Noose Pose
पाशासन
Pāśāsana — an advanced twist that works the obliques, quadriceps, calves.
How to do Noose Pose
Read all of it before starting, and read the cautions further down before starting at all.
Squat with the feet together and the heels down, placing a rolled mat under the heels if they lift.
Bring the knees together and turn the trunk to the right, keeping the squat deep.
Reach the left arm across and down the outside of the right thigh until the armpit passes the knee.
Wrap that arm around both shins and take the right arm behind the back to clasp the hands or a strap.
Lift the chest, hold with the breath moving, then release slowly and change sides.
Hold: 20–40 seconds 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 Noose 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.
- Rotates the trunk from a deep squat, where the pelvis has almost no freedom to follow.
- Loads the ankles in deep dorsiflexion for the whole hold.
- Binds the shoulders behind the body while the obliques hold the rotation.
Noose Pose is one of 25 twists in this library and one of 61 poses rated advanced. Poses that rotate the spine around its long axis with the pelvis anchored.
Who should skip Noose Pose, or change it
- Pregnancy — a bound closed twist compressing the abdomen is not appropriate.
- Disc injury or any recent spinal surgery.
- Sacroiliac instability, which a deep bound squat can spike.
- Recent abdominal or hernia surgery.
- Knee or ankle injury, and any Achilles restriction that keeps the heels off the floor.
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 Noose Pose
What tends to go wrong, and the specific correction — not "engage your core".
MistakeHeels lifting so the squat is balanced on the toes and the twist collapses.
FixSupport the heels on a rolled mat or blanket until they can rest.
MistakeForcing the bind before the armpit clears the knee.
FixHold a strap between the hands, or press the elbow outside the knee without binding at all.
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 Noose 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 Noose Pose?
Squat with the feet together and the heels down, placing a rolled mat under the heels if they lift. Bring the knees together and turn the trunk to the right, keeping the squat deep. Reach the left arm across and down the outside of the right thigh until the armpit passes the knee. Wrap that arm around both shins and take the right arm behind the back to clasp the hands or a strap. Lift the chest, hold with the breath moving, then release slowly and change sides. Hold for 20–40 seconds each side.
What does Noose Pose work?
Primarily the obliques, quadriceps, calves, with the spinal erectors, shoulders, glutes assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: rotates the trunk from a deep squat, where the pelvis has almost no freedom to follow.
Who should not do Noose Pose?
Pregnancy — a bound closed twist compressing the abdomen is not appropriate. Disc injury or any recent spinal surgery. Sacroiliac instability, which a deep bound squat can spike. Recent abdominal or hernia surgery. Knee or ankle injury, and any Achilles restriction that keeps the heels off the floor. 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 Noose Pose suitable for beginners?
No. Noose Pose is rated advanced. The shape itself is rarely the problem — arriving at it years too early is. Work through the beginner and intermediate twists poses on this site and learn this one in person.
How many calories does Noose 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. Noose 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 twists — 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.