Simhasana (lion pose)

• Sit in vajrasana with the knees about 45 cm apart.
• The toes of both feet should remain in contact with each other.
• Lean forward and place the palms of the hands on the floor between the knees, with the fingers pointing towards the body.
• Straighten the arms fully and arch the back.
• Rest the body on the straight arms.
• Tilt the head back so that there is a comfortable amount of tension in the neck.
• Close the eyes and focus the inner gaze at the eyebrow centre, performing shambhavi mudra.
• The eyes may also be kept open, in which case gaze at a point on the ceiling.
• The mouth should be closed.
• Relax the whole body and mind.

Benefits: In this posture there is a very definite extension of the spinal cord and the body is absolutely fixed. There is total physical stability.
Note: Generally, simhasana is associated with the roaring lion pos­ture, but the scriptures give that posture as a variation of simhasana (see simhaga1janasana, the roaring lion, given in the following practice).
In this asana the lion is sitting quietly, waiting for something to happen. This is the mental attitude the mind has to adopt in order to enter deep meditative states.