Bhadrasana - The Beneficial Pose

'Bhadra' means 'beneficial' in Sanskrit.
Sequence:

1. Sit erect in Sukhasana.
2. Stretch the legs forward and keep them together.
3. Pull the legs inward and bring the feet towards the body, bending the knees outward.
4. Join the soles and keep the heels and toes together.
5. Form a fingerlock and clasp your fingers around the toes and the forepart of the feet.
6. Keep the trunk and head erect.
7. Bending your elbows outward, draw in the feet little by little until the heels are in front of the genitals. While doing this, widen the thighs and allow the knees to bend gently downward.
8. Lower the knees gently until they touch the floor.
9. Draw in the heels further and fix them on either side of the perineum.
10. Sit erect.
11. Release the fingerlock, stretch forward the legs and resume the starting position.

Benefits:

* Bhadrasana strengthens the muscles of the groin and the pelvis.
* The weight of the flexed knees stretches and tones up the adductor muscles running along the inner thighs.
* It has a beneficial effect on the muscles and ligaments of the uro-genital region, promoting in it a supply of fresh blood.
* It restores elasticity to stiff knees, hips and ankle-joints.
* It relieves tension in the sacral and coccygeal regions of the spine.
* It keeps the kidneys, the prostrate, and the urinary bladder healthy.