Two-Legged Sage Pose
द्वि पाद कौण्डिन्यासन
Dvi Pāda Kauṇḍinyāsana — an advanced balance pose that works the obliques, triceps, abdominals.
How to do Two-Legged Sage Pose
Read all of it before starting, and read the cautions further down before starting at all.
Sit and twist to the right, hooking both legs together over the left upper arm with the outer thigh high on the arm.
Set both palms flat on the mat, shoulder-width apart, with a folded blanket placed ahead of them.
Bend both elbows to a low plank angle and lean the chest well forward.
Lift the seat and float both feet, keeping the knees stacked and the legs squeezed together.
Extend both legs out to the side, hold, then lower and change sides.
Hold: 3–5 breaths 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 Two-Legged Sage 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.
- Carries both legs on one arm, so the load through the two arms is strongly unequal.
- Holds a deep rotation of the ribcage while the arms are fully weighted.
- Loads the obliques to hold both legs horizontal out to one side.
Two-Legged Sage Pose is one of 31 balance poses in this library and one of 61 poses rated advanced. Poses held on a reduced base — one foot, two hands, or the forearms.
Who should skip Two-Legged Sage Pose, or change it
- Wrist injury or carpal tunnel syndrome.
- Shoulder or elbow injury on either side.
- Recent abdominal surgery.
- Pregnancy — the twist and abdominal compression are unsuitable.
- Practise over a folded blanket set in front of the hands; the face is the first thing to land.
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 Two-Legged Sage Pose
What tends to go wrong, and the specific correction — not "engage your core".
MistakeLegs perched on the elbow rather than the upper arm.
FixSlide the outer thigh up towards the armpit so the shelf is high and stable.
MistakeTwist unwinding as the feet lift.
FixKeep both knees stacked and pointing the same way throughout.
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 Two-Legged Sage Pose 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 Two-Legged Sage Pose?
Sit and twist to the right, hooking both legs together over the left upper arm with the outer thigh high on the arm. Set both palms flat on the mat, shoulder-width apart, with a folded blanket placed ahead of them. Bend both elbows to a low plank angle and lean the chest well forward. Lift the seat and float both feet, keeping the knees stacked and the legs squeezed together. Extend both legs out to the side, hold, then lower and change sides. Hold for 3–5 breaths each side.
What does Two-Legged Sage Pose work?
Primarily the obliques, triceps, abdominals, with the shoulders, wrists, hip flexors assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: carries both legs on one arm, so the load through the two arms is strongly unequal.
Who should not do Two-Legged Sage Pose?
Wrist injury or carpal tunnel syndrome. Shoulder or elbow injury on either side. Recent abdominal surgery. Pregnancy — the twist and abdominal compression are unsuitable. Practise over a folded blanket set in front of the hands; the face is the first thing to land. 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 Two-Legged Sage Pose suitable for beginners?
No. Two-Legged Sage Pose is rated advanced. The shape itself is rarely the problem — arriving at it years too early is. Work through the beginner and intermediate balance poses on this site and learn this one in person.
How many calories does Two-Legged Sage 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. Two-Legged Sage Pose 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 balance 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.