Tortoise (Kurmasana)

Type: Seated forward bend
Level: Advance

Steps:
Sit straight with your legs bent and wide apart. Bending forward put your right arms under your knee and thighs. Press your legs against your shoulder bones and bend your torso and head down towards the ground.

Props & Assistance:
• Sit on a folded blanket if you have tightness in your hips or lower back

Preparatory poses:
•Archer
•Standing forward bend
•Seated forward bend
•Wide legged seated forward bend
•Staff
•Downward dog

Follow up poses:
•Childs
•Downward dog
•Corpse

Benefits:
•Strengthens the back
•Tones the abdominal organs
•Encourages flexibility in the hips
•Quietens the mind
•Helps with Insomnia
•Helps internalise

Caution/Avoid:
•Menstruation
•Pregnancy
•Herniated disks
•Problems with lower back muscles
•If you are thinking of starting yoga and have a medical condition, it is advisable to check with your doctor.

Sarah Williams is a Qualified Yoga Teacher based in London with an online presence @sarahlucyyoga on Instagram and Facebook. She also blogs about yoga and health & wellbeing topics on her website. Sarah’s focus is Vinyasa Flow, Hatha and Ashtanga styles of yoga and she completed part of her yoga teacher training in India.
As well as being a yoga teacher Sarah is also a Chartered Accountant. She fell in love with yoga as it was a release from the office, it taught her to value her health and improved the attitude she had towards life and herself. As a teacher she is able to pass on the benefits of yoga to her students and finds the job incredibly rewarding.

She has completed her 300 hr advanced teacher training from Sampoorna Yoga Goa in January-February 2019. If interested in Yoga Teacher Training please browse our Teacher Training page