Standing Split Pose (Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana)

Pronunciation and meaning

Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana: OORD-vuh pruh-SAH-ree-tuh AY-kuh pah-DAHS-uh-nuh. Take it one word at a time; each stresses an early syllable except the last, which stresses DAHS.

Urdhva means upward, prasarita means spread out, eka means one, pada means foot or leg and asana means posture. One leg stretches up behind you while you fold over the other.

How to do Standing Split Pose

1. Start in Standing Forward Bend with the feet hip-width apart and the knees soft. Place your hands on the floor or on two blocks, a little in front of your feet.
2. Shift your weight into your left foot and walk the hands back so they frame the left foot.
3. Inhale and lift your right leg up behind you, keeping the right knee and toes pointing roughly down toward the floor rather than turning out.
4. Exhale and let the chest fold toward the left leg. Keep a slight bend in the left knee and spread the toes of the standing foot.
5. Stay for three to five breaths, reaching the lifted heel up and back. Let the gaze rest on the standing shin.
6. Exhale and lower the right foot slowly beside the left, pause in the forward fold, and repeat on the other side.

Make it easier

• Keep both hands on high blocks and lift the leg only to hip height.
• Practise with the hands on a wall at hip height, so the body makes an L shape and the balance stays easy.
• Hold the standing ankle with one hand for a deeper fold once the balance is steady.

Pregnancy and after birth

Pregnancy. Adapt. The head goes below the heart and balance changes as the belly grows, so keep the hands on a wall or chair and the lifted leg low, or leave the pose out. Check with your OB or midwife.

After birth. Adapt. Once your doctor or midwife has cleared you, start with the wall version and short holds, and lift the leg gradually.

Prenatal and postpartum guides live on joahnnalee.com.

Common mistakes

• Locking the standing knee, which pushes the strain behind the knee.
• Twisting the hips wide open to get the leg higher.
• Holding the breath while straining for height.

Standing Split Pose often appears in a Vinyasa class after the Warrior poses, sometimes straight from Warrior III or as a transition between standing poses. It folds you over one leg while the other lifts behind you, so it stretches the hamstrings of the standing leg and works the back of the lifted one.

It suits people who already find Standing Forward Bend, Uttanasana calm with the hands near the floor. Blocks make it workable much sooner.

How does it connect to Warrior III and the splits?

Tip Warrior III forward and let the hands come down, and you have Standing Split. The family of Warrior I, II and III builds the leg strength for it, and Half Moon Pose, the sideways balance asks for the same steady standing foot.

If your goal is the splits on the floor, this pose is a useful standing partner to the routine on how to do the splits, step by step. Stop if you feel a sharp pull behind the knee or at the sit bone.