Half Lord of the Fishes Pose II
अर्ध मत्स्येन्द्रासन द्वितीय
Ardha Matsyendrāsana II — an advanced twist that works the obliques, spinal erectors, hip flexors.
How to do Half Lord of the Fishes Pose II
Read all of it before starting, and read the cautions further down before starting at all.
Sit with the legs forward, then fold the left leg into a half lotus so the left foot rests high on the right thigh.
Bend the right knee and stand the right foot on the floor, or extend that leg straight if the hip protests.
Reach the left arm around behind the back and take hold of the left foot or a strap looped around it.
Turn the chest to the left and take the right hand to the outside of the standing shin or ankle.
Lengthen up, deepen the turn on an exhale, hold, then release slowly and change sides.
Hold: 30–60 seconds each side. 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 Half Lord of the Fishes Pose II 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.
- Combines deep external rotation at one hip with a bound rotation of the whole trunk.
- Stretches the front of the shoulder on the binding side while the ribs turn away.
- Loads the obliques in a shape where the arms cannot help you cheat the rotation.
Half Lord of the Fishes Pose II is one of 25 twists in this library and one of 61 poses rated advanced. Poses that rotate the spine around its long axis with the pelvis anchored.
Who should skip Half Lord of the Fishes Pose II, or change it
- Pregnancy — a closed, bound twist has no place here.
- Any disc injury, spondylolisthesis or recent spinal surgery.
- Sacroiliac irritation, which the half lotus plus rotation reliably finds.
- Recent abdominal surgery.
- Knee injury: half lotus loads the knee sideways — skip it and keep the leg straight.
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 Half Lord of the Fishes Pose II
What tends to go wrong, and the specific correction — not "engage your core".
MistakeForcing the half lotus by pulling the foot up with the hands.
FixBuild the hip rotation elsewhere first; a straight leg is the honest version today.
MistakeHauling on the bind so the shoulder rolls forward and the chest closes.
FixUse a strap, keep the collarbones broad, and let the twist come from the ribs.
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 Half Lord of the Fishes Pose II is mapped to the nearest published code — 02175, yoga, Power, 4 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 | 49 | 98 | 147 | 221 | 294 |
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 Half Lord of the Fishes Pose II?
Sit with the legs forward, then fold the left leg into a half lotus so the left foot rests high on the right thigh. Bend the right knee and stand the right foot on the floor, or extend that leg straight if the hip protests. Reach the left arm around behind the back and take hold of the left foot or a strap looped around it. Turn the chest to the left and take the right hand to the outside of the standing shin or ankle. Lengthen up, deepen the turn on an exhale, hold, then release slowly and change sides. Hold for 30–60 seconds each side.
What does Half Lord of the Fishes Pose II work?
Primarily the obliques, spinal erectors, hip flexors, with the shoulders, chest, glutes assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: combines deep external rotation at one hip with a bound rotation of the whole trunk.
Who should not do Half Lord of the Fishes Pose II?
Pregnancy — a closed, bound twist has no place here. Any disc injury, spondylolisthesis or recent spinal surgery. Sacroiliac irritation, which the half lotus plus rotation reliably finds. Recent abdominal surgery. Knee injury: half lotus loads the knee sideways — skip it and keep the leg straight. 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 Half Lord of the Fishes Pose II suitable for beginners?
No. Half Lord of the Fishes Pose II is rated advanced. The shape itself is rarely the problem — arriving at it years too early is. Work through the beginner and intermediate twists poses on this site and learn this one in person.
How many calories does Half Lord of the Fishes Pose II 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. Half Lord of the Fishes Pose II sits closest to Compendium code 02175, yoga, Power, at 4 MET — about 147 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.
Related poses
More twists — 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.