Intermediate Inversions

Wide-Legged Plough Poseसुप्त कोणासन

Supta Koṇāsana — an intermediate inversion that works the hamstrings, hip adductors, spinal erectors.

30–60SECONDS HELD

One line on the timetable. Wide-Legged Plough Pose is held 30–60 seconds, 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

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

Sanskritसुप्त कोणासनSupta Koṇāsana

EnglishWide-Legged Plough Pose

Hindiसुप्त कोणासनHindi uses the Sanskrit name

DifficultyIntermediateinversion

Hold for30–60 secondsper side where the pose has sides

Energy, 30 min147 kcal4 MET, 70 kg adult

Workshamstringsplus 5 more muscle groups

Inversions · 16 / 20

How to do Wide-Legged Plough Pose

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

Set up on folded blankets and come into Plough Pose with the toes on the floor or on a chair.
Walk the feet apart until the legs are as wide as they comfortably go.
Keep the legs straight and press the toes down evenly on both sides.
Take hold of the big toes with the fingers if they reach, otherwise keep the hands on the back.
Hold, walk the feet back together, and roll down slowly to the floor.

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.

hamstringsprimary

hip adductorsprimary

spinal erectorsprimary

shoulderssecondary

abdominalssecondary

calvessecondary

What Wide-Legged Plough 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.

Lengthens the hamstrings and inner thighs at once, with the spine already flexed.
Loads the shoulders in extension behind the body throughout the hold.
Widens the base of the shape, which asks more of the trunk to stay stacked.

Wide-Legged Plough Pose is one of 20 inversions in this library and one of 60 poses rated intermediate. Poses where the head sits below the heart. The group that needs the most care and the most teaching.

Who should skip Wide-Legged Plough Pose, or change it

Glaucoma or raised eye pressure, and uncontrolled high blood pressure.
Neck or cervical spine injury: the neck is flexed under load, so the blanket stack is essential.
Pregnancy — not a shape to begin in pregnancy; continuing an established inversion practice is a decision for you and your doctor.
Menstruation: many traditions omit inversions then, which is a personal choice rather than a medical rule.
Recent ear infection, groin or hamstring strain, and any disc injury.

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 Wide-Legged Plough Pose

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

MistakeTaking the legs so wide that the hips slide back off vertical.

FixNarrow the legs until the hips stack over the shoulders again.

MistakeReaching for the toes by rounding further and loading the neck.

FixLeave the hands on the back; the toe grip is optional and always last.

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. Wide-Legged Plough 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 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 Wide-Legged Plough Pose?

Set up on folded blankets and come into Plough Pose with the toes on the floor or on a chair. Walk the feet apart until the legs are as wide as they comfortably go. Keep the legs straight and press the toes down evenly on both sides. Take hold of the big toes with the fingers if they reach, otherwise keep the hands on the back. Hold, walk the feet back together, and roll down slowly to the floor. Hold for 30–60 seconds.

What does Wide-Legged Plough Pose work?

Primarily the hamstrings, hip adductors, spinal erectors, with the shoulders, abdominals, calves assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: lengthens the hamstrings and inner thighs at once, with the spine already flexed.

Who should not do Wide-Legged Plough Pose?

Glaucoma or raised eye pressure, and uncontrolled high blood pressure. Neck or cervical spine injury: the neck is flexed under load, so the blanket stack is essential. Pregnancy — not a shape to begin in pregnancy; continuing an established inversion practice is a decision for you and your doctor. Menstruation: many traditions omit inversions then, which is a personal choice rather than a medical rule. Recent ear infection, groin or hamstring strain, and any disc injury. 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 Wide-Legged Plough Pose suitable for beginners?

Not as a first pose. Wide-Legged Plough Pose is rated intermediate here: it assumes a working base of strength and range, and a teacher who has watched you move. Build up through the inversions poses marked beginner first.

How many calories does Wide-Legged Plough 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. Wide-Legged Plough 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 inversions on the wall

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

Downward-Facing Dog Pose● Adho Mukha Śvānāsana Beginner · inversions · 45–90 seconds Dolphin Pose Ardha Piñcha Mayūrāsana Intermediate · inversions · 30–60 seconds Headstand Preparation Śīrṣāsana (Prārambhika) Intermediate · inversions · 20–45 seconds Plough Pose Halāsana Intermediate · inversions · 45–90 seconds Standing Split Ūrdhva Prasārita Ekapādāsana Intermediate · inversions · 30–45 seconds each side Extended Puppy Pose Uttāna Śiśosana Beginner · inversions · 60–120 seconds Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose Viparīta Karaṇī Beginner · inversions · 5–10 minutes Supported Headstand Sālamba Śīrṣāsana Advanced · inversions · 30 seconds to 3 minutes, built up over months

All 20 inversions All intermediate poses Posture and upright sitting Hips Hamstrings 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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