Padmasana: 3 Secrets To A Pain-Free Lotus Pose

Hey yogis!
Today I'm teaching you my top 3 tips for a pain-free Padmasana. This is relevant for Ashtanga yoga and any other style of asana.
It's a tricky yoga posture but it should never cause you pain.
By preparing your body thoroughly using these tips you can gradually work up to full lotus pose as your hips open up.
Let me know if you have any questions yogis!
Don't forget to subscribe and like/comment with any questions :)
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#Padmasana #LotusPose #AshtangaYogaGirl #AshtangaYoga

[@liamblondon6388]

Brilliant advice, very safe and ideal for my zen practice, thank you

[@kevinallen5246]

Excellent tips! Thank you!!🙏

[@zulkifliibrahim1395]

Wow! Thanks 🙏

[@holyphun1664]

Wow I just nailed it at first attempt. I have tried it a lot in vain before. Amazing guides and lovely voice! 💖

[@satyr0909]

Thank you Natalie, for placing our attention to the right corners of our body for this posture! It is really, really useful !. We need to be careful about how we feel our left and right side of our body as well. Sometimes the problem is laying a little bit higher then our hips for Padmasana. In my case it was in not being able to understand that my left hip was not ready yet for this posture. I couldn't put my left hip back enough to reach this inner hip rotation mentioned by Natali. In my case not being able to do this on the left side was it that caused a couple of injuries to my knee menisci, even on my right knee as well. Sadly it is only now that I started to realize this. But it is good that now I finaly have realized it and even started to be able to do this so sometimes it is good to revert and come some steps back before going on. The slow and careful performing of Virasana and the half lotus pose have really helped! Namaste!

[@raghavendrah3952]

Excellent explanation 🙏🙏

[@alanmurphy9263]

Thank you..nice clear instructions!

[@healthbitesauthentic]

Beautifully explained. 🙏🏾

[@MatichekYoutube]

Nice tutorial and tips. Thank you 👍

[@matthewbarram]

Your passion is so clear and it’s enjoyable to watch. Very helpful on my journey towards lotus. :)

[@05archana]

Thank you for this valuable tutorial.

[@FAMURILLO50]

Namaste. Excellent tips. Very useful. Thanks a lot

[@michaelholland6541]

This was sooo helpful! I will be coming back to this video until i get it down ❤

[@andrewodonnell7126]

Great video.

[@theinfinite7455]

Beautifully explained

[@Narsingrao26]

very clearly explained great

[@Silent-academy]

really good video! thank you so much! :)) om Shanti and Namasté

[@dhineshkumars1991]

Great method Thanks 👏😃

[@nitadev4272]

Thank you so much. You saved my knees

[@theeffortlesshorsebackride9277]

Great video!

[@qatriamlucy]

Bravo: i’ll try it tomorrow

[@sivasankarshakthivel5852]

Thanks Natalie it is very helpful..😊🙏

[@PY-vh6in]

You’re so pretty, kind and dignified! 🙏

[@mariadillon860]

Thank you for a really useful video… I now know why my knee locks when I am trying padmasana! You advice on keeping the heel to bottom when getting in and out of Padmasana is a game changer. I will continue to slowly and carefully practice 🤗🧘‍♀️

[@maurolimaok]

Beautiful video.

[@tjle4900]

It’s a great detail video tutorial; thank you very much for sharing!!!

[@brigittegeorg]

Very helpful, thank you.

[@krishisai9357]

Wow u r amazing as a foreigner teaching yogasana with perfect pronounciation n spelling of asanas,,, Love from India

[@brendanbarker2148]

Thank you. Very informative

[@-AsL-]

Beautiful explanation

[@poorni28489]

This is so helpful 👌👍

[@vinosubramoney2519]

Excellent tutorial

[@sreejithgn]

Thank you very much for this tutorial, I did Padamasana today with the help of this tutorial. Especially the last part on how to move the second leg after Ardha Padmasana really helped me a lot.

[@subratkumarpanigrahy5299]

It's really helpful 🙏

[@dhifhussaine3109]

Very helpful thank you ❤

[@heidi7079]

I'm almost doing it :))

[@biswajitbhattacharyya9217]

Thanks!

[@pascalesprangers6523]

Very nice video

[@charlessterzel6752]

Thank you.

[@DutchieDopa]

Il deffinitly try these exercices

[@madalenavasconcelos2676]

Thank you for this incredible tips, so so useful!! Namaste

[@ashtangayogagirl4359]

Madalena Vasconcelos my pleasure, I’m glad you found it useful 🙏🏽

[@zaharikomarov6189]

Thank you for that valuable tutorial!!!

[@ashtangayogagirl4359]

You're very welcome, glad it was helpful

[@Giudemeroe0]

Greattt!

[@PedroPauloMota]

Thank you!!!

[@thankamanie7482]

Thank you, 👍

[@swapnakhandaker9385]

Watching your video from Bangladesh love u so much

[@vijayalakshmivasudevan6397]

Thank you so much for the correct guidance in how to do padmasana. I recently started doing yoga and my leg muscles are very stiff I will practice the 3 steps first and then will try to do padmasana.

[@shilluchill]

U r soo flexible👏👏👏 Very informative mam helpul too thank you🙏

[@solotraveller4157]

Thank you 🙏

[@joeycequina9073]

thank you

[@venkateswararao6791]

Nice mam

[@kundaliniyogafan846]

thanks

[@sharni888]

Very nice, decent attire suitable for yoga poses, patiently n clearly explained .tks👍🙂

[@ashtangayogagirl4359]

My pleasure 😊

[@rangamurali7667]

Namasthe!

[@monte1985able]

nice devi, keep it up...please .make videos on regular basis. this is really in favour of humanity. if need any help in dept of yogas , himalya awaiting you.

[@yaki-moon]

Yes, very helpful😊, I even managed for 5 seconds to get fully into the position, but had to get out cause my right foot/ankle became too twisted. First have to work on the hips😅

[@ivor535]

Bingo Bongo good stuff.

[@mafrendgoo]

Wow, awesome tips! Thank you sooo much! I've managed to maintain the pose correctly, almost without any pain. The only spot still hurting is my right ankle. Not sure why, cause the left one remain painless. Any tips on that?

[@flaviomartinez9275]

Yo siempre inicio padmasana con la pierna izquierda. voy a seguir tus indicaciones y lo haré con la derecha. Y levantaré las rodillas con talón al vientre. Muchas gracias.

[@oliverford5367]

Great video and very pleasant voice! I can just get into half lotus but there's pain after a few minutes. Need more practice!

[@ashtangayogagirl4359]

Haha that's the first compliment I ever had about my voice Oliver! Thank you and glad it is helping. Definitely don't sit for longer if the pain starts, but as you continue to do hip opening postures in yoga you will be able to sit a little longer each time without pain

[@jjay.s5399]

Lovely. Where did u learn your yoga... Pls share. Thank you

[@channel-ew6hg]

thank you so much. i find it hard to maintain my back straight

[@helenak.7646]

Thank you for very useful advice. Do you also have a video on how to bind hand + foot/big toe behind the back in Baddha Padmasana? Especially reaching the right foot with the right hand is tricky...

[@aliveli-hq6zk]

perfect. you are perfect. I love you. Leave a heart if you read this.

[@michaelholland6541]

Guess she didn't read it 😢 doesn't seem like she reads hardly any tho

[@mattdoyle9914]

Thank you for being clear about needing to "sit" in these stretching postures for longer periods of time, like 5 or 10 minutes. Should we do these quad, hip, and hamstring opening exercises every day?

[@ashtangayogagirl4359]

yes its a good idea to make them a part of your daily routine. just watch 10 mins of TV for example in one of the poses. then later in the day maybe read a book for 10 minutes in one of the others :) frequency is key!

[@tnfocus3543]

hii..i like your video

[@kajalparmar4009]

I appreciate your tips. This pose injured my right knee before two months. Do you have any suggestions for healing it?

[@webworm13]

Thank you for your teaching. Could you tell me why to always start with the right leg. I have been practicing padmasana for a year now. My approach has been to alternate left leg on odd numbered days and right leg on even numbered days. Do you think this is an unhealthy approach? Please advise.

[@darkvixenkillu1]

Is there a reason you always do the right leg first? I was originally doing left leg first and that was working ok. seems about equal doing right leg first. Managed the full lotus when I was doing left leg first (didn't know the technique in this vid at the time) and i can stay in position longer on that side than I can if it's the right leg going first. Just curious.

[@pathmaram]

Please tell me yoga asanas for sound sleep 💤.

[@getgavaskar]

Can you provide tips on foot ankle which is very paining , on the position

[@ami7mina]

Does it matter which leg is on top or not?

[@soosieunpark7136]

Hi Natalie, hello from Greece. I really enjoy practicing with your videos. Thank you! One question- whenever I try to practice the lotus pose, top of my ankles (front part) hurt too much more than anywhere else so I can’t continue the pose. My hips or knees feel ready to do this but not the ankles. What can I do to improve this?

[@soosieunpark7136]

Oh! Just found your lotus workshop video. Perfect!

[@milktama3685]

I feel like my prior knee injury from sports is making this near impossible. I have the flexibility for sure. but my left knee has a damaged ligament. I sprained my mcl before

[@drewash3636]

Thank you, I was searching this because, In the finishing sequence there is a longer padmasana very close to the end just after yoga mudrasana, I can’t get into it right now because of injury. But I feel there is an intention there intended, do I engage in meditation here moreso than the rest of the asanas? Just looking for another practitioners opinion/knowledge. Thank you so much

[@ashtangayogagirl4359]

Hi Drew, usually in that Padmasana at the end, we do 10 breaths so you can breathe as slooowwwwly as possible which I guess you could say is a form of meditation. Many practitioners will do their pranayama practice at this point of the sequence if they have one. Personally I just do 10 very slow breaths, focusing on lengthening the spine and I do pranayama / meditation later after Savasana :)

[@backinprezentrecords13]

I can get into the position quite easily but is it ok to have pain in the knee area and around it once I sit in half lotus please?

[@emiliocabrera6084]

Thank you but I still would have to practice the moves into I get there

[@ashtangayogagirl4359]

Hi Emilio, yes you need to have the flexibility first otherwise you can't follow the technique. Keep going and have faith!

[@emiliocabrera6084]

Ashtanga Yoga Girl so how can I start first I need your help teacher

[@Magickfae]

Hello! Amazing videos, thank you for all the advice. I have a question- what do you suggest if you already have pain. I have pain in my left knee and pain in my right hip , so it has been challenging even to make adjustments. I am curious if you have had injuriies and just got through them

[@ashtangayogagirl4359]

Hi Cydney, if I were you I would just take it easy and don't try getting into the full pose yet. At the end of each practice, you could test half lotus on each leg but stop BEFORE the pain. So if you go too far, the next day try a little less until you are practising at a point without pain. Does that make sense? Then gradually each week you could try moving a little further

[@Magickfae]

@@ashtangayogagirl4359 yes, it does make sense ! Thank you, I actually have been babying it for last 2 weeks and just yesterday was able to go to full lotus again, thank you so much for your help.

[@baronred3038]

Hi, thanks this was really helpful. A quick question, with your tips I'm able to get the right foot across easily, but when I pick the left foot and swing it out and draw it in I'm only able to get it half way across the right leg, with the ankle landing mid-thigh... Any tips?

[@ashtangayogagirl4359]

Keep working on other hip openers in your yoga practice and just gently testing the lotus each day and it will come!

[@chriskaradimos9394]

im experiencing pain in my inner knee from doing the full lotus

[@capt.prasad]

Thanks a lot of the awesome explaination. I used to sit for hours in padmasana during my childhood but now when I tried it after a decade, I was finding it challenging. Even after following your steps I feel pain on the ankle of right foot. Kindly advise any solutions for that.

[@ashtangayogagirl4359]

Okay, ankle pain is often just a symptom of tight hip muscles! The hips are tight and cause the ankle to be pushed downwards against the bottom leg. Regular yoga practice that includes hip opening postures, and gently trying padmasana at the end of each practice will help a lot

[@capt.prasad]

I have anterior pelvic tilt and I'm practicing the excercises in your videos to correct it. I guess that would be reason for right hip. Thanks for the advice. The explanation in your videos are simple, elegant and interesting. Keep up your amazing work. 😊🙏🏼

[@rady7273]

Getting into the position is really easy for me, but then my ankles and shinbones press against each other and hurt. Is there any way to avoid that?

[@videos-zu3yq]

Thanks for this amazing video. I was trying to do vajraasana as show by you with cushion under hips . I'm feeling the stretch in ankle joint area( keeping some cushion in the gap of ankle joint and ground makes the stretch bearable for more time) , in the area where thighs join the pelvis and little bit in knees. Is it normal or something wrong? Please guide

[@ashtangayogagirl4359]

A little bit of an ankle stretch is fine! As long as it's not painful and unbearable, the ankle stretch will probably start to disappear after a few weeks of practising Supta Virasana (the reclining hero pose).Cushion under the ankle is a very good modification - you might find you don't need the cushion after a few weeks once the ankle is a little more mobile. The area where the thighs join the pelvis is also good (again as long as it's just a stretching feeling and not sharp or burning). This area is where you have a lot of hip flexor muscles which are often a limiting factor at first when you come into Lotus Pose, so it's great to lengthen those muscles. I also feel a gentle stretch near my knees. As long as it's not causing you any pain, it's probably just the muscles around the knee joint stretching. See if you can shift the stretch further up the legs and away from the knees...you will need to experiment with this! Sometimes tucking your tailbone under slightly and engaging your lower belly will help to move the stretch upwards. Make small adjustments to the position and you'll discover where the stretch feels best :) Hope this helps!

[@videos-zu3yq]

Ashtanga Yoga Girl I'm grateful for those precious words and effort undertaken. I remember when I was between 10-15 years old I was able to do lotus pose for long hours, the legs would go sometimes numb and the slight stretching burning which starts after sometime of sitting in lotus pose( says 15-20mins) would also subsidize due to numbness and then it allowed for even long hours to sit and meditate. I was flexible. But I left it completely when I shifted from town to city. Left sitting on ground for food which we used to do earlier at home and it kept us flexible. I'm 28 now, years of weight lifting with no stretching has made me so tight , urban lifestyle is also a contributory. ( sitting on chair for long hours ) Thank you so much.

[@aguslugiman9067]

Ouch...that hurts 😅

[@archangelmichael8840]

Practice but I knew

[@doaakopp4402]

I suffer from ankle pain (not knee nor hip pain) especially in Marychasana b&d. Any tips for me please?

[@doaakopp4402]

I am able to do full lotus padmasama pain free in several poses (finishing sequence for example) … but the ankle pain happens in Marychasana or in standing ardha badha padmotanasana.

[@fab11ism]

I know its probably an individual thing but how long should it take to develope this movement. I am reasonably flexible but have strong thighs and find when I sit crossed legged, my knees are quite raised. Would it take weeks or months or years of practice in general?

[@ashtangayogagirl4359]

Hi Fabian, yes it's so individual. The answer is it depends how frequently you practise and what you do outside of your practice as well. If you practise once a week and sit still at a desk for the rest of the day, for sure it will take longer than if you're practising 6 days a week and have an active daily routine. I'd say at least months, but most likely 1 year + if you are beginning from scratch

[@fab11ism]

@@ashtangayogagirl4359 thanks 😀

[@vrgjjjd]

I'm greatful being that I'm born great Hindu religion ❤

[@smurfejus]

Thanks for the tips but one needs other exercises/asanas to achieve the asanas you are talking about. I mean is it enough to do virasana, baddha konasana, janu sirsasana? The progress seems too slow just doing these asanas as I think I need to do much more asanas instead. Just sitting in asana and thinking that someday I will be flexible enough to do Lotus is too naive for me. Any other asana advice to master lotus? Oh, I see you have more videos on that - I will check them out!

[@ashtangayogagirl4359]

Yes, you are right. I definitely recommend a regular asana practice, something like the Ashtanga Primary Series is a great practice to learn as the postures all work on the hip muscles in different ways and when you practise Lotus Pose within a practice like this, it is much more accessible. I wouldn't recommend just doing a few postures every now and then and hoping to sit in Lotus Pose for meditation, the joints and muscles need to be moved and strengthened regularly!

[@smurfejus]

@@ashtangayogagirl4359 Loving your lotus pose workshop! Shared it to my friend. I even managed to overstretch by doing the pigeon without hand support or was it the butterfly with too much resistance? Heh, anyway those exercises work the muscles a lot! Thank you! I was looking at your instagram and found the Nauli instructions helpful and I am happy you have a workshop on Nauli too! Well, good luck to you - you definitely look like a fresh face having the mental clarity to teach.

[@ash-li6gv]

What if I feel a lot of ankle pain when I get into the lotus pose?

[@ashtangayogagirl4359]

Hi Ash I'm sorry I missed your comment! Ankle pain is often a sign that the hip muscles are not open enough yet to do Lotus Post, so the tension in the hips causes a force on the ankle. I will create a video on this for you and some ways you can prepare to reduce the pressure on the ankles

[@anandvenkatachalam5199]

I am not that flexible so what shall i do

[@oliverford5367]

Normal yoga classes. Lotus pose is advanced, needs a lot of flexibility

[@venerableananda1770]

I am long time meditating buddhist monk. I meditate 10 hours for a day with continues 5 hours. Now I have a knee pain and feet join pain within padmasana. Please give me some instructions. Thank you!

[@ashtangayogagirl4359]

Sitting for 10 hours a day is quite a long time without moving my friend! Do you make sure to take regular breaks to move your body? If you have suddenly begun to have joint pain, it could be a sign that your muscles are weakening and not strong enough to support your joints. I would recommend finding a physiotherapist to help you strengthen your leg and hip muscles

[@venerableananda1770]

@@ashtangayogagirl4359 Dear sister, I am still 16+ years old Sri Lankan Buddhist monk in Pa auk meditation centre Myanmar. We only take breakfast and lunch for a day. We meditate for attain enlightenment. Then people offering foods, cloths and etc what we need. I like to getbsome instructions from you. If you can contact me gmail or whatsapp. It's better. [e-mail] [phone] I try to meditate in padmasana. Thank you so much for quick replying.

[@Nae641]

But what if the knee lifts pretty much high in my case of the ground. I put a bolster there but I have the feeling there is minimal stretch actually. Also my ankle is very stiff and don’t like that bending position.😢

[@TheYogaMaster]

If the knee lifts pretty high from the ground, it indicates that your hips are not that flexible enough quite yet. This will adjust itself over time as you practice. Just continue with doing the Butterfly Pose to make your hips more flexible and do more of the Half Lotus (Ardha Padmasana). You shouldn't actually force yourself into the Full Lotus (Padmasana) if this puts too much strain on you, but instead start out with just one leg at a time by sitting in the Half Lotus and vary the practice by switching leg from time to time. The ankles will also get used to bending the more you train, but just remember to stretch the ankles by moving the joints of the feet before beginning to train sitting in any Lotus Pose. I have a video in my channel on Padmasana which provides some more advice. Let me know if you should have any questions, I would be happy to assist you further.

[@Nae641]

@@TheYogaMaster thank you very much, I have an Impigment in that stiff hip, but I keep practicing.

[@TheYogaMaster]

@@Nae641 You're welcome. Don't hesitate to let me know if you should have any questions as you progress in your practice.

[@sophiek5208]

what if my issue is pain in the ankle joint? i have open hips/inner thighs/quads...

[@ashtangayogagirl4359]

Hmmm Sophie do you have pain in your ankles during other activities in daily life? Or only during Lotus Pose?

[@sophiek5208]

@@ashtangayogagirl4359 only with lotus!

[@zulkifliibrahim1395]

I am re-learning to get into full lotus by using the right leg in first. I have been doing the left in first for years. I just realized it is incorrect!

[@ashtangayogagirl4359]

Hi Zulkifli, some people actually do the left side first, some people switch each time they practise. There are a few different opinions on this, so just do what works best for you. In Ashtanga Yoga we're taught that traditionally you do the right side first though

[@zulkifliibrahim1395]

Thank you. I am made to understand that right leg first is recommended in the ancient scriptures & it would bring about benefits to the internal organs whist left leg first wouldn’t. Your point is well taken though. Thank you

[@zulkifliibrahim1395]

Hi Thank you very much. I tried for about one month to do right leg first making use of all the safety tips but I still feel awkward & uncomfortable. You are definitely right. Do what works best for us. I have switched back to my left leg first full lotus which I started in 2003 & it feels very comfortable & incorporating your safety tips has made it enjoyable. Thank you, 🙏

[@anandhis2507]

Vajrasana right? You are calling it veerasana is it different?

[@ashtangayogagirl4359]

It's a different pose - Virasana or Hero Pose is the name of the one I am recommending :)

[@shantilalgehalot9542]

In

[@artystycznafundacjaperform1856]

Why do you place the right foot first? Is there a reason for that?

[@ashtangayogagirl4359]

Well I recently actually started to change and do both left leg and right leg! I have heard various reasons why right leg should be first - eg the shape of the pelvis and also the positions of the organs inside the abdomen! But I'm not sure any of these things are scientific so I am experimenting for myself :) which side do you do first?

[@ashtangayogagirl4359]

Oh and I just noticed that Titouan has responded with a great article from Gregor Maehle on the topic!

[@ashtangayogagirl4359]

@@titouanlecomte2697 Thanks for this Titouan - I forgot that Gregor had an article on this!

[@Cellodore]

Hm, her left knee doesn't rest on the ground..? So not true padmasana.

[@ashtangayogagirl4359]

Hi Teddy, my left knee being off the floor just means my left hip is still holding on to some tension, so it won't go all the way to the ground. As I continue to practise Padmasana and other postures, it will loosen up and relax down to the floor. A posture doesn't need to be perfect to be true! ☺

[@Exiled78]

The thumbnail😑