Side-Lying / Balance
Sleeping Vishnu Pose
Anantāsanaअनन्तासन· uh-nun-TAH-suh-nuhposture of Ananta (the eternal serpent on whom Vishnu reclines)
Sleeping Vishnu Pose (Anantasana) is a side-lying balance in which you rest on one side and extend the top leg upward, holding the big toe. It stretches the hamstrings and inner thighs, tones the core and side body, and challenges balance and focus — named for Vishnu reclining on the cosmic serpent.
Step by step
- 1
Lie on your side
Lie on the right side in one long line, and prop the head up on the right hand with the elbow on the floor. Steady the body so you're balanced along the side.
- 2
Lift the top leg
Bend the top (left) knee and catch the big toe with the first two fingers of the left hand. Steady the balance before moving on.
- 3
Extend upward
Slowly straighten the top leg up toward the ceiling, keeping both hips stacked and the core engaged so you don't roll backward. Extend only as far as the hamstring allows.
- 4
Release and switch
Lower the leg with control, rest, and repeat on the other side.
Benefits
- Stretches the hamstrings and inner thighs
- Tones the core and side body
- Improves balance, focus and stability
- A gentle way to work toward standing balances
Common mistakes
- Rolling backward off the side line
- Forcing the leg straight and rounding the hip
- Letting the top hip fall behind the bottom hip
- Gripping the neck instead of resting it
Modifications & variations
- Hold a strap around the top foot instead of the toe
- Keep the top knee bent
- Rest the head on a cushion or the lower arm outstretched
Related poses
Video transcriptIn this session, Yoga & You Teaching Faculty demonstrates Anantāsana, the Sleeping Vishnu Pose, guiding a leg-lift warm-up before holding the side-stretching posture on one side.
Hey guys, welcome back to another episode on Yoga & You. This is Yoga & You Teaching Faculty, based in Chennai, and we are here at the beautiful yoga studio. So in this episode I'm going to be demonstrating one of the beautiful spiritual asanas. This is named after the posture of Lord Vishnu, Anantāsana or Ananta Shayanasana, you can call it anything. So yeah, that's not a posture.
So let's begin by lying down onto the side. Just lie down comfortably. Don't sleep, okay. Watch this video. So lying really comfortably down here. So support your neck, that is very important. Before moving on to the posture we need to stretch our legs.
So you can do this — your breath is normal here. Inhale, lift your leg up. Exhale. Inhale up. Exhale down, which is going to open your pelvis and stretch your glute muscles, which is going to really open up. And again, a few more. Three, two, and one. So now, if you observe, I was easily able to lift my legs up because my body was supported by placing the arm right here. But when you move on to the actual posture you need to take this arm off, because you need this arm to hold your leg. So be very confident. It's okay if you wobble like this. That is the main motto of this posture. You're going to stretch the sides of your body, right.
So from here, take your time. Be comfortable. Inhale, lift your right leg up. Okay, and hold your right big toe with your right arm, and slowly, as you exhale, lift and extend your arm and your leg as well. So, see, when you are connected with your posture and when you are aligned, it's easier for you to achieve the posture. So hold here, five, four, three, two, one, and slowly bend the knees and relax.
So when you come out of the posture, you inhale, push yourself away from here. You know, just roll back and get up. So from here, just push yourself away from the floor and get up into the comfortable seated position. So that was all about the Anantāsana. So make sure you do it on the other side as well. Just stretch both the sides of your torso and your legs, and thank you so much for joining in today's episode.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Sleeping Vishnu Pose stretch?
- Mainly the hamstring and inner thigh of the top leg, while toning the core and side body. Because you balance along one side, it also builds the stability and focus that support standing balances.
- I keep rolling backward — how do I stay balanced?
- Stack the hips directly on top of each other, engage the core and the underside waist, and press the bottom leg down for a base. Keep the top knee bent or use a strap so you can focus on balance before depth.
References
- Traditional hatha yoga; the pose is named for Vishnu reclining on Ananta · Classical text — Traditional mythological context for the name.