Beginner Balance

Half Side Plankअर्ध वसिष्ठासन

Ardha Vasiṣṭhāsana — a beginner balance pose that works the obliques, shoulders, hip abductors.

30–60SECONDS HELD · EACH SIDE

One line on the timetable. Half Side Plank is held 30–60 seconds each side, with the breath moving throughout — and it takes its place inside one of the practices posted on this site.

SOURCE·YogaPath sequence data — stay times as taught·one breath ≈ 5 s at an even pace·REVIEWED JUL 2026

The arc draws over 30 seconds — the short end of the hold, at 1:1 in time. One tick per breath at ≈ 5 s.

Sanskritअर्ध वसिष्ठासनArdha Vasiṣṭhāsana

EnglishHalf Side Plankalso called Forearm Side Plank, Knee-Down Side Plank

Hindiअर्ध वसिष्ठासनHindi uses the Sanskrit name

DifficultyBeginnerbalance pose

Hold for30–60 seconds each sideper side where the pose has sides

Energy, 30 min147 kcal4 MET, 70 kg adult

Worksobliquesplus 5 more muscle groups

Balance · 10 / 31

How to do Half Side Plank

Read all of it before starting, and read the cautions further down before starting at all.

Lie on your right side and set the right forearm on the mat with the elbow under the shoulder.
Bend the bottom knee to ninety degrees and leave the shin on the mat as a kickstand.
Extend the top leg long in line with the body, foot on the floor or lifted.
Press the forearm down and lift the underneath waist so the ribcage rises away from the mat.
Reach the top arm up or rest it on the hip, hold, then 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.

obliquesprimary

shouldersprimary

hip abductorsprimary

abdominalssecondary

glutessecondary

upper backsecondary

What Half Side Plank 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.

Gives the side-waist load of a side plank without putting weight through the wrist.
Loads the shoulder in a closed forearm position, which is easier on the joint than a straight arm.
Trains the outer hip on a stable, wide base.

Half Side Plank is one of 31 balance poses in this library and one of 88 poses rated beginner. Poses held on a reduced base — one foot, two hands, or the forearms.

Who should skip Half Side Plank, or change it

Shoulder injury on the supporting side.
Elbow pain — pad the forearm with a folded blanket.
Knee discomfort on the kneeling leg: use a blanket under the shin.
Recent abdominal surgery.

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 Side Plank

What tends to go wrong, and the specific correction — not "engage your core".

MistakeElbow placed too far forward or behind the shoulder.

FixSet the elbow directly under the shoulder joint before lifting.

MistakeRibcage hanging down into the bottom shoulder.

FixPress the forearm into the floor and lift the bottom side ribs first.

How the energy figure on a yoga timetable is reached

Nobody has measured a single asana in a metabolic cart, so no per-pose figure is published here — not by this site and not by anyone.
The pose is matched to the nearest style of practice in the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. Half Side Plank sits at code 02175, yoga, Power, 4 MET.
That MET value is put through the standard ACSM relationship for a stated reference adult of 70 kg.
The result is the cost of a practice of that kind for as long as you practise — not the cost of holding this one shape.
Scale it to yourself: the relationship is linear in body mass, so multiply by your own weight in kilograms and divide by 70.

kcal/min = MET × 3.5 × kg ÷ 200
         = 4 × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200
         = 4.90 kcal per minute

The whole method, including what it cannot tell you →

The same practice, hour by hour

Read it the way you would read a timetable: pick the length of session you actually sit down for, and that is the figure.

Energy cost of a yoga, Power practice at 4 MET, for a 70 kg adult. Compendium 02175 · JUL 2026
Time practising	10 min	20 min	30 min	45 min	60 min
Calories	49	98	147	221	294

SOURCE·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·code 02175 · 4 MET · 70 kg reference adult·REVIEWED JUL 2026

The whole activity dataset, including everything that is not yoga, is at BurnLab.

Asked before class

How do you do Half Side Plank?

Lie on your right side and set the right forearm on the mat with the elbow under the shoulder. Bend the bottom knee to ninety degrees and leave the shin on the mat as a kickstand. Extend the top leg long in line with the body, foot on the floor or lifted. Press the forearm down and lift the underneath waist so the ribcage rises away from the mat. Reach the top arm up or rest it on the hip, hold, then change sides. Hold for 30–60 seconds each side.

What does Half Side Plank work?

Primarily the obliques, shoulders, hip abductors, with the abdominals, glutes, upper back assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: gives the side-waist load of a side plank without putting weight through the wrist.

Who should not do Half Side Plank?

Shoulder injury on the supporting side. Elbow pain — pad the forearm with a folded blanket. Knee discomfort on the kneeling leg: use a blanket under the shin. Recent abdominal surgery. 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 Side Plank suitable for beginners?

Yes. Half Side Plank 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 Half Side Plank 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 Side Plank 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.

Sequences that use Half Side Plank

Trunk strength9 poses · about 20 minutes

The rest of the balance poses on the wall

More balance poses — first at the same level, then the rest of the family.

Tree Pose● Vṛkṣāsana Beginner · balance · 20–45 seconds each side Plank Pose Phalakāsana Beginner · balance · 20–45 seconds Dolphin Plank Pose Makara Adho Mukha Śvānāsana Beginner · balance · 20–45 seconds Eight-Limbed Pose Aṣṭāṅga Namaskāra Beginner · balance · 1 breath in a flow, or 3–5 breaths held Warrior III Vīrabhadrāsana III Intermediate · balance · 20–45 seconds each side Extended Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose Utthita Hasta Pādāṅguṣṭhāsana Advanced · balance · 5–15 seconds Half Moon Pose Ardha Candrāsana Intermediate · balance · 20–45 seconds each side Lord of the Dance Pose Naṭarājāsana Advanced · balance · 5–15 seconds

All 31 balance poses All beginner poses Posture and upright sitting Desk work — neck, shoulders and hips Hips The full library

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 and what it is written from. 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.

SOURCE·Published asana references·asana names, alignment and cautions as taught·REVIEWED JUL 2026

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