Category: Seated
Level: advanced
Hold: 5 breaths per side
Type: Asana
Breath: Inhale to lift the chest, exhale to draw the leg closer

Heron Pose

Krounchasana — "heron posture"

Seated with one leg folded back and the other held straight up toward the face. Heron is a concentrated hamstring stretch stacked on a Hero-style knee fold — a strap and an upright spine beat a rounded grab at the foot.

Step by step

1Sit and fold your left leg back beside your left hip as in Hero Pose (or keep it cross-legged if that's kinder to the knee).
2Bend your right knee and hold the right foot with both hands, or loop a strap around it.
3Sit tall on both sitting bones.
4Slowly straighten your right leg upward, drawing it gently toward your torso.
5Keep your chest lifted — a shorter, straighter hold beats a rounded deep one.
6Stay for a few breaths, then bend the knee, release, and change sides.

Benefits

✓ Intensely stretches the hamstrings and calf of the lifted leg
✓ Stretches the front of the folded leg's thigh and ankle
✓ Trains an upright spine under a strong leg stretch
✓ Sharpens balance on the sitting bones

Make it yours

· Loop a strap around the lifted foot.
· Sit on a folded blanket or block to level the pelvis.
· Keep a soft bend in the lifted knee and work on spine length first.

Take care

Keep the folded leg in a simple cross if the Hero fold bothers your knee.
Bend the lifted leg or use a strap if your back rounds or the hamstring feels sharp.

This is general practice guidance, not medical advice. If something hurts, ease out of it.

Props that help here

Cork blocks (set of 2) — Bring the floor closer in lunges, folds, and triangle — and a block between the shoulder blades turns a backbend into something you can hold. find one
8-foot cotton strap — Extends your reach in hamstring and shoulder work — the honest substitute for grabbing a foot you can't yet reach. Get 8ft, not 6ft. find one

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