Half Locust Poseअर्ध शलभासन

Lie face down with the chin on the mat and the arms tucked under the body, palms down beneath the thighs. Press both arms into the floor and lengthen the right leg back. Inhale and lift the right leg as high as it goes without letting the right hip roll up. Keep the left hip and the left thigh pressed down as an anchor. Lower with control, breathe once, then repeat with the left leg. Hold for 10–15 seconds each side, 2–3 rounds.

Primarily the glutes, spinal erectors, hamstrings, with the abdominals, lower back, shoulders assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: isolates one glute and hamstring at a time in hip extension.

Pregnancy from the second trimester — lying face down is unsuitable. Disc injury: keep the lift low and stop if anything pinches. Sacroiliac irritation, which single-leg lifting can aggravate — keep both hips down. Recent abdominal surgery. Shoulder or elbow pain from tucking the arms under the body — leave them alongside 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. Half Locust 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. Half Locust 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.