Upward Extended Feet Pose

How to do Upward Extended Feet Pose

1. 1Lie flat on your back with your legs together, arms resting along your sides, palms pressed firmly into the floor.
2. 2Draw your navel gently toward your spine to anchor your lower back securely against the mat.
3. 3Inhale as you lift both legs straight up toward the ceiling until they are perpendicular to the floor at a ninety-degree angle.
4. 4Reach actively through the balls of your feet while keeping your quadriceps engaged and kneecaps lifted.
5. 5Exhale and slowly lower your legs with control toward the floor, stopping before your lower back peels off the mat.
6. 6Keep your shoulder blades grounded, your neck relaxed, and your chest open throughout the descent.
7. 7Inhale to lift the legs smoothly back up to vertical without using momentum, repeating for your desired repetitions.

Benefits

• Strengthens the deep abdominal wall and transverse abdominis
• Tones and conditions the hip flexors and quadriceps
• Supports lumbar spine stability by reinforcing core recruitment
• Stimulates abdominal organs and supports healthy digestion
• Enhances neuromuscular control through eccentric leg lowering

Common mistakes and cues

• Arching the lower back

  Do not lower the legs past the point where your lumbar spine pulls away from the mat.

• Bending the knees

  Keep your legs fully straight and thighs engaged, reducing the range of motion if hamstrings or core feel strained.

• Tensing the neck and shoulders

  Keep your collarbones broad, shoulders grounded, and facial muscles relaxed rather than clenching upward.

• Using momentum

  Move slowly and deliberately with the breath rather than swinging the legs to complete repetitions.

Modifications and props

• Hands under sacrum

  Slide your hands palm-down beneath your hips to help maintain a neutral pelvis and relieve lumbar strain.

• Single leg variation

  Keep one knee bent with the foot on the floor while raising and lowering the opposite straight leg.

• Bent knee tabletop

  Bend your knees to ninety degrees and tap your toes to the floor to reduce the lever length.

• Block between thighs

  Squeeze a yoga block between your inner thighs to engage the adductors and stabilize the pelvic floor.

Cautions

• Acute low back pain

  Avoid full double-leg lowering if you experience sharp or pinching pain in the lumbar spine.

• Diastasis recti

  Modify with bent knees to prevent excessive intra-abdominal pressure that can strain the abdominal midline.

• Late pregnancy

  Avoid prolonged supine postures and heavy abdominal loading to ensure safe blood flow and comfort.

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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