Supta Baddha Konasana (supine bound angle pose)

Supta Baddha Kanasana (supine bound angle pose)

To do this pose:

Sit down on your mat with a block, bolster, or pillow nearby. Bend your knees and put the soles of your feet together. Keep your feet far enough away from your pelvis that you make a diamond with your legs and there isn’t any pressure or stress on your knees. When you’re comfortable, lay back, placing either a block or your bolster on the floor between your shoulder blades. Relax your head, neck, and arms down by your sides. Close your eyes and breath into your hips and your heart, letting go of the day.

How this pose is especially beneficial for nurses: 

• It opens the hips. Stress is often carried in the hips, but nurses especially since we’re on our feet most of the day. Opening the hips and stretching them out helps release this stress, anxiety, and negative energy. Notice what thoughts and feelings are coming up for you during this pose.     
• It opens the heart. Especially nowadays, it feels like half of what we do as nurses is charting, and when we’re not charting, we’re hunched over our patients’ beds. 
• We also tend to close off our hearts emotionally to protect ourselves from what can be a very somber environment and job. During this pose, let yourself feel whatever comes up for you, without closing yourself off from it. 
• It’s restorative. Restorative yoga poses are usually held for anywhere from 5- 60 minutes so that you

Try this pose after your next long shift, notice what thoughts and feelings come up for you and LET yourself feel them.