Malasana invites us to get low, connect with the earth, and find stability from the ground up. It is a deceptively simple posture that asks us to balance effort and ease while opening the hips, ankles, and lower body. Squatting is a natural human movement that has become less common in modern life, particularly for those of us who spend a lot of time sitting in chairs.
Practicing Malasana gives us an opportunity to explore this movement pattern while adapting it to our individual bodies.

Sanskrit:
Malasana (mah-LAH-suh-nuh)
Mala = garland, necklace, or wreath
Asana = commonly translated as pose; more literally, seat or way of sitting
You may also hear Malasana called Garland Pose, Yogi Squat, or Posture of Contemplation.

Benefits:

• Opens the hips and inner thighs
• Stretches the groins and ankles
• Encourage mobility in the hips, knees, and ankles
• Strengthens the legs and feet
• Supports healthy pelvic floor awareness
• Stimulates digestive system
• Improves balance and body awareness
• Provides grounding

How to Practice:

1. Stand with your feet about hip-width apart or slightly wider. You may turn the toes out naturally.
2. Bend your knees and slowly lower your hips toward the floor, moving into a low squat.
3. Bring your hands to prayer at your heart.
4. Use your elbows gently against the inner thighs to create space through the hips.
5. Keep the chest lifted and lengthen through the spine.
6. Press the feet firmly into the floor and notice the connection between your feet and the earth.
7. Keep your gaze soft and your jaw relaxed.
8. Breathe slowly and comfortably.
9. Rather than trying to force your hips as low as possible, find a position where you can breathe, soften, and remain steady.
10. Stay for several breaths.
11. To come out, press firmly through the feet and slowly rise to standing.

Adaptations or Variations:

• Sit on a block - Place a block beneath your sitting bones. 
• Place a bolster beneath you - For a more restorative version, sit back onto a bolster or stack of blankets. This allows you to experience the shape without asking your legs to support your entire body weight.
• Support the heels - If your heels don't comfortably reach the floor, place folded blankets or a wedge beneath them.
• Widen the stance - Take the feet wider than hip-width apart. This may create more room for the hips and torso.
• Keep the hands on the floor - If balancing in the squat is challenging, place blocks beneath the hands or keep your fingertips on the floor.
• Arms overhead - For a more active variation, reach the arms overhead, hands in steeple mudra, while maintaining the squat. This increases the strength and balance demands.
• Posture of Contemplation - Bring hands into prayer position at the third eye center (thumbs pressing into forehead).
• Dynamic Malasana - Move slowly between standing and Malasana, using the breath to guide the movement. This can be a wonderful way to explore mobility without staying in the deepest part of the pose.
• Use the Wall - Behind your back to help with alignment and balance. OR lie on your back with your feet pressing into the wall.

Precautions:
Malasana can be modified to suit many different bodies, but use care if you have:

• Knee injuries or significant knee pain
• Hip injuries
• Ankle injuries or limited ankle mobility
• Recent foot or lower-leg injuries
• Pelvic floor concerns
• Balance difficulties

If you experience discomfort, try some of the variations/propping above.

Keep in mind that a deeper squat isn't necessarily a better squat. Your version of Malasana may look completely different from someone else's—and that's okay. Yoga asks us to work with our bodies rather than trying to recreate someone else's shape. As always, if a posture causes pain, come out of it and ask a qualified yoga teacher for assistance.

Fun Facts
1. Squatting is an ancient human movement.
Humans have been squatting for thousands of years. In many cultures, squatting remains a natural position for resting, eating, working, and socializing.
Our modern chair-centered lifestyles simply mean many of us don't spend much time in this position anymore.
2. "Mala" means garland.
The Sanskrit word mala can refer to a garland or wreath. The name may be connected to the shape of the arms and body forming a rounded, garland-like shape around the legs.
Interestingly, mala is also used in japa mala, the string of beads traditionally used for meditation and mantra repetition.
3. Your heels don't have to touch the floor.
This is one of the most common misconceptions about Malasana.
Limited ankle mobility can make it difficult to keep the heels down, and that doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong.
Props are part of the practice—not a failure of the practice.

Kurmasana, or Tortoise Pose, is a deep seated forward fold that invites the body to turn inward. The pose requires flexibility through the hips, hamstrings, and inner thighs, as well as mobility through the shoulders. While the full expression can be challenging, there are many ways to practice the essence of the pose with props and modifications.
Like a tortoise retreating into its shell, Kurmasana encourages us to slow down, withdraw from external stimulation, and turn our attention inward.

Sanskrit:
Kurmasana (koor-mah-SAH-nuh)
Kurma = tortoise or turtle
Asana = commonly translated as pose; more literally, "seat" or a way of taking on the energy or quality of something
You will most often hear this pose referred to as Tortoise Pose or Turtle Pose.

Benefits:
Tortoise Pose can provide a deep stretch through the hamstrings, inner thighs, hips, and lower back, while also creating space through the shoulders and upper back.
Because the body is folded inward and the head moves closer to the floor, the pose can have a naturally quieting and introspective quality. It can be a wonderful posture for practicing pratyahara, one of the eight limbs of yoga, which is often translated as withdrawal or turning inward of the senses.
Rather than constantly reaching outward toward the world around us, pratyahara invites us to become more aware of what is happening within.

Kurmasana can also teach us about patience and non-striving. This is not a pose that responds well to forcing. The body needs time, warmth, and space to settle into the shape.
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And perhaps most importantly, Tortoise Pose offers a beautiful reminder that we can create an inner refuge for ourselves. Just as a tortoise can retreat into its shell, we can learn to step away from noise and stimulation when we need to rest, reflect, and reconnect.

How to practice:

1. Begin seated with your legs extended in front of you.
2. Separate your legs wider than hip-width apart. Find a comfortable distance rather than trying to create your widest possible straddle.
3. Bend your knees slightly.
4. Lean your torso forward between your legs.
5. Slide your arms underneath your thighs, reaching your hands out toward the sides.
6. Gradually begin to straighten the legs only as much as feels comfortable.
7. Allow your chest and torso to move toward the floor.
8. Relax your neck and let your head become heavy.
9. Keep the breath slow and steady.
10. Rather than pulling yourself deeper, allow gravity and time to gradually soften the body.
11. Stay for several breaths, or longer if practicing this as a yin posture.
12. To come out, slowly bend your knees and gently slide your arms back out from underneath your legs.
13. Take your time returning to an upright position.
14. Pause and notice the sensations in your body before moving on.

Possible Adaptations or Variations:

• Bend and/or prop the knees to make the pose more accessible.
• Place a bolster or stack of blankets beneath the torso for a supported version.
• Sit on a folded blanket if your pelvis tends to tuck under.
• Keep the hands in front of the body or on top of the legs rather than threading the arms underneath the legs.
• Practice a wide-legged forward fold as a preparation or alternative.
• Keep the legs closer together if a wide position creates too much sensation.
• Practice Supported Tortoise with the torso resting completely on a bolster.
• For a gentler variation, practice Butterfly Pose with the knees supported and fold forward over a bolster.

The full expression of Kurmasana is not necessary to experience its benefits. A supported version can actually be more appropriate when the intention is to cultivate the quiet, inward quality of the pose.

Precautions:
Tortoise Pose is an advanced forward fold and may not be appropriate for everyone. Consider modifying or avoiding the pose if you have:

• Recent or chronic hamstring injuries
• Significant hip or groin injuries
• Knee injuries or pain
• Shoulder injuries or limited shoulder mobility
• Lower back injuries or acute lower back pain
• Significant spinal disc issues
• Difficulty maintaining a comfortable breath in deep forward folds

If you experience discomfort:

• Bend your knees.
• Reduce the width of your legs.
• Keep your hands in front of your body rather than threading them underneath your legs.
• Use a bolster or blankets to support your torso.
• Sit on a folded blanket to help create more space in the hips.
• Focus on lengthening the spine rather than forcing your torso toward the floor.

Remember that yoga should create sensation, not pain. In a deep posture like Kurmasana, more isn't necessarily better. If you experience sharp, pinching, or painful sensations, come out of the pose and choose a more supportive variation. When in doubt, ask a qualified yoga teacher for assistance.

Fun Facts:
🐢 Kurma means tortoise. The name comes from the shape of the pose, which resembles a tortoise with its limbs extending from underneath its shell.
🐢 The tortoise has an important place in Hindu mythology. Kurma is also the name of the tortoise incarnation of the god Vishnu. In the story of the Churning of the Ocean, Vishnu takes the form of a giant tortoise to support Mount Mandara on his back as the gods and demons churn the cosmic ocean.
🐢 The tortoise is a beautiful symbol of pratyahara. In the Bhagavad Gita, the tortoise is used as an image for withdrawing the senses inward: just as a tortoise draws its limbs into its shell, a practitioner learns to draw the senses away from distractions.
🐢 You don't have to do the full pose to practice the teaching. The physical shape of Kurmasana can be challenging, but its deeper lesson—knowing when to turn inward—is available to everyone.
🐢 Kurmasana is a lesson in non-striving. Unlike some poses where you might work toward greater strength or balance, Tortoise asks us to slow down, soften, and listen. Sometimes the most useful question isn't "How much farther can I go?" but "Can I soften here?"

The Wisdom of the Tortoise
We live in a world that constantly asks us to look outward—to respond, accomplish, consume, communicate, and keep moving. The tortoise reminds us that we can also retreat. We can pause, become quiet, turn inward, and when we're ready, we can emerge from our shell and return to the world with a little more clarity, calm, and connection to ourselves.

Have you ever noticed how much energy it takes to argue with reality? We resist things like:

• The traffic.
• The weather.
• Difficult conversations.
• Injuries and illness.
• A busy schedule.
• Opinions or lifestyles that are different than ours.
• The aging process.
• Even our own thoughts and emotions.

We might tell ourselves things should be different, but no amount of wishing or "shoulding" can change what is already happening.The Buddha is often credited with saying, "Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional." Whether or not those are his exact words, the teaching reflects an important truth found across many wisdom traditions: while we can't always choose what happens to us, we can choose how we respond and relate to it.

When we stop resisting what is already here, we create space to respond with clarity instead of reaction. Acceptance isn't giving up or settling for less. It isn't pretending that everything is perfect. It's the willingness to meet this moment as it is. When we stop fighting reality, we free up energy for healing, growth, and change.

In our yoga practice, acceptance looks like listening to our bodies instead of forcing them. It means noticing our thoughts without believing every one of them. It means honoring where we are today, knowing that every practice is different. We explore how releasing resistance can create space for greater ease, compassion, and freedom. Sometimes the most powerful transformation begins not by trying to change ourselves—but by accepting ourselves completely. 

Every time we step onto the mat, we practice acceptance. Some days balance comes easily, and other days it doesn't. Some days our bodies feel strong and energized; other days they ask for rest. Neither experience is right or wrong.

Our practice becomes an opportunity to ask: "Can I honor this version of myself today?" Without comparison. Without judgment. Without wishing I were someone else. Ironically, this kind of acceptance often becomes the foundation for growth. When we stop criticizing ourselves, we begin to learn. When we stop forcing, we discover ease. When we stop resisting, we create space for change.

Acceptance Creates Freedom
Imagine standing in a river. If you fight the current, you quickly become exhausted. If you allow yourself to move with the water, you can conserve your energy and choose your direction more wisely.

Acceptance works in much the same way. It doesn't mean we stop swimming. It means we stop fighting the fact that we're in the river. Only then can we decide where we want to go.

Perhaps the hardest person to accept is ourselves. We hold ourselves to impossible standards. We replay old mistakes. We criticize our bodies. We question whether we're enough. What if, instead, we spoke to ourselves the way we would speak to a dear friend? With kindness, patience, and understanding. Acceptance doesn't ask us to stop growing. It simply asks us to stop believing that we must earn our worth before we deserve compassion.

A great book on this topic is Radical Acceptance by psychologist and meditation teacher Tara Brach (who is, coincidentally, the wife of my meditation teacher from Yoga Teacher Training at Kripalu). She defines radical acceptance as embracing ourselves and our lives with compassion, even when they don't meet our expectations. Rather than denying difficult emotions or pretending everything is fine, radical acceptance invites us to stop fighting reality and instead meet each moment with mindfulness, kindness, and curiosity. As Brach reminds us, healing begins not by becoming someone different, but by fully accepting who we are right now. It's a practice that beautifully complements the teachings of yoga, where awareness and self-compassion create the foundation for transformation.

Father's Day invites us to pause and reflect on the many ways we have been supported throughout our lives.
For some, this day is filled with gratitude and celebration. For others, it may bring grief, longing, complicated memories, or unanswered questions. As with all things in yoga, we are invited to meet whatever arises with compassion and honesty.

A practice for this event might explore the theme of Holding & Supporting—the quiet strength of showing up, staying present, and creating a foundation upon which others can grow. In yogic philosophy, these qualities are often associated with Shiva energy.

Shiva is known as the great yogi. His energy is felt in the stillness beneath movement, the witness behind our thoughts, and the steady awareness that remains present through change. While Shakti represents dynamic energy and creative force, Shiva reminds us of the importance of grounding, discernment, and unwavering presence.

Shiva does not rush to fix, and he does not force. He simply remains. There is tremendous strength in that.

The healthiest expression of masculine energy is not domination or control. It is reliability, integrity, protection without possession, and guidance without rigidity. It is the ability to hold space for another person's becoming.

Perhaps you've experienced this kind of support through a father, grandfather, stepfather, mentor, coach, teacher, partner, or friend—someone who stood beside you during a difficult season, believed in you before you believed in yourself, or taught you what steadiness feels like.

Perhaps this is an invitation to cultivate those same qualities within yourself.

• Can you remain present when life feels uncertain?
• Can you trust your own inner wisdom enough to pause before reacting?
• Can you become a safe and steady presence for those you love?

Our yoga practice offers opportunities to embody these questions. In standing poses, we root through our feet. In balancing postures, we learn to return when we wobble. In stillness, we discover that support is not weakness—it is one of the greatest gifts we can offer.

This Father's Day, may we honor those who have held us with love and acknowledge the places where support may have been absent. May we practice compassion for our stories and remember that true strength is often quiet. It is found in consistency and patience, in keeping our hearts open, and in choosing to stay.

May we all become a little more like the mountain: steady enough to support, strong enough to protect, and secure enough to allow others to rise.