Lizard Pose (Utthan Pristhasana)

Pronunciation and meaning

Utthan Pristhasana: OOT-tahn prish-TAHS-uh-nuh. Utthan has a held double t, and Pristhasana stresses TAHS.

Utthan Pristhasana is usually translated as lizard posture: a low lunge with the front foot stepped outside the hands and the chest lowered toward the floor. It stretches the front of the back hip and the inner and outer front hip together.

How to do Lizard Pose

1. From Downward-Facing Dog or hands and knees, step your right foot forward to the outside of your right hand, toes pointing forward or turned out slightly.
2. Lower your left knee onto a folded blanket and slide it back until the right knee sits over or just behind the right ankle.
3. Keep your hands under your shoulders, or place your forearms on a block or two. Lower only as far as the hips allow.
4. Lengthen through the chest so the back stays long, and let the hips ease forward and down. Keep the right knee pointing the same way as the toes.
5. Stay for five to ten breaths in an active class, or one to three minutes in a slow one, breathing into the hips.
6. Press back up onto the hands, step the right foot back, and repeat with the left foot forward.

Make it easier

• Keep the hands on blocks instead of lowering to the forearms.
• Let the front knee roll out onto the edge of the foot for a softer stretch of the inner thigh.
• Tuck the back toes and lift the back knee for a stronger, more active version.

Pregnancy and after birth

Pregnancy. Adapt. Keep the hands on high blocks, widen the front foot to make room for the belly, and keep the stretch mild, since joints loosen in pregnancy. Check with your OB or midwife.

After birth. Adapt. Once your doctor or midwife has cleared you, start with hands on blocks and short holds. Ease off if you feel pain at the pubic bone or pulling along a caesarean scar.

Wondering about yoga safety in pregnancy? Joahnna Lee covers it trimester by trimester.

Common mistakes

• Letting the front knee drift in toward the midline or travel far past the ankle.
• Dropping to the forearms before the hips are ready, which rounds the back and strains the knee.
• Kneeling on the bare kneecap without padding.

Lizard Pose is one of the deepest lunges in a typical Vinyasa class. It usually comes after Low Lunge, once the front of the hips has warmed up, and it often leads into hip openers such as Pigeon.

Many people find it a good stretch after long hours of sitting or a run. Blocks under the hands keep it within reach for most bodies.

How is lizard pose different from a low lunge?

In Low Lunge the front foot stays between the hands and the chest lifts. In Lizard the foot steps outside the hand and the chest lowers, which adds more stretch around the inner front hip. Held still in a Yin class, the shape becomes Dragon Pose.

Where does it fit in a practice?

It sits well before Pigeon Pose, the classic hip opener, and in any routine for the front of the hips. The hip flexor stretches routine and the plan for working towards the splits both use a similar lunge.