Low Lunge
अञ्जनेयासन
Añjaneyāsana — a beginner standing pose that works the hip flexors, quadriceps, glutes.
How to do Low Lunge
Read all of it before starting, and read the cautions further down before starting at all.
From all fours or a forward fold, step one foot forward between the hands.
Lower the back knee to the mat and slide it back until the front hip feels a stretch.
Pad the back knee with a folded blanket if the floor is hard.
Lift the torso upright, arms overhead or hands on the front thigh.
Draw the front ribs down, hold, then change sides.
Hold: 30–60 seconds. Keep the breath moving throughout — if you are holding it, the pose is too much for today.
Muscles worked
Where the effort and the lengthening land. Primary groups do most of the work; secondary groups assist or are stretched.
What Low Lunge does
Described mechanically — what the movement does to muscle and joint. Not a list of conditions it treats, because a pose does not treat conditions.
- Stretches the hip flexors of the back leg, which shorten with long sitting.
- Loads the front thigh and glute in a split stance.
- Opens the front of the body with the pelvis supported by the floor.
Low Lunge is one of 18 standing poses in this library and one of 88 poses rated beginner. Poses built on the feet, where the legs carry the work and the floor is the reference point.
Who should skip Low Lunge, or change it
- Knee pain on the back knee — always pad it.
- Recent hip flexor strain.
- Low back injury: keep the arms lower and the back short of an arch.
- Ankle injury on the back foot if the toes are tucked.
General information only — not medical advice. Some asanas are unsuitable during pregnancy, injury or specific conditions. Learn from a qualified teacher and stop if anything hurts. If you are pregnant, recovering from surgery or managing any health condition, ask your doctor before starting a practice, and learn the pose itself from a qualified teacher who can see you move.
Common mistakes in Low Lunge
What tends to go wrong, and the specific correction — not "engage your core".
MistakeArching the lower back to feel a stretch that should be in the hip.
FixTuck the tailbone slightly and press the back thigh forward instead.
MistakeFront knee sliding past the ankle.
FixStep the front foot further forward until the shin is vertical.
What a practice like this costs in energy
Nobody has measured a single asana in a metabolic cart. The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities publishes MET values per style of practice, so Low Lunge is mapped to the nearest published code — 02150, yoga, Hatha, 2.5 MET — and the figures below are for a practice of that kind, not for holding this one pose.
| Time practising | 10 min | 20 min | 30 min | 45 min | 60 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 31 | 61 | 92 | 138 | 184 |
Calculated as MET × 3.5 × 70 kg ÷ 200 kcal per minute — the standard ACSM relationship, shown in full on the method page. Scale it to your own weight by multiplying by your weight in kilograms and dividing by 70. The whole activity dataset, including every non-yoga activity, is at BurnLab.
Questions
How do you do Low Lunge?
From all fours or a forward fold, step one foot forward between the hands. Lower the back knee to the mat and slide it back until the front hip feels a stretch. Pad the back knee with a folded blanket if the floor is hard. Lift the torso upright, arms overhead or hands on the front thigh. Draw the front ribs down, hold, then change sides. Hold for 30–60 seconds.
What does Low Lunge work?
Primarily the hip flexors, quadriceps, glutes, with the spinal erectors, shoulders, abdominals assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: stretches the hip flexors of the back leg, which shorten with long sitting.
Who should not do Low Lunge?
Knee pain on the back knee — always pad it. Recent hip flexor strain. Low back injury: keep the arms lower and the back short of an arch. Ankle injury on the back foot if the toes are tucked. This is general information, not medical advice — if any of these apply to you, ask your doctor and learn the pose with a qualified teacher rather than from a page.
Is Low Lunge suitable for beginners?
Yes. Low Lunge is a beginner-level pose on this site, which means it is learnable in a first class and has a version that works for most bodies. The cautions above still apply.
How many calories does Low Lunge burn?
The honest answer is that nobody has measured a single asana. The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities publishes MET values for styles of yoga, not for individual poses. Low Lunge sits closest to Compendium code 02150, yoga, Hatha, at 2.5 MET — about 92 kcal for 30 minutes of that kind of practice for a 70 kg adult. Holding one pose for a minute is a rounding error either way.
Sequences that use Low Lunge
Related poses
More standing poses — first at the same level, then the rest of the family.
Asana names are traditional. Every step, benefit and caution on this page is written for YogaPath rather than reproduced from any book, studio or other library — see how this site is written. Energy figures derive from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. General information only — not medical advice. Some asanas are unsuitable during pregnancy, injury or specific conditions. Learn from a qualified teacher and stop if anything hurts.