Reclined Butterfly (Supta Baddha Konasana)

Pronunciation and meaning

Supta Baddha Konasana: SOOP-tuh BAH-duh koh-NAHS-uh-nuh. Say the double d in Baddha as a single soft d.

Supta means reclined, baddha means bound and kona means angle, so the name is reclined bound angle posture. It is Butterfly Pose done lying back.

How to do Reclined Butterfly

1. Place a bolster lengthways on your mat, with a folded blanket at the far end for your head and two blocks or firm cushions within reach.
2. Sit with your back against the near end of the bolster, bring the soles of your feet together and let your knees fall open.
3. Slide a block or a folded blanket under each outer thigh, so the knees are held and the inner thighs feel only a mild stretch.
4. Lower yourself back onto the bolster, one forearm at a time, until your spine and head are supported along its length.
5. Rest your arms out to the sides on the floor or on extra blankets, palms up, and let your breath slow down.
6. Stay for five to ten minutes. To come out, press your knees together with your hands, roll onto one side and push up slowly.

Make it easier

• If your lower back pinches, raise the head end of the bolster with a block, or slide the feet farther from the pelvis.
• Loop a strap around your lower back and over the tops of your feet, so the feet stay close without effort.

Pregnancy and after birth

Pregnancy. Adapt. The bolster already gives you an incline, which is the way to do this pose in later pregnancy. Raise the head end further with a block if lying back feels uncomfortable, keep the knees well supported and do not push into the stretch. If you feel dizzy, breathless or unwell, roll onto your left side. Check with your OB or midwife before you start.

After birth. Adapt. Once your OB or midwife has cleared you to exercise, this is a restful shape for your first weeks back on the mat. Keep the blocks high under the knees, and after a caesarean birth use your hands to bring the knees together before you roll to the side and come up.

Prenatal and postpartum guides live on joahnnalee.com.

Common mistakes

• Lying back with nothing under the knees, so the inner thighs strain the whole time. That turns a resting pose into a stretch.
• Sitting a little way from the bolster, so the lower back drops into a gap. Tuck your seat right against its end before you lie back.

Reclined Butterfly is a good shape for a tired day. Set up over a bolster, it gives the hips a mild opening and the chest a little room, while the body is completely held.

It belongs to restorative yoga with props, where the bolster and blocks are in place before you lie back, so nothing has to hold on. If you do not own a bolster yet, yoga bolsters and blankets lists what to buy and which household cushions work instead. With warmth on the belly, it is also a comfortable shape for the heavy days of a period.

Bring the knees together and let them fall to one side, and you have a reclined twist, the quietest of the twists.