Both Big Toes Pose
उभय पादांगुष्ठासन
Ubhaya Pādāṅguṣṭhāsana — an advanced seated pose that works the abdominals, hamstrings, hip flexors.
How to do Both Big Toes Pose
Read all of it before starting, and read the cautions further down before starting at all.
Sit with the knees bent, take hold of both big toes, and rock back slightly onto the sacrum.
Find the balance point just behind the sitting bones with the feet lifted off the floor.
Straighten both legs upwards into a V, keeping hold of the toes and a strap if the fingers slip.
Lift the sternum and draw the shoulder blades down so the chest stays open.
Balance and hold, then bend the knees and lower the feet with control.
Hold: 15–30 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 Both Big Toes 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.
- Loads the abdominals hard to hold the balance point with both legs extended.
- Lengthens both hamstrings actively while the arms pull the legs towards the trunk.
- Trains the spinal erectors to hold extension in a position that strongly wants to round.
Both Big Toes Pose is one of 29 seated poses in this library and one of 61 poses rated advanced. Poses taken on the floor, where the pelvis is the base and the spine works above it.
Who should skip Both Big Toes Pose, or change it
- Low back or disc injury — this balances directly on the sacrum.
- Hamstring tear.
- Recent abdominal surgery, hernia or diastasis recti.
- Pregnancy, and sacroiliac pain.
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 Both Big Toes Pose
What tends to go wrong, and the specific correction — not "engage your core".
MistakeRounding the spine into a C shape to hold the toes.
FixBend the knees, lift the chest, then straighten the legs only as far as the back stays long.
MistakeRocking back and forth trying to find balance.
FixSet the balance point with the knees bent first, then extend one leg at a time.
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 Both Big Toes 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 Both Big Toes Pose?
Sit with the knees bent, take hold of both big toes, and rock back slightly onto the sacrum. Find the balance point just behind the sitting bones with the feet lifted off the floor. Straighten both legs upwards into a V, keeping hold of the toes and a strap if the fingers slip. Lift the sternum and draw the shoulder blades down so the chest stays open. Balance and hold, then bend the knees and lower the feet with control. Hold for 15–30 seconds.
What does Both Big Toes Pose work?
Primarily the abdominals, hamstrings, hip flexors, with the quadriceps, spinal erectors, biceps assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: loads the abdominals hard to hold the balance point with both legs extended.
Who should not do Both Big Toes Pose?
Low back or disc injury — this balances directly on the sacrum. Hamstring tear. Recent abdominal surgery, hernia or diastasis recti. Pregnancy, and sacroiliac pain. 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 Both Big Toes Pose suitable for beginners?
No. Both Big Toes Pose is rated advanced. The shape itself is rarely the problem — arriving at it years too early is. Work through the beginner and intermediate seated poses on this site and learn this one in person.
How many calories does Both Big Toes 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. Both Big Toes 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 seated 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.