Destroyer of the Universe Poseकाल भैरवासन
Kāla Bhairavāsana — an advanced balance pose that works the obliques, shoulders, hip abductors.
3–5BREATHS HELD · EACH SIDE
One line on the timetable. Destroyer of the Universe Pose is held 3–5 breaths each side, with the breath moving throughout — and no set practice here is built around it — it is held on its own.
SOURCE·YogaPath sequence data — stay times as taught·one breath ≈ 5 s at an even pace·REVIEWED JUL 2026
How to do Destroyer of the Universe Pose
Read all of it before starting, and read the cautions further down before starting at all.
Sit and take the right leg behind the right shoulder, working the shin high onto the back of the shoulder.
Turn towards the left and plant the left palm flat on the mat, well out to the side.
Press the outer edge of the left foot into the floor and straighten the left leg.
Press the left hand down, lift the hips and turn the chest open towards the ceiling.
Reach the top arm up, hold, then lower with control 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 Destroyer of the Universe 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.
- Balances on one hand and one foot with the other leg hooked behind the shoulder.
- Loads the side waist and the outer hip of the supporting leg under full body weight.
- Demands extreme hip flexion and external rotation on the hooked leg.
Destroyer of the Universe 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 Destroyer of the Universe Pose, or change it
- Wrist injury or carpal tunnel syndrome — one wrist carries the entire load.
- Shoulder or neck injury, since a leg rests across the shoulder.
- Hamstring or groin strain on the hooked leg.
- Low back or sacroiliac problems.
- Pregnancy at any stage.
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 Destroyer of the Universe Pose
What tends to go wrong, and the specific correction — not "engage your core".
MistakeForcing the leg behind the shoulder before the hip is ready.
FixWork leg-behind-head shapes lying down for months before adding weight to them.
MistakeSupporting hand placed too close to the hip so the shape folds.
FixSet the hand well out to the side, roughly under the top shoulder.
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. Destroyer of the Universe Pose 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 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.
| 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 Destroyer of the Universe Pose?
Sit and take the right leg behind the right shoulder, working the shin high onto the back of the shoulder. Turn towards the left and plant the left palm flat on the mat, well out to the side. Press the outer edge of the left foot into the floor and straighten the left leg. Press the left hand down, lift the hips and turn the chest open towards the ceiling. Reach the top arm up, hold, then lower with control and change sides. Hold for 3–5 breaths each side.
What does Destroyer of the Universe Pose work?
Primarily the obliques, shoulders, hip abductors, with the hamstrings, wrists, abdominals assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: balances on one hand and one foot with the other leg hooked behind the shoulder.
Who should not do Destroyer of the Universe Pose?
Wrist injury or carpal tunnel syndrome — one wrist carries the entire load. Shoulder or neck injury, since a leg rests across the shoulder. Hamstring or groin strain on the hooked leg. Low back or sacroiliac problems. Pregnancy at any stage. 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 Destroyer of the Universe Pose suitable for beginners?
No. Destroyer of the Universe 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 Destroyer of the Universe 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. Destroyer of the Universe 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.
The rest of the balance poses on the wall
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 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
The people behind these sites
Follow the build
This site and nine others like it are built and photographed by two people: Amit Sharma — behind the build; Geeta Patel — the poses, demonstrated. New work goes up on Instagram and Facebook before it reaches a page here.
Amit Sharma
@amitsharmaofficial
Instagram
Geeta Patel
@geetapatelnz
Instagram
Geeta Patel
GeetaPatelYoga
Facebook
Following changes nothing here — every page stays open, with no account and no wall.
