Makarasana (Sanskrit:मकरासन) orCrocodile pose is a recliningasana inhatha yoga and modernyoga as exercise.^[1]

The name comes from the Sanskritमकरmakara meaning "crocodile" or "monster",^[2] andआसनāsana meaning "posture" or "seat".^[3]

Makarasana is described in the 17th-centuryGheraṇḍa Saṁhitā (Chapter 2, Verse 40). It is described and illustrated inhalftone in the 1905Yogasopana Purvacatuska.^[4]

Makara is commonly translated ascrocodile, but has also been assumed to be a sea-creature like ashark ordolphin, and may have been a whollymythical beast. InHindu mythology, it was theanimal vehicle of the sea-godVaruna,^[5] and of the river-goddessGanga.^[6] A different myth in theRamayana tells howHanuman, seeking to drink from a lake, is seized, pulled under, and swallowed by a crocodile. Hanuman changes shape to become so large that the crocodile bursts, leaving a beautifulapsara nymph named Dhyanamalini who reveals that she had been cursed to become the monster.^[6]

• 
  Makara as theVahana (vehicle) of the river-goddessGanga
• 
  Makarasana inYogasopana, 1905

InLight on Yoga,B. K. S. Iyengar notes that theGheranda Samhita describes the pose as lying prone with both legs "stretched out"; the head is caught in the arms, and the pose is said to "increase bodily heat". Iyengar describes it as a variation ofSalabhasana, locust pose and illustrates it as such, with the head and legs raised energetically, the fingers interlocked clasping the back of the head, and the elbows high off the ground.^[7]

Makarasana is however often used as a relaxation asana, an alternative to the supineShavasana, and both head and legs are rested on the floor. Yoga International describes it as having the chest "slightly raised", and as "one of the best postures for working withdiaphragmatic breathing".^[5]

• Bhujangasana, Cobra pose

• Iyengar, B. K. S. (1979) [1966].Light on Yoga: Yoga Dipika. Unwin Paperbacks.

• Reclining asanas
• Medieval Hatha Yoga asanas

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• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles containing Sanskrit-language text