One-Legged Shoulderstandएक पाद सर्वाङ्गासन
Eka Pāda Sarvāṅgāsana — an advanced inversion that works the hamstrings, abdominals, shoulders.
15–30SECONDS HELD · EACH SIDE
One line on the timetable. One-Legged Shoulderstand is held 15–30 seconds each side, with the breath moving throughout — and no set practice here is built around it — it is held on its own.
ஆதாரம்·YogaPath sequence data — stay times as taught·one breath ≈ 5 s at an even pace·மறுபரிசீலனை ஜூலை 2026
How to do One-Legged Shoulderstand
Read all of it before starting, and read the cautions further down before starting at all.
Come into a steady supported shoulderstand on folded blankets with the hands on the back.
Keep the left leg reaching straight up and firm through the thigh.
Lower the right leg slowly towards the floor behind the head, keeping it straight.
Rest that foot on the floor, a block or a chair, without letting the standing hip drop.
Lift it back to vertical with control, then repeat with the other leg.
Hold: 15–30 seconds each side. 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 One-Legged 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.
- Lengthens the hamstring of the lowering leg while the other holds a vertical line.
- Loads the abdominals and hip flexors of the lifted leg to keep it from following.
- Trains slow eccentric control in the leg travelling down.
One-Legged 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 One-Legged Shoulderstand, or change it
- Glaucoma or raised eye pressure, and uncontrolled high blood pressure.
- Neck or cervical spine injury — the asymmetric load makes the neck position harder to keep safe.
- Pregnancy — not a pose to begin in pregnancy; continuing an established practice is a decision for you and your doctor.
- Menstruation: many traditions omit inversions then, a personal choice rather than a medical rule.
- Recent ear infection, hamstring strain, and any sacroiliac irritation from the split position.
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 One-Legged Shoulderstand
What tends to go wrong, and the specific correction — not "engage your core".
MistakeLetting the vertical leg drift down as the other lowers.
FixReach the top heel actively towards the ceiling the whole time.
MistakeDropping the lowering leg fast so the hips collapse.
FixLower over five slow counts and stop where the hips stay stacked.
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. One-Legged 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 நிமிடம் | 20 நிமிடம் | 30 நிமிடம் | 45 நிமிடம் | 60 நிமிடம் |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| கலோரிகள் | 49 | 98 | 147 | 221 | 294 |
ஆதாரம்·2024 பெரியவர்களுக்கான உடற்செயல்பாடுகளின் தொகுப்பு·code 02175 · 4 MET · 70 kg reference adult·மறுபரிசீலனை ஜூலை 2026
The whole activity dataset, including everything that is not yoga, is at BurnLab.
Asked before class
How do you do One-Legged Shoulderstand?
Come into a steady supported shoulderstand on folded blankets with the hands on the back. Keep the left leg reaching straight up and firm through the thigh. Lower the right leg slowly towards the floor behind the head, keeping it straight. Rest that foot on the floor, a block or a chair, without letting the standing hip drop. Lift it back to vertical with control, then repeat with the other leg. Hold for 15–30 seconds each side.
What does One-Legged Shoulderstand work?
Primarily the hamstrings, abdominals, shoulders, with the hip flexors, glutes, spinal erectors assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: lengthens the hamstring of the lowering leg while the other holds a vertical line.
Who should not do One-Legged Shoulderstand?
Glaucoma or raised eye pressure, and uncontrolled high blood pressure. Neck or cervical spine injury — the asymmetric load makes the neck position harder to keep safe. Pregnancy — not a pose to begin in pregnancy; continuing an established practice is a decision for you and your doctor. Menstruation: many traditions omit inversions then, a personal choice rather than a medical rule. Recent ear infection, hamstring strain, and any sacroiliac irritation from the split position. 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 One-Legged Shoulderstand suitable for beginners?
No. One-Legged 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 One-Legged 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. One-Legged 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 மற்றும் 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.
ஆதாரம்·Published asana references·asana names, alignment and cautions as taught·மறுபரிசீலனை ஜூலை 2026
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