Supta Virasana
(Reclining Hero Pose)

Lay on your back with your legs bent, your toes pointing backward.

What is Supta Virasana (Reclining Hero Pose)?

This is one of the best poses for passively improving knee and hamstring flexibility and overall leg mobility. As you lie back, the weight of your body will pull on the knee joints. You can also use two blocks for support: one under the head and one under the thoracic spine. The support provided by the blocks will help you relax while in this pose, and it will open up your chest, making it easier to take fuller, deeper breaths.

When to use Supta Virasana (Reclining Hero Pose)?

Reclining Hero Pose is a highly beneficial pose. feels great both at the start and at the end of your yoga practice as it is known to relieve tension and weakness in the legs, providing your knee joints with a gentle passive stretch. This way it can be used to wash away excess stiffness and fatigue before you go into your practice, but also to cool down the muscles and help your joints recover from the exercise at the end of the session.

If your knees lack the necessary mobility, you might want to simply try crossing the legs instead of folding them by your side. Otherwise, if you are working on gradually relieving stiffness and pain in your knees, you can also place blocks beneath your buttocks, upper back, and head to offer support and make the pose milder.

Apart from providing your knee joints and hamstrings with a passive but quite noticeable stretch, Supta Virasana also improves the functionality of your abdominal organs and the muscles and joints in the pelvic region. This pose is considered restorative, as, by allowing you to effortlessly extend your leg muscles, it relieves fatigue and tension in your legs. For this reason, it is highly recommended to joggers or anyone who spends long hours on their feet.