Skip to main content
Also known as: Uttana padasana, Raised leg pose.

Technique

  1. Lie on your back, extend and rest your legs and hips on the floor.
  2. Push your elbows and forearms into the ground to lift your chest off the floor and rotate your head backwards to rest it on the ground.
  3. Then lift your legs up and straighten them at about 45 degrees.
  4. Extend the arms and bring the palms together at about 45 degrees.
  5. As you breathe in this position, keep your belly firm and your chest raised.

Form tips

  • If you feel lower back pain or pinching, bend the knees or lower the heels to the floor ( Supported advanced fish pose).
  • The more you can lift your upper back, the more space your neck will have to take your head back.
  • Avoid hyperextending the neck as you take the head back.

Muscles

Strength

Primary

  • Spine
  • Neck

Secondary

  • Pelvis
  • Quadriceps
  • Hip adductors
  • Spinalis thoracis
  • Longissimus thoracis
  • Iliocostalis
  • Semispinalis capitis
  • Splenius
  • Rectus capitis posterior major
  • Rectus capitis posterior minor
  • Obliquus capitis superior
  • Longissimus cervicis
  • Longissimus capitis
  • Upper trapezius
  • Obliquus capitis inferior
  • Iliacus
  • Rectus femoris
  • Psoas major

Equipment

Appears in

Other disciplines
Joint movements
trains stretches

Progressions

w01w

Primary series finishing sequence 1

Elite

Regressions

e0v9

Supported advanced fish pose

Novice
e0v7

Lotus fish pose

Intermediate
e194

Straight legs neck bridge with hand support

Intermediate
e195

Straight legs neck bridge with straight arms support

Intermediate
e0v6

Fish pose

Novice
e02a

Bridge

Intermediate
Want to log this exercise? Open it in Calistree. Text and images are used under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0; the video plays from the original source.