Reverse Tabletop Poseअर्ध पूर्वोत्तानासन

Sit with the knees bent and the feet flat on the mat, hip-width apart. Place the hands behind the hips with the fingers turned towards the feet. Press the feet and hands down and lift the hips until the torso and thighs are level, like a tabletop. Stack the knees over the ankles and the shoulders over the wrists. Keep the head upright or let it tip back gently, hold, then lower the hips down. Hold for 20–30 seconds, 2 rounds.

Primarily the glutes, hamstrings, shoulders, with the quadriceps, chest, triceps assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: strengthens the glutes and hamstrings in hip extension with less demand than the full plank version.

Wrist injury — turn the fingers out to the sides or come onto the fists. Shoulder impingement, which the arms-behind-the-body position can aggravate. Neck injury: keep the head upright and the chin level. Knee pain when the feet are placed too far from the hips. Later pregnancy, where the arms-behind position is uncomfortable — take a supported chest opener instead. 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.

Yes. Reverse Tabletop Pose is a beginner-level pose on this site, which means it is learnable in a first class and has a version that works for most bodies. The cautions above still apply.

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. Reverse Tabletop Pose sits closest to Compendium code 02150, yoga, Hatha, at 2.5 MET — about 92 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.