From a standing position, place the blocks on each side of the feet aligning the back of the blocks with your toes
Bring the right knee to your chest and draw the right heel towards the sit bone to close the knee joint. This allows you to perform the half lotus safely
Grab the right foot with both hands and take the right knee out to the side to bring the hip into lateral rotation.
Place the right foot on the left hip crease.
Fold forward, placing hands on the blocks
To come out, push your hands onto the blocks and lift up. Slowly release the right leg.
Form tips
You can bend the standing leg knee slightly when reaching for the blocks to help with the balance folding.
Straighten the knee once the hand is on the floor.
If half lotus is not accessible, this pose can be performed with the bent leg in a figure 4 position to work on the external hip rotation.
Risks
Half lotus poses require a significant degree of external rotation in the hip joints. If the hips are tight, the body may attempt to compensate by putting pressure on the knee joints, which can lead to meniscus tears and ligament strains.
