GOMUKHASANA (Cow’s Face Pose) in Hath Yoga

 GOMUKHASANA (Cow’s Face Pose)

Place the right ankle next to the left buttock and the left (ankle) next to theright (buttock).
This is gomukhasana and it resembles the face of the cow (20).

The Gomukhasana yoga pose has been mentioned in the 4th-century Darshana Upanishad and it is an effective and therapeutic exercise that stretches your shoulders, thighs, hips, ankles, triceps, chest, and underarms.

By regularly practising Gomukhasana, one can relieve their body of pain and stiffness by stretching the root of these aches, i.e., hips and shoulders. Performing the cow-face pose has therapeutic benefits as it releases hormones such as endorphins that induce a sense of calm and relaxation.

Technique of Gomukhasana

Bend the right knee and place the right foot so that the left heel touches the side of the left buttock. Then bend the left leg over the right thigh so that the heel is placed close to the right buttock. This gives the impression of a cow’s face.

Then join the hands behind the back. Stretch the left arm up in the air and bring it down behind the head andback. Stretch the right arm downward and bring it up the back. Clasp the two hands together.

In this position the back is automatically straightened. After practicing for some time, change the position so that the right leg is underneath, the left leg is on top, the left elbow is pointing up and the right elbowis pointing down.

Alternatively, the hands may rest on the upper knee, one on top of the other. In this position the eyes may be open or closed, or shambhavi mudra may be performed, which will give the mind a point of concentration. 

Although gomukh asana is not a meditative posture, the longer the position is held the better.

Benefits of Gomukhasana

Gomukhasana tones the muscles and nerves around the shoulders and the cardiac plexus. The nadis in the legs are squeezed and the nadis connected with the reproductive organs and glands are also influenced, thus regulating the hormonal secretions. On a pranic level, gomukh asana affects the vajra nadi and prevents prana from flowing outward. Instead, prana is directed to and accumulated in mooladhara chakra. Because the fingers are interlinked prana also cannot escape through the hands. Gomukh asana creates a complete energy circuit  flowing in the spinal region. In fact, the arm position is very significant as the arms form the shape of the figure eight or infinity.

This represents the complete balance of prana, between the higher and lower forces and the positive and negative aspects. The various yogic texts agree in their descriptions of gomukh asana, except one step has been omitted from the final position, and that is the arm position.