Bhishmasana

A wonderfully relaxing and restorative pose

Bhishmāsana,

also called the Bed of Arrows, the Bed of Nails and sometimes also the Flying Carpet this pose refers in its Sanskrit name to Bhishma, the son of King Shantanu and crown prince of the kingdom of Hastinapur.

In the battle of Kurukshetra, as told in the Mahabharata, Bhishma’s whole body was pierced by arrows shot by Arjuna, his best pupil (who went through his own inner battles and struggles prior to shooting the arrows, but that is a different story).

The Mahabharata continues telling that as Bhishma was lying on the ground dying, Arjuna shot arrows into the ground to make a pillow and bed for Bhishma. On this bed of arrows he then lay and peacefully died.

So the pose is created in honour of Bhishma and is a highly relaxing and retorative pose.

It is said to be particularly helpful in balancing pitta and also for heart issues; both physical and emotional.

I love this pose! And now that I again have access to enough blocks, it is one I regularly practice.

I do it with 7 blocks, but it can be done with 9 to 14, according to the Iyengar tradition.

And yes, it can be done without assistance.

I start by placing out the blocks approximately where I think they should be. While sitting on the floor I lean back on the block that goes behind the heart and onward to the one under the head.

Next, by pressing the feet into the floor, I lift my pelvis and place a block underneath it. After that I lift my feet up on the blocks farthest away and finally the arms on the last two.

Even though I have hyperextending knees and elbows, I’ve never felt a need for extra support. But of course, if uncomfortable, extras should be used.

Bhishmasana