Upward Lotus in Shoulderstandऊर्ध्व पद्मासन
Ūrdhva Padmāsana — an advanced inversion that works the abdominals, shoulders, hip flexors.
15–30SECONDS HELD
One line on the timetable. Upward Lotus in Shoulderstand is held 15–30 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
How to do Upward Lotus in Shoulderstand
Read all of it before starting, and read the cautions further down before starting at all.
Establish a steady supported shoulderstand on folded blankets with the line fully vertical.
Hold the back firmly with both hands and check the neck is free of weight.
Bend the right knee and place the right foot high on the left thigh, then fold the left leg in to match.
Press the knees down away from the chest so the thighs move towards horizontal.
Hold briefly, unfold the legs one at a time back to vertical, and roll down slowly.
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 Upward Lotus in Shoulderstand 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.
- Adds deep external rotation at both hips to an inverted vertical hold.
- Requires the trunk to stay stacked while the legs change shape above it.
- Loads the shoulders and upper arms for the whole time the legs are being arranged.
Upward Lotus in Shoulderstand is one of 20 inversions in this library and one of 61 poses rated advanced. Poses where the head sits below the heart. The group that needs the most care and the most teaching.
Who should skip Upward Lotus in Shoulderstand, or change it
- Glaucoma or raised pressure in the eye, and uncontrolled high blood pressure.
- Neck or cervical spine injury — the neck is flexed under load while the balance shifts.
- Pregnancy — do not begin here; whether to continue an established inversion practice is a decision for you and your doctor.
- Menstruation: many traditions leave inversions out at that time, which is a personal choice, not a medical rule.
- Recent ear infection, and any knee injury — lotus loads the knee in rotation, so skip it entirely if the knee objects.
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 Upward Lotus in Shoulderstand
What tends to go wrong, and the specific correction — not "engage your core".
MistakeBuilding the lotus by pulling on the feet while balancing.
FixOnly attempt this if lotus is effortless seated; otherwise cross the shins loosely instead.
MistakeHips sagging back as the legs fold.
FixPress the hands into the back and keep the pelvis directly over the shoulders.
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. Upward Lotus in Shoulderstand 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 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.
| 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 Upward Lotus in Shoulderstand?
Establish a steady supported shoulderstand on folded blankets with the line fully vertical. Hold the back firmly with both hands and check the neck is free of weight. Bend the right knee and place the right foot high on the left thigh, then fold the left leg in to match. Press the knees down away from the chest so the thighs move towards horizontal. Hold briefly, unfold the legs one at a time back to vertical, and roll down slowly. Hold for 15–30 seconds.
What does Upward Lotus in Shoulderstand work?
Primarily the abdominals, shoulders, hip flexors, with the spinal erectors, glutes, triceps assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: adds deep external rotation at both hips to an inverted vertical hold.
Who should not do Upward Lotus in Shoulderstand?
Glaucoma or raised pressure in the eye, and uncontrolled high blood pressure. Neck or cervical spine injury — the neck is flexed under load while the balance shifts. Pregnancy — do not begin here; whether to continue an established inversion practice is a decision for you and your doctor. Menstruation: many traditions leave inversions out at that time, which is a personal choice, not a medical rule. Recent ear infection, and any knee injury — lotus loads the knee in rotation, so skip it entirely if the knee objects. 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 Upward Lotus in Shoulderstand suitable for beginners?
No. Upward Lotus in Shoulderstand is rated advanced. The shape itself is rarely the problem — arriving at it years too early is. Work through the beginner and intermediate inversions poses on this site and learn this one in person.
How many calories does Upward Lotus in Shoulderstand 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. Upward Lotus in Shoulderstand 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.
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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