04/02/2026
This month we’ll be doing our best impression of a coffee table with utthita kurmasana. Raised Tortoise Pose. The Sanskrit word “utthita” means raised, “kurma” means tortoise or turtle, and “asana” means pose. This posture is frequently practiced as part of advanced yoga sequences.
Ancient sages frequently named asanas after shapes or qualities that they observed in nature. Tortoise Pose is named after an animal that withdraws into its shell when startled or threatened. When you take the physical shape of the tortoise in this pose, you will often experience an exquisite feeling of moving inward mentally, as though the world around you is moving out of focus as your inner world becomes more audible and clear.
🐢The benefits of raised tortoise pose include:
🌱strengthens the back
🌱tones the arms and abdominal organs
🌱increases flexibility in the hips and hamstrings
🌱quiets the mind
🌱builds core and arm strength
🌱helps improve circulation and reduce stress