How to do - The 8 Angle Pose (Aṣṭāvakrāsana) & Origins of the Pose

The 8 Angle pose or the "Crooked 8" Pose

The "Crooked 8" pose, as labelled by the great Dharma Mittra, is dedicated to the sage Ashtavakra. I’ve written before about the mythology of Ashtavakra—how he overcame his crooked body through complete devotion to God, and how the moral of his story is that if you believe in a divine figure, whatever you believe in sees your heart, not your appearance. (The link to that story will be available at the bottom of the page.)

The Dharma Mitra collection of yoga asanas - as displayed outside our Teacher Training room.

A Modern History of the Pose

Legend has it that during the 1920s and 1930s, the grandfather of modern-day yoga, Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, was developing his innovative approach to yoga in Mysore under the patronage of the Maharaja of Mysore, Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV.

As I’ve often said, pre-Krishnamacharya, most yoga poses were variations of seated postures, particularly lotus pose. Manuscripts of the time did depict poses like Mayurasana (Peacock Pose) and headstands, but the dynamic poses we associate with modern yoga — like Warrior 1, Warrior 2, and yes, even Humble Warrior (gasp!), hadn’t been invented yet. Or perhaps they had been practiced, but they came not from traditional Indian yoga but from Western physical culture, particularly the Swedish gymnastics system pioneered by Pehr Henrik Ling and introduced to India by its British landlords.

For Krishnamacharya to maintain his position as a yoga teacher, he had to modernize yoga. For yoga to survive and evolve, the practice needed to become more dynamic and accessible—not just for ascetics and fire-breathing yogis, but for everyone, including Western men and women who likely couldn’t sit comfortably in lotus pose.

To do this, Krishnamacharya began integrating influences from gymnastics and physical culture, likely inspired by a text he accessed called Vyayama Dipika (1896), a manual of gymnastics. Under the Maharaja's patronage, Krishnamacharya would have had access to the Mysore Palace library, which housed a vast collection of physical culture resources.

Although we can’t know for certain, this is probably where Eight-Angle Pose (Ashtavakrasana) was born. Whether it was an exact copy of a gymnastics exercise or an adaptation inspired by it, Krishnamacharya likely gave the pose its name as a tribute to the great sage Ashtavakra—a reflection of the hardship and effort required to master the pose. To hold it, you had to overcome yourself, just as Ashtavakra did, and find the magic.

Krishnamacharya would then have shared this pose—or at least its concept—with one of his star pupils, a certain B.K.S. Iyengar. Many years later, in 1968, the pose made its first appearance in print and officially entered the yoga pantheon through Iyengar’s celebrated work, Light on Yoga.

Mr Iyengar, demonstrating the pose in his celebrated work 'Light on Yoga' - page 225

The Pose Itself

The pose itself is not as hard as it seems. It’s really about understanding your centre of gravity and where you are in space and time. Once you’re balanced, the body feels light and effortless. In the same way, the great sage Ashtavakra overcame similar challenges. Hence why the pose was named after him.

Through effort came non-effort—and then he simply surrendered to what and who he was. Centred and one with the universe. One with space and time.

The Sage and His Text

Ashtavakra was a beautiful man, and his journey advising King Janaka is one of my all-time favourite texts in yoga—the Ashtavakra Gita. Lesser known than its namesake, the Bhagavad Gita, the Ashtavakra Gita is more about empowerment than subservience. You can read more about Ashtavakra in my book, where I dedicate a whole chapter to him.

Anyway, The Pose: The Technique

Here it is.

Zahir Akram - Eternal Seeker

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