How to do Gomukhasana

When you sit in the Gomukhasana pose, the contortion of your knees resembles the face of a cow and the legs protruding from both the sides of the body looks likes its ears. Cow is gau and mukh is face in Sanskrit, hence it's called Gomukhasana, or a pose that resembles the face of a cow.

Regular practice of this asana benefits men, women, the young and the old alike. It is beneficial for low back pain, knee pain, sciatica and joint pain-problems that are common in winter.

Step-by-step instructions

While keeping your back straight sit in a cross legged position and bring the right foot across the left thigh. Try to slide the right foot close to the left hip.
Cross the left foot across the right thigh and bring the left ankle by the side of the right hip or below the buttocks. Just make sure that the knees are one over the other.
You must make the effort to slide both the feet as far back as comfortable.
Keep your spine straight while keeping the head facing forward.
Now raise the right arm and bring the hand over the shoulder.
Wrap the left arm behind the back and try to clutch the right hand with the left hand behind the back by joining the fingers of the two hands together.
In the beginning you may find this a difficult asana to perform while holding the hands together in the back, but with practice you should gradually be able to do so.
You can stay in this pose for about 10-12 breaths
Release the hands and stretch the legs straight, bounce the knees a few times.
Now repeat the asana in the other direction, this time folding the left leg and placing the left foot on the outer side of the right thigh.

Benefits:

Eliminates problems in the fingers, wrists and shoulders.
Strengthens the kidneys and provides relief in polyuria.
Helps in getting rid of problems in the ankle, legs and feet.
Strengthens the neck and makes it well shaped.
Highly beneficial in sciatica and joint pain.
Strengthens the lungs.
Regular practice of Gomukhasana is very helpful for patients suffering from asthma.
Provides strength and vitality to young practitioners of this asana.

Precautions

You should avoid sliding the legs across each other too far if you are suffering from pain or injury in your knees or hips. People with shoulder injury should avoid this asana.