In short: Eka Pada Sirsasana, one leg behind the head, is an advanced seated pose: one leg stays straight on the floor while the other is drawn up and placed behind the back of the neck, the chest lifts and the palms join in front of the heart. It needs a great deal of outward rotation and flexion at the hip. It takes most practitioners a long time to reach, should never be forced, and is best learned with an experienced teacher.
This pose belongs to the advanced end of the library. We describe it so that the name, the shape and the precautions are clear, not as a pose to try from a page. The hip has to do almost all of the work; if it cannot, the strain moves to the knee, the lower back or the neck, which carries the weight of the leg.
The name, and two versions
Eka means one, pāda foot or leg and śīrṣa head. The same name and shape appear in Light on Yoga, where B.K.S. Iyengar describes the upright version with the palms joined and builds a whole cycle of further poses on it; in the Bihar School’s Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha (as eka pada sirasana, the foot to head pose); and in the Ashtanga intermediate series. Note one difference in the Ashtanga version as documented by AshtangaYoga.info: after placing the leg, you fold forward over the straight leg and hold for five breaths. Do not confuse this pose with headstand, Sirsasana, which shares the word for head.
How it is approached
All the sources describe the same mechanism: holding the ankle, you draw the thigh up and back so the back of the thigh slides behind the shoulder, then lift the head and chest so the lower leg rests across the back of the neck. Iyengar warns that if the head is not held up, the leg slips; AshtangaYoga.info suggests settling the ankle in the groove beside the neck muscles and pointing the foot. Yoga Journal’s step-by-step approach, written by teacher Kathryn Budig, builds up through pigeon, a reclining thread-the-needle hold, cradling the shin in the arms while seated, and working the leg up the arm, as if putting on a backpack strap, before ever placing it behind the head. She stresses that there should be no knee pain at any stage and that forcing is the signal to stop.
The Eka Pada Sirsasana cycle
In Light on Yoga this pose opens a cycle of further postures that keep one leg behind the neck, among them Skandasana, a forward bend over the straight leg; Bhairavasana, lying back; and standing and balancing forms. Iyengar suggests doing the whole cycle with one leg, resting a minute or two, then repeating with the other leg, and he calls these poses strenuous ones that take long practice to master. The Bihar manual similarly adds a standing version, which it says should only be tried by those who can do the seated pose without difficulty.
Precautions in plain words
Do not attempt this pose with knee, hip, sacroiliac, lower-back or neck problems. The Bihar manual advises against it in pregnancy and with sciatica. The neck must never be pulled forward by the leg: if your chin is being pushed toward your chest, the hip is not ready. Learn it only under the guidance of an experienced teacher, after a long period of hip opening, and expect progress over years rather than weeks. This page is general information, not individual advice.
Preparation and what comes next
The usual preparation is a long series of hip openers: pigeon pose, reclining figure four, fire log and seated forward bends such as head-to-knee pose. Lying on the back with one leg behind the head is a gentler stage in many schools. In the Ashtanga intermediate series this pose is followed by both legs behind the head and yoga sleep pose. Afterward, stretch both legs out in staff pose.
Where it is taught
It is taught mainly in Ashtanga (intermediate series) and advanced Iyengar practice. Most general classes do not include it. Browse more hip openers in the pose library.
