Kūrmāsana

Tortoise posture. The Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā (2.21-22) describes it with the limbs drawn beneath the trunk, the body compact like a tortoise in its shell. Kūrma simultaneously evokes stability and inward withdrawal — the protective enclosure that prepares for introspection — and is linked to the avatāra of Viṣṇu who supported Mount Mandara during the churning of the ocean.