Pyramid Pose (Parsvottanasana)

Pronunciation and meaning

Parsvottanasana: parsh-voh-tahn-AHS-uh-nuh. Parsva sounds like parsh-va, and the stress falls on AHS.

Parsva means side, uttana means intense stretch and asana means posture, so the name is intense side stretch. With one foot forward and both legs straight, you fold over the front leg, and the legs and body make the shape of a pyramid.

How to do Pyramid Pose

1. From Mountain Pose, step your left foot back about three feet, shorter than a Warrior stance. Turn the left foot out about 45 degrees with the heel down.
2. Keep the feet hip-width apart, as if on two rails, and turn both hip points to face the front of the mat.
3. Place your hands on your hips or on blocks either side of the right foot. Inhale and lengthen the spine forward.
4. Exhale and hinge from the hips over the right leg, keeping the back long. Keep a soft bend in the front knee if the hamstring pulls.
5. Stay for five to eight breaths, pressing evenly through both feet. Let the head release only once the spine is long.
6. Inhale, press into the feet and rise with a flat back. Step forward and repeat with the right foot back.

Make it easier

• Rest the hands on blocks or a chair seat instead of the floor.
• Take the feet wider apart side to side for more balance.
• Bring the hands into reverse prayer behind the back only if the shoulders are open enough; otherwise hold opposite elbows or keep the hands on blocks.

Pregnancy and after birth

Pregnancy. Adapt. Take the feet wider apart, keep the hands on blocks or a chair so the fold stays shallow, and come up slowly. Check with your OB or midwife.

After birth. Adapt. After your doctor or midwife has cleared you, use blocks and a soft front knee, and rise slowly to avoid dizziness.

Before adapting a pose, read is yoga safe during pregnancy on joahnnalee.com.

Common mistakes

• Setting the feet on one line, which makes it hard to balance and twists the hips.
• Locking or hyperextending the front knee.
• Rounding the back to bring the head down toward the knee.

Pyramid Pose is a standing forward fold over one leg. It appears in many Vinyasa and Hatha classes as a deeper hamstring stretch, often after Triangle and before balances like Half Moon.

Because the feet are close and the hips face forward, it asks for both balance and patience in the backs of the legs. Blocks make it workable for most people.

How does pyramid pose differ from other forward folds?

In a Standing Forward Bend both legs share the stretch. Pyramid focuses it on the front leg, and the square hips make it more precise. It shares the long legs of Triangle Pose, but the hips face forward rather than open to the side.

Who is it for?

It suits anyone who wants a careful stretch for the backs of the legs, and it is a regular in routines for runners. It is one of the twelve yoga poses for tight hamstrings, set out in practice order. The hamstring stretches routine includes a version for days off the mat.