I wouldn’t necessarily call Bound Lotus an advanced posture. It can be an advancement for you, if the posture is part of your journey and something you would like to practice. But some people are naturally more inclined to access this posture than others. This doesn’t necessarily mean those people are more advanced—who is a greater yogi? A circus contortionist or someone meditating for 50+ years who has never once done Bound Lotus?

Bound Lotus is a meditation on patience, humbleness, surrender to emotions and thoughts, and an incredibly practice to advance you toward your higher consciousness.

If you can already do Bound Lotus or a variation of it (using props etc.)…

You will be surprised about what other “issues” you can expect to be facing during the practice.

Doing the posture is just one thing. Can you hold the energy of the posture? Can you do it for 31min (31min is the maximum amount of time Bound Lotus can be practiced within 24 hours—always take your time and increase slowly)? Do you have the nervous system strength and mental endurance to “surrender” to the posture?

Bound Lotus isn’t an achievement, it is an opportunity to go deeper into your own Self and experience new depths of consciousness. And for that you need practice and commitment, just like with any other meditation.

The notion is: if you can do it, you absolutely should! The benefits and consciousness available through practice of the posture is immense, and it will advance you fast.

The course extends beyond the practice of Bound Lotus, and is therefore open to everybody, at any level of practice.

We will meet once a week for a morning practice that includes Bound Lotus, but there is no restrictions on what you can practice in that 31min window. If you have a personal meditation you do, you can practice that one. Maybe you have been doing 11min of a meditation, and you’re ready to increase it to 31min? Or you can do one of the restorative “preparation postures” (half lotus, forward fold, baby pose…) to open up your body and still yourself in a posture.