Lotus Pose
पद्मासन
Padmāsana — an advanced seated pose that works the hip adductors, hip flexors, spinal erectors.
How to do Lotus Pose
Read all of it before starting, and read the cautions further down before starting at all.
Sit on a folded blanket with the legs straight out in front and the spine tall.
Bend the right knee, cradle the shin, and place the right foot high on the left thigh with the sole turned up.
Only if the right knee rests without strain, bend the left knee and lift the left foot onto the right thigh.
Draw both knees towards the floor without pressing them down with the hands.
Rest the hands on the knees, lift through the spine, and hold; come out and rebuild with the other leg first.
Hold: 1–3 minutes each side. Keep the breath moving throughout — if you are holding it, the pose is too much for today.
Muscles worked
Where the effort and the lengthening land. Primary groups do most of the work; secondary groups assist or are stretched.
What Lotus Pose does
Described mechanically — what the movement does to muscle and joint. Not a list of conditions it treats, because a pose does not treat conditions.
- Takes both hips through their end range of external rotation at the same time.
- Creates a wide, low triangle of support that lets the spine stack with almost no muscular effort.
- Loads the ankles and the front of the feet in a fully turned-out position.
Lotus Pose is one of 29 seated poses in this library and one of 61 poses rated advanced. Poses taken on the floor, where the pelvis is the base and the spine works above it.
Who should skip Lotus Pose, or change it
- Any knee injury, meniscus tear or knee replacement — do not attempt; use Sukhasana.
- Recent hip replacement or hip labral repair.
- Ankle injury, since both ankles are held in a strong turned-out position.
- Sciatic pain or leg numbness: come out immediately rather than waiting it out.
General information only — not medical advice. Some asanas are unsuitable during pregnancy, injury or specific conditions. Learn from a qualified teacher and stop if anything hurts. If you are pregnant, recovering from surgery or managing any health condition, ask your doctor before starting a practice, and learn the pose itself from a qualified teacher who can see you move.
Common mistakes in Lotus Pose
What tends to go wrong, and the specific correction — not "engage your core".
MistakeForcing the second foot up when the rotation is coming from the knee instead of the hip.
FixStay in half lotus for months; the knee is a hinge and will not survive being used as a ball joint.
MistakePressing the top knee down towards the floor with the hand.
FixLet the knee lower over time by opening the hip; never lever a joint downwards.
What a practice like this costs in energy
Nobody has measured a single asana in a metabolic cart. The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities publishes MET values per style of practice, so Lotus Pose is mapped to the nearest published code — 02175, yoga, Power, 4 MET — and the figures below are for a practice of that kind, not for holding this one pose.
| Time practising | 10 min | 20 min | 30 min | 45 min | 60 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 49 | 98 | 147 | 221 | 294 |
Calculated as MET × 3.5 × 70 kg ÷ 200 kcal per minute — the standard ACSM relationship, shown in full on the method page. Scale it to your own weight by multiplying by your weight in kilograms and dividing by 70. The whole activity dataset, including every non-yoga activity, is at BurnLab.
Questions
How do you do Lotus Pose?
Sit on a folded blanket with the legs straight out in front and the spine tall. Bend the right knee, cradle the shin, and place the right foot high on the left thigh with the sole turned up. Only if the right knee rests without strain, bend the left knee and lift the left foot onto the right thigh. Draw both knees towards the floor without pressing them down with the hands. Rest the hands on the knees, lift through the spine, and hold; come out and rebuild with the other leg first. Hold for 1–3 minutes each side.
What does Lotus Pose work?
Primarily the hip adductors, hip flexors, spinal erectors, with the abdominals, ankles, pelvic floor assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: takes both hips through their end range of external rotation at the same time.
Who should not do Lotus Pose?
Any knee injury, meniscus tear or knee replacement — do not attempt; use Sukhasana. Recent hip replacement or hip labral repair. Ankle injury, since both ankles are held in a strong turned-out position. Sciatic pain or leg numbness: come out immediately rather than waiting it out. This is general information, not medical advice — if any of these apply to you, ask your doctor and learn the pose with a qualified teacher rather than from a page.
Is Lotus Pose suitable for beginners?
No. Lotus Pose is rated advanced. The shape itself is rarely the problem — arriving at it years too early is. Work through the beginner and intermediate seated poses on this site and learn this one in person.
How many calories does Lotus Pose burn?
The honest answer is that nobody has measured a single asana. The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities publishes MET values for styles of yoga, not for individual poses. Lotus Pose sits closest to Compendium code 02175, yoga, Power, at 4 MET — about 147 kcal for 30 minutes of that kind of practice for a 70 kg adult. Holding one pose for a minute is a rounding error either way.
Related poses
More seated poses — first at the same level, then the rest of the family.
Asana names are traditional. Every step, benefit and caution on this page is written for YogaPath rather than reproduced from any book, studio or other library — see how this site is written. Energy figures derive from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. General information only — not medical advice. Some asanas are unsuitable during pregnancy, injury or specific conditions. Learn from a qualified teacher and stop if anything hurts.