In short: saddle is a yin backbend from kneeling. You sit on the heels or between the feet, lean back onto the hands, the elbows or a bolster, and let the lower back arch while the fronts of the thighs and ankles stretch. It is held for a few minutes with plenty of support. Half Saddle, with one leg straight, is the gentler version.
Because it loads the knees, saddle is not a pose to force. This page explains the props, the safe way in and out, and how it differs from reclining hero pose.
The name and the related asana
Saddle is an English yin name with no Sanskrit of its own. Paul Grilley calls it the yin variation of Supta Vīrāsana (reclining hero), and Bernie Clark also names Supta Vajrāsana (reclining thunderbolt). In those poses the knees usually stay close and the lower back is lengthened; in yin saddle the knees may spread wider than the hips, the lower back is allowed to arch and bolsters take the weight.
Setting up with props
Start by simply sitting on the heels and checking the knees and ankles; Clark advises modifying or skipping the pose if this already hurts. A blanket or rolled towel under the ankles eases the fronts of the feet, and a block between the feet raises the hips. Lean back onto the hands, then the elbows. Grilley lets you rest on the elbows, the head or, if you are quite flexible, the backs of the shoulders, and suggests sitting between the feet rather than on them if the lower back strains. Sarah Powers rests the shoulders and head on a bolster if the thighs feel strained. Clark offers several bolster setups: two crossways under the shoulders, one lengthwise under the spine, or one under the upper back.
The long hold
Clark gives one to five minutes; Grilley says hold at least a minute and work up to five or more. Arms overhead deepen the stretch. Clark is blunt about the rule: any sharp or burning pain, come out.
Half Saddle
In Half Saddle, one leg is folded as in saddle and the other is straight, with the foot on the floor in front of you (Bernie Clark). It halves the load on the knees and lets you work one side at a time, so it is the place to start, usually with a bolster lengthwise under the back. Switch legs after the hold. Half Saddle is still a backbend: keep the same caution for the lower back.
Coming out and the rebound
Come up the way you went down: onto the elbows, then the hands, then sit up; Powers places the hands where the elbows were and lifts on an inhalation. If you are stuck, roll to one side and straighten the other leg. Afterwards Clark suggests lying on the back with straight legs, gently tightening and releasing the kneecaps, then hugging the knees in with wind-relieving pose, or resting in child’s pose or crocodile.
Precautions in plain words
Clark advises against saddle with a bad back, tight sacroiliac joints or sensitive knees. Pad the ankles, support the back well, and come out at any sharp pain. In pregnancy keep the back well raised on bolsters or choose another pose. This page is general information, not individual advice.
Before, after and where it is taught
Thunderbolt, hero and the yin ankle stretch prepare the knees and ankles. You will meet it in yin yoga classes, which hold mostly floor poses for several minutes with the muscles relaxed, and in some gentle and restorative classes.
