Firefly Pose
तिट्टिभासन
Ṭiṭṭibhāsana — an advanced balance pose that works the hip flexors, abdominals, shoulders.
How to do Firefly Pose
Read all of it before starting, and read the cautions further down before starting at all.
Stand with the feet a little wider than the hips and fold deeply, sliding each shoulder behind the corresponding thigh.
Place the palms flat behind the heels with the fingers pointing forward.
Squat down until the backs of the thighs sit high on the upper arms.
Shift the weight back into the hands, lift both feet and straighten the arms as far as they will go.
Extend both legs forward and slightly up, flex the feet, and hold with the chest lifted.
Hold: 3–6 breaths. 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 Firefly 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.
- Holds both straight legs horizontally out in front while the arms carry all the weight.
- Loads the hip flexors and quadriceps hard to keep the legs raised.
- Requires long hamstrings and a deep fold simply to enter the shape.
Firefly 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 Firefly Pose, or change it
- Wrist injury or carpal tunnel syndrome.
- Hamstring strain — the legs must straighten under load.
- Shoulder injury.
- Pregnancy and recent abdominal surgery, since the entry compresses the belly deeply.
- Keep a folded blanket in front of the hands: the head is low and a forward tip lands on the face.
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 Firefly Pose
What tends to go wrong, and the specific correction — not "engage your core".
MistakeThighs placed low near the elbows so the legs slide off.
FixSquat deeper and walk the shoulders further behind the thighs first.
MistakeChest collapsing towards the floor as the legs reach out.
FixPress the floor away, lift the sternum, and shorten the legs if that is what it takes.
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 Firefly 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 Firefly Pose?
Stand with the feet a little wider than the hips and fold deeply, sliding each shoulder behind the corresponding thigh. Place the palms flat behind the heels with the fingers pointing forward. Squat down until the backs of the thighs sit high on the upper arms. Shift the weight back into the hands, lift both feet and straighten the arms as far as they will go. Extend both legs forward and slightly up, flex the feet, and hold with the chest lifted. Hold for 3–6 breaths.
What does Firefly Pose work?
Primarily the hip flexors, abdominals, shoulders, with the quadriceps, wrists, triceps assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: holds both straight legs horizontally out in front while the arms carry all the weight.
Who should not do Firefly Pose?
Wrist injury or carpal tunnel syndrome. Hamstring strain — the legs must straighten under load. Shoulder injury. Pregnancy and recent abdominal surgery, since the entry compresses the belly deeply. Keep a folded blanket in front of the hands: the head is low and a forward tip lands on the face. 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 Firefly Pose suitable for beginners?
No. Firefly 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 Firefly 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. Firefly 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.