Equestrian Pose
अश्व संचालनासन
Aśva Sañcālanāsana — a beginner standing pose that works the hip flexors, quadriceps, glutes.
How to do Equestrian Pose
Read all of it before starting, and read the cautions further down before starting at all.
From a forward fold, step the right foot back and lower the right knee if you want the gentler version.
Keep the left knee stacked over the left ankle and the fingertips down either side of the front foot.
Lengthen the spine forward and lift the chest so the back is long rather than rounded.
Press the back heel away to lengthen the back leg.
Hold, then step through and repeat on the other side.
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 Equestrian Pose 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.
- Opens the hip flexors of the back leg in a long split stance.
- Loads the front leg through a deep knee bend.
- Lengthens the back calf when the back leg is straight and the heel presses back.
Equestrian Pose 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 Equestrian Pose, or change it
- Knee injury — lower and pad the back knee.
- Wrist pain: use blocks under the hands.
- Recent groin or hip flexor strain.
- High blood pressure with long holds.
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 Equestrian Pose
What tends to go wrong, and the specific correction — not "engage your core".
MistakeChest collapsing towards the front thigh.
FixBring the hands onto blocks and lift the sternum forward.
MistakeBack hip sagging towards the floor.
FixDraw the back thigh up and the lower belly in.
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 Equestrian Pose 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 Equestrian Pose?
From a forward fold, step the right foot back and lower the right knee if you want the gentler version. Keep the left knee stacked over the left ankle and the fingertips down either side of the front foot. Lengthen the spine forward and lift the chest so the back is long rather than rounded. Press the back heel away to lengthen the back leg. Hold, then step through and repeat on the other side. Hold for 30–60 seconds.
What does Equestrian Pose work?
Primarily the hip flexors, quadriceps, glutes, with the calves, spinal erectors, shoulders assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: opens the hip flexors of the back leg in a long split stance.
Who should not do Equestrian Pose?
Knee injury — lower and pad the back knee. Wrist pain: use blocks under the hands. Recent groin or hip flexor strain. High blood pressure with long holds. 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 Equestrian Pose suitable for beginners?
Yes. Equestrian Pose 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 Equestrian Pose 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. Equestrian Pose 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 Equestrian Pose
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.