Locust Pose with Right Leg Up

How to do Locust Pose with Right Leg Up

1. 1Lie face down on your mat with your legs extended straight behind you and your forehead resting on the floor.
2. 2Slide your arms alongside your body with your palms facing down, or tuck your hands lightly beneath your thighs for extra leverage.
3. 3Press your pubic bone firmly into the mat, draw your navel toward your spine, and root down through the top of your left foot.
4. 4Inhale as you lift your head, chest, and shoulders off the floor, drawing your shoulder blades down away from your ears.
5. 5Simultaneously lift your right leg straight up from the hip, keeping the knee fully extended and your toes pointing directly backward.
6. 6Keep both frontal hip points level and grounded against the mat, resisting the temptation to tilt or open your right hip to gain height.
7. 7Gaze softly toward the top edge of your mat to maintain length along the back of your neck.
8. 8Hold the lift for several full breaths, then exhale as you slowly lower back to the mat to rest before switching sides.

Benefits

• Strengthens the right gluteal muscles and hamstrings through active hip extension.
• Builds isometric endurance along the erector spinae and upper back muscles.
• Improves pelvic and sacroiliac joint stability by challenging asymmetrical control.
• Gently opens the anterior chest and shoulders to counter rounded posture.
• Applies therapeutic pressure to the abdomen to stimulate digestive organs.

Common mistakes and cues

• Rotating the lifted hip

  Keep both frontal hip bones evenly pressed toward the mat rather than rolling the right hip open to lift higher.

• Bending the lifted knee

  Reach straight out through the right toes to keep the leg fully extended and activate the hamstring.

• Cranking the neck backward

  Keep your gaze angled slightly forward on the floor to maintain a long, neutral cervical spine.

• Holding the breath

  Maintain steady diaphragmatic breathing against the floor rather than bearing down and holding your breath.

• Disengaging the grounded leg

  Press the top of the left foot and thigh firmly down to provide a secure anchor for the pelvis.

Modifications and props

• Hands tucked under pelvis

  Slide your palms face down under your groins to provide gentle leverage and support for the lifted leg.

• Blanket beneath hips

  Place a neatly folded blanket under your pelvis and lower abdomen to cushion sensitive hip points against the hard floor.

• Forehead resting on hands

  Keep your upper body relaxed with your forehead on stacked hands to isolate the movement entirely in the right leg.

• Strap assist around foot

  Loop a yoga strap around the right foot and hold both ends over your shoulder to support the leg lift if glute strength is limited.

Cautions

• Active lumbar disc issues

  Avoid prone backbends if experiencing acute disc herniations or sharp nerve pain in the lower back.

• Pregnancy

  Avoid prone positions that place direct pressure on the abdomen; substitute with tabletop leg extensions.

• Recent abdominal surgery

  Refrain from this pose until incisions and deep abdominal tissues have fully healed.

If you are working with an injury, pregnancy or a medical condition, check with a qualified professional before practising this pose.

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