Auspicious Pose
स्वस्तिकासन
Svastikāsana — a beginner seated pose that works the hip adductors, spinal erectors.
How to do Auspicious 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.
Bend the left knee and place the left foot against the right inner thigh.
Bend the right knee and slide the right foot into the space between the left calf and thigh.
Tuck the left toes into the fold behind the right knee so the shins are neatly interlocked.
Sit tall, rest the hands on the knees, and hold, then reverse the crossing.
Hold: 1–4 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 Auspicious 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.
- Interlocks the shins so the base stays wide and the knees sit low, which reduces strain on the hip.
- Holds a symmetrical external rotation in both hips for long seated work.
- Trains the spinal erectors and deep abdominals to keep the trunk upright without support.
Auspicious Pose is one of 29 seated poses in this library and one of 88 poses rated beginner. Poses taken on the floor, where the pelvis is the base and the spine works above it.
Who should skip Auspicious Pose, or change it
- Knee injury — the tucked shins put a rotational pull through the joint.
- Recent hip replacement.
- Ankle injury, since both ankles are held in a fixed position.
- Leg numbness during the hold: uncross and change sides.
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 Auspicious Pose
What tends to go wrong, and the specific correction — not "engage your core".
MistakeWedging the feet in hard so the ankles are pinched.
FixPlace the feet loosely; the interlock should hold itself, not be jammed.
MistakeRounding the low back to sit lower.
FixRaise the seat instead — the pelvis must be able to tip slightly forward.
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 Auspicious Pose is mapped to the nearest published code — 02150, yoga, Hatha, 2.5 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 | 31 | 61 | 92 | 138 | 184 |
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 Auspicious Pose?
Sit on a folded blanket with the legs straight out in front. Bend the left knee and place the left foot against the right inner thigh. Bend the right knee and slide the right foot into the space between the left calf and thigh. Tuck the left toes into the fold behind the right knee so the shins are neatly interlocked. Sit tall, rest the hands on the knees, and hold, then reverse the crossing. Hold for 1–4 minutes.
What does Auspicious Pose work?
Primarily the hip adductors, spinal erectors, with the hip flexors, abdominals, lower back assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: interlocks the shins so the base stays wide and the knees sit low, which reduces strain on the hip.
Who should not do Auspicious Pose?
Knee injury — the tucked shins put a rotational pull through the joint. Recent hip replacement. Ankle injury, since both ankles are held in a fixed position. Leg numbness during the hold: uncross and change sides. 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 Auspicious Pose suitable for beginners?
Yes. Auspicious 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 Auspicious 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. Auspicious Pose sits closest to Compendium code 02150, yoga, Hatha, at 2.5 MET — about 92 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.