In short: ear pressure pose is a variation of plow pose. From plow, with the legs over the head and the toes on the floor behind you, you bend the knees and lower them beside the ears, so the knees gently press against them. The body is folded deeply, upside down, with the weight on the shoulders. It is an inverted forward bend for people who are already comfortable in shoulderstand and plow.
Karnapidasana belongs to the Ashtanga finishing sequence, where it follows plow, and it is also taught as part of the shoulderstand and plow cycle in other styles. Because it loads the neck in a flexed position, it is an advanced pose that should be learned with a teacher.
What the name means
Karṇapīḍāsana joins karṇa (ear), pīḍā (pressure or squeezing) and āsana (posture): the posture of pressing the ears. AshtangaYoga.info points out that with the knees closing the ears you hear mainly the sound of your own breath, which is why many people find the pose turns attention inward; Yoga Journal’s description is similar, a feeling of being in your own small bubble. English names include knee-to-ear pose and ear pressure pose. The posture is not described in the medieval hatha texts; secondary sources trace it to 20th-century manuals of both the Sivananda and the Iyengar lineages.
Making the pose work
Everything depends on a stable plow. In plow the weight rests on the shoulders and upper arms, not on the neck; a folded blanket under the shoulders (with the head off the blanket) is common in Iyengar-style teaching to keep the neck’s natural curve. From there, bend the knees and lower them slowly toward the floor beside the ears. If the knees do not reach the floor, Yoga Journal advises keeping the hands on the lower back for support; only extend the arms along the floor behind you, or clasp them as in the Ashtanga version, once the knees and the tops of the feet rest down. Never turn the head while you are in the pose. Ashtanga stays for five breaths.
Precautions in plain words
This is an inversion with strong neck flexion. Avoid it with any neck injury or neck pain, high blood pressure, glaucoma or other eye pressure problems, heart conditions, or a recent head or spine injury, and during pregnancy. Many teachers also suggest skipping inversions during menstruation. Do not practise it on a full stomach. Breathing feels restricted in the fold; if you cannot breathe calmly, come out. Learn shoulderstand, plow and this pose with an experienced teacher. This page is general information, not individual advice.
Preparation and what comes next
Yoga Journal suggests building toward it with child’s pose, seated forward folds and bridge pose to learn to stand on the shoulder blades, and then shoulderstand and plow, both learned with a teacher. Come out by rolling down slowly, one vertebra at a time, with the knees bent. In the Ashtanga finishing sequence the next pose is lotus in shoulderstand, followed by fish pose, which opens the front of the neck and chest after the long fold.
How to know you are ready. You should be able to hold a supported shoulderstand and plow comfortably for several breaths, breathe calmly upside down, and roll out with control, all without any pain or pressure in the neck. If you are new to these inversions, learn them in a class where a teacher can show you how to use blankets under the shoulders. Until then, child’s pose and seated forward folds give a similar rounding of the back with no load on the neck.
You will meet ear pressure pose in Ashtanga practice and in hatha classes that teach the shoulderstand and plow sequence.
