How long should I hold One-Legged Upward-Facing Dog on each side?

Three to five breaths per side, two to three rounds, is a sensible dose, and the side you find harder goes first. Keep the count identical on both legs even when the second one feels heavier. If you are using it inside a flow, one lift per side per round is plenty; this is a control drill, not a conditioning one.

How do I make One-Legged Upward-Facing Dog easier or harder?

For an easier version, lift the leg only a few inches so the pelvis stays square, or stay in two-legged Up Dog and lighten one foot on the floor. For more, hold longer, or point through the lifted foot and reach it back rather than up, which asks more of the glute and less of the lower back.

What does One-Legged Upward-Facing Dog train, and who should avoid it?

It loads the glute and spinal extensors on the lifted side while the arms support a chest and hip-flexor opening, which builds control for arm-supported backbends and single-leg shapes. It is a poor choice if the two-legged version still drops your thighs to the floor, and a poor choice when the wrists are already loaded from a session of pressing. Any pinching in the low back means come down rather than adjust.

Intermediate

One-Legged Upward-Facing Dog

This variation of Up Dog lifts one leg away from the floor, loading the glute and spinal extensors of the raised side while opening the chest and abdomen. It builds control for arm-supported backbends and single-leg poses like One-Legged King Pigeon. Use it as a transitional shape within a flow or as a targeted chest and hip-flexor opener.

Equipment: Body Weight
Body part: Back, Chest
Type: Stretching, Yoga
Browse by muscle: Erector Spinae, Gluteus Maximus

How to do it

1
From a prone position, place the hands beside the lower ribs with elbows hugging in.
2
Press into the hands and the tops of the feet to lift the chest, thighs, and hips off the floor.
3
Straighten the arms and draw the shoulders down and back to broaden the chest.
4
Keeping the shape, lift one leg straight up behind you without twisting the pelvis.
5
Hold for three to five breaths, gazing slightly upward with a long neck.
6
Lower the leg, rest, and repeat with the other leg lifted.

Tips

Keep the thighs and hips off the floor so the arms and posterior chain share the load, not the lumbar spine.
Square the hips as the leg rises; do not let the raised hip hike open.
Press the base of the index fingers down to keep pressure off the wrists.
Lengthen the tailbone toward the lifted heel to avoid compressing the lower back.

Variations

Common mistakes

Lifting the leg before the thighs have cleared the floor means you are hoisting one leg out of a sagging pose rather than adding a leg lift to a finished one.
Height becomes the goal, so the leg rises by bending the knee and kicking upward instead of extending long from the hip.
Weight slides into the arm on the same side as the lifted leg, so one shoulder carries the pose and that elbow starts to bend.
Holding the breath through the leg lift is common because the position feels precarious, but the hold is only as long as the breath you can keep even.
The second side gets a shorter hold than the first because the arms are already tired, which builds in the asymmetry this pose exists to expose.

Frequently asked

How long should I hold One-Legged Upward-Facing Dog on each side?: Three to five breaths per side, two to three rounds, is a sensible dose, and the side you find harder goes first. Keep the count identical on both legs even when the second one feels heavier. If you are using it inside a flow, one lift per side per round is plenty; this is a control drill, not a conditioning one.
How do I make One-Legged Upward-Facing Dog easier or harder?: For an easier version, lift the leg only a few inches so the pelvis stays square, or stay in two-legged Up Dog and lighten one foot on the floor. For more, hold longer, or point through the lifted foot and reach it back rather than up, which asks more of the glute and less of the lower back.
What does One-Legged Upward-Facing Dog train, and who should avoid it?: It loads the glute and spinal extensors on the lifted side while the arms support a chest and hip-flexor opening, which builds control for arm-supported backbends and single-leg shapes. It is a poor choice if the two-legged version still drops your thighs to the floor, and a poor choice when the wrists are already loaded from a session of pressing. Any pinching in the low back means come down rather than adjust.

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