Tortoise Poseकूर्मासन
Kūrmāsana — an advanced forward bend that works the hamstrings, hip adductors, spinal erectors.
30–60SECONDS HELD
One line on the timetable. Tortoise Pose is held 30–60 seconds, with the breath moving throughout — and no set practice here is built around it — it is held on its own.
మూలం·YogaPath sequence data — stay times as taught·one breath ≈ 5 s at an even pace·జూలై 2026న సమీక్షించాం
How to do Tortoise Pose
Read all of it before starting, and read the cautions further down before starting at all.
Sit with the legs wide, knees bent and feet on the floor, heels about a forearm's length from the hips.
Fold forward and thread each arm under the corresponding knee, palms down on the floor.
Slide the arms out to the sides until the shoulders sit under the thighs.
Straighten the legs slowly, letting the thighs press the shoulders and chest towards the floor.
Rest the forehead or chin down if it reaches, hold, then bend the knees to come out.
Hold: 30–60 seconds. 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 Tortoise 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.
- Lengthens both hamstrings and the inner thighs at the same time under the weight of the legs.
- Produces deep flexion through the whole spine with the arms pinned beneath the thighs.
- Holds the shoulders in extension while the thighs load them from above.
Tortoise Pose is one of 22 forward bends in this library and one of 61 poses rated advanced. Poses that fold the torso towards the legs, lengthening the whole back line of the body.
Who should skip Tortoise Pose, or change it
- Low back or disc injury — skip entirely; the spine is in deep loaded flexion.
- Hamstring or adductor tear.
- Shoulder injury, since the thighs press down on them.
- Pregnancy, recent abdominal surgery, and sacroiliac instability.
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 Tortoise Pose
What tends to go wrong, and the specific correction — not "engage your core".
MistakeStraightening the legs before the shoulders are under the thighs.
FixThread the arms first with the knees well bent, then extend the legs gradually.
MistakeForcing the chin to the floor.
FixLet the head rest wherever it lands and let the legs do the work over time.
How the energy figure on a yoga timetable is reached
- Nobody has measured a single asana in a metabolic cart, so no per-pose figure is published here — not by this site and not by anyone.
- The pose is matched to the nearest style of practice in the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. Tortoise Pose sits at code 02175, yoga, Power, 4 MET.
- That MET value is put through the standard ACSM relationship for a stated reference adult of 70 kg.
- ఫలితం అనేది దీని ఖర్చు ఆ రకమైన ఒక సాధన మీరు ఎంతసేపు సాధన చేస్తే అంతసేపటికి — ఈ ఒక్క భంగిమను పట్టి ఉంచడానికి అయ్యే ఖర్చు కాదు.
- దీన్ని మీకు తగ్గట్టు సర్దుకోండి: సంబంధం శరీర బరువుతో సరళరేఖీయంగా ఉంటుంది, కాబట్టి మీ సొంత బరువును కిలోగ్రాములలో గుణించి 70 తో భాగించండి.
kcal/min = MET × 3.5 × kg ÷ 200
= 4 × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200
= 4.90 kcal per minute
అదే సాధన, గంట గంటకు
దీన్ని టైమ్టేబుల్ చదివినట్టు చదవండి: మీరు నిజంగా కూర్చునే సెషన్ నిడివిని ఎంచుకోండి, అదే ఆ సంఖ్య.
| సాధన చేసిన సమయం | 10 min | 20 min | 30 min | 45 min | 60 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 49 | 98 | 147 | 221 | 294 |
మూలం·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·code 02175 · 4 MET · 70 kg రిఫరెన్స్ వయోజనుడు·జూలై 2026న సమీక్షించాం
యోగా కానివన్నీ సహా మొత్తం కార్యకలాపాల డేటాసెట్ ఇక్కడ ఉంది BurnLab.
Asked before class
How do you do Tortoise Pose?
Sit with the legs wide, knees bent and feet on the floor, heels about a forearm's length from the hips. Fold forward and thread each arm under the corresponding knee, palms down on the floor. Slide the arms out to the sides until the shoulders sit under the thighs. Straighten the legs slowly, letting the thighs press the shoulders and chest towards the floor. Rest the forehead or chin down if it reaches, hold, then bend the knees to come out. Hold for 30–60 seconds.
What does Tortoise Pose work?
Primarily the hamstrings, hip adductors, spinal erectors, with the shoulders, lower back, calves assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: lengthens both hamstrings and the inner thighs at the same time under the weight of the legs.
Who should not do Tortoise Pose?
Low back or disc injury — skip entirely; the spine is in deep loaded flexion. Hamstring or adductor tear. Shoulder injury, since the thighs press down on them. Pregnancy, recent abdominal surgery, and sacroiliac instability. 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 Tortoise Pose suitable for beginners?
No. Tortoise Pose is rated advanced. The shape itself is rarely the problem — arriving at it years too early is. Work through the beginner and intermediate forward bends poses on this site and learn this one in person.
How many calories does Tortoise 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. Tortoise 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.
The rest of the forward bends on the wall
More forward bends — 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 మరియు what it is written from. 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.
మూలం·Published asana references·asana names, alignment and cautions as taught·జూలై 2026న సమీక్షించాం
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