This pose is a favorite among students and teachers, simply because it’s so fun to say. It also does not require props or support, and can be practiced first thing upon waking without even getting out of bed. Crossing the legs either way provides more sensation for those not experiencing an edge with the feet parallel.

Students experiencing numbness or tingling in the fingers can cross their arms across the chest to remove this sensation and focus on the sides of the body and legs instead. Teachers with sandbags can use the sandbag placed on the outside of the feet to prevent them from sliding back on a slippery floor.

Pregnant students or those uncomfortable lying on the back can take this pose on the side with the support of a bolster or rolled blankets beneath the ribcage. It is also a fantastic chair pose.

If you are sequencing based on TCM meridians, you couldn’t get a more classic Gall Bladder pose, as the entire side of the body hosts this meridian.