Shoelace Pose- Revolved Shoelace Posture- Practice, Benefits and Contraindications

Common Name(s)	Shoelace pose in English
Meridians	Spleen and Stomach
Chakras	Sacral Chakra (Swadisthana Chakra) , Root Chakra (Muladhara Chakra)
Elements	Earth and Water

The shoelace pose is an asana done in sitting position with legs crossing over one another. Its variation, the revolved shoelace pose, involves twisting the lower back as well. 

This asana affects the Sacral Chakra (Swadisthana Chakra) and Root Chakra (Muladhara Chakra) and helps in controlling and regulating the Pitta and Kapha elements. It impacts the Spleen and Stomach meridians and water and earth elements of the body. This is considered a beginner level pose and is relatively easier to do than the advanced poses.

Contraindications of Shoelace Pose

What is it that you should know before entering the pose? These contraindications help in preparing yourself in right manner while doing the pose. At the same time, these precautions help in preventing or aggravating injuries or doing wrong postures.

1/5. People having the problem of sciatica are advised to use a cushion beneath their hips.

2/5. This pose puts pressure of knees and pelvis region. Therefore, proper cushioning shall be pre-arranged before entering into pose.

3/5. The hips shall rotate forward and not backwards. 

4/5. People with problems in the lower back should keep spine as straight as possible. 

5/5. During the course of entering into the pose, the forward bending move should not be done by the pregnant women.

Steps to do the Shoelace Pose

Follow these easy steps to perform the asana…

1/5. The best way to get into the pose is to sit cross legged, as in ‘Sukhasana’ and, using hands, draw one foot under the thigh of other leg and the other foot over towards the opposite hip.

2/5. If you are not able to sit cross legged, you can try one more way of getting into this pose. Just kneel down and have hands on the floor in front. Lift up one knee and roll it over on the other one and then sit down.

3/5. Yet another way of doing it is by sitting down on knees and sliding to sit on one of the hip. The released foot comes  over towards the opposite hip.

4/5. Hold the toes of the legs placed close to the hips with the hands. Lean forward with head coming over both the knees in forward bending pose. 

5/5. In the Revolved Shoelace Pose, instead of bending forward, you just have to twist the belly on either side in turns and place the hand on floor to balance.

How to come out of the Shoelace Pose?

Coming out of this posture is easy. Just release your hips and slowly move the upper leg to its straight position. Do the same with the other leg. 

Benefits of Shoelace Asana

This yoga pose benefits the body in following ways-

1/4. It helps in activating the Sacral and Root chakras allowing proper energy flows.

2/4. This is good hip opening exercise for the beginners to yoga.

3/4. When bending forward, it is good for lower spine and relaxes the muscles.

4/4. The pose helps to develop strength in joints and muscles of lower back, feet and ankles, hamstrings, knees, hips, pelvic and quadriceps.

Alternatives and Variations

1/5. You can make use of the bolster to provide support to any such part of body which is not feeling comfortable or is protesting.

2/5. Instead of having both legs crossing one another, you can keep one leg straight and let the other cross over. In this pose, you can also lean forward.

3/5. The head can be supported by hand if required.

4/4. You can also do the side bends or twists in this pose.

5/5. Swan pose, Square Pose, and Eye of the Needle pose are some of the alternatives to this posture.

Counter poses 

One of the effective counter-poses which will help in ameliorating muscular tensions while doing the pose is the Windshield Wipers pose. This pose allows for internal rotation of the leg which is in opposition to the outward rotation done in this asana.

Deer pose or Mrigasana is another counter to this pose. For Revolved Shoelace Pose, the counter is just to twist on the other side.

How long to stay in the Shoelace Pose?

Generally, it is recommended to stay in the pose on either side for 3 to 5 minutes.