Kneeling Rest Pose
प्रणामासन
Praṇāmāsana — a beginner restorative pose that works the spinal erectors, quadriceps.
How to do Kneeling Rest Pose
Read all of it before starting, and read the cautions further down before starting at all.
Kneel with the knees together and place a folded blanket between the calves and the thighs.
Sit back so the weight rests on the blanket rather than directly on the heels.
Roll a second blanket under the ankles if the tops of the feet complain on the mat.
Bring the palms together in front of the chest with the elbows heavy and the shoulders down.
Sit tall without effort, close the eyes if you like, and stay for the hold.
Hold: 2–5 minutes. 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 Kneeling Rest 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.
- Gives an upright resting shape where the legs support the whole body with no balance to manage.
- Holds the spine in a neutral vertical line, which makes it a useful reset between stronger poses.
- Requires only enough effort to stay upright, so it can be held for several minutes.
Kneeling Rest Pose is one of 21 restorative poses in this library and one of 88 poses rated beginner. Supported, low-effort poses held long, where the point is to stop working rather than to work.
Who should skip Kneeling Rest Pose, or change it
- Knee injury or recent meniscus surgery — build the blanket under the seat much higher, or sit on a chair.
- Ankle pain from the tops of the feet on the floor: roll a blanket underneath them.
- Pregnancy, where sitting on the heels is usually more comfortable with the knees apart.
- Circulation problems in the legs that make long kneeling uncomfortable — change to a cross-legged seat.
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 Kneeling Rest Pose
What tends to go wrong, and the specific correction — not "engage your core".
MistakeSitting straight on the heels and enduring the knee pinch.
FixAdd height between the calves and thighs until the knees are quiet.
MistakePressing the palms hard together and lifting the shoulders.
FixTouch the hands lightly and let the elbows hang heavy.
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 Kneeling Rest Pose is mapped to the nearest published code — 02170, yoga, Nadisodhana (seated, quiet practice), 2 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 | 25 | 49 | 74 | 110 | 147 |
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 Kneeling Rest Pose?
Kneel with the knees together and place a folded blanket between the calves and the thighs. Sit back so the weight rests on the blanket rather than directly on the heels. Roll a second blanket under the ankles if the tops of the feet complain on the mat. Bring the palms together in front of the chest with the elbows heavy and the shoulders down. Sit tall without effort, close the eyes if you like, and stay for the hold. Hold for 2–5 minutes.
What does Kneeling Rest Pose work?
Primarily the spinal erectors, quadriceps, with the ankles, shoulders, chest assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: gives an upright resting shape where the legs support the whole body with no balance to manage.
Who should not do Kneeling Rest Pose?
Knee injury or recent meniscus surgery — build the blanket under the seat much higher, or sit on a chair. Ankle pain from the tops of the feet on the floor: roll a blanket underneath them. Pregnancy, where sitting on the heels is usually more comfortable with the knees apart. Circulation problems in the legs that make long kneeling uncomfortable — change to a cross-legged seat. 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 Kneeling Rest Pose suitable for beginners?
Yes. Kneeling Rest Pose is a beginner-level pose on this site, which means it is learnable in a first class and has a version that works for most bodies. The cautions above still apply.
How many calories does Kneeling Rest 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. Kneeling Rest Pose sits closest to Compendium code 02170, yoga, Nadisodhana (seated, quiet practice), at 2 MET — about 74 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 restorative 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.