Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana (Standing Split): how to do it, progressions and precautions

How to do Standing Split step by step

1. Stand at the front of your mat with your feet hip-width apart. Breathe in and lengthen your spine.
2. Breathing out, fold forward from the hips into a standing forward bend. Bend your knees as much as you need to bring your hands to the floor or to blocks.
3. Shift your weight onto your left foot and place your hands on the mat on either side of it, a little in front of your toes.
4. Breathing in, lift your right leg straight up behind you. Keep the right toes pointing down so your hips stay square to the floor.
5. Keep a slight bend in the standing knee if the hamstring pulls. Let your head hang and bring your chest toward your standing leg.
6. Hold this standing split position for 15–20 seconds (3–5 breaths), pressing evenly through the standing foot.
7. Breathing out, lower the right leg slowly, return to a standing forward bend, then repeat standing on the right leg.

Where you feel Standing Split: what it stretches and strengthens

Fold over the standing leg and reach the other leg up behind you. In the 3D guide, turn on Body guide: areas that stretch glow green and areas that work glow saffron.

Benefits and precautions

A standing split (Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana) is a one-legged forward fold in which one leg stays rooted, your hands rest on the floor, and the other leg lifts high behind you. From the side, the legs look like a vertical standing split. It asks for long hamstrings, strong glutes and good balance, and it is a level-3 pose: make sure you meet the prerequisites below before you try the full version.

What is a standing split called in Sanskrit?

The standing split Sanskrit name is Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana, sometimes written Eka Pada Urdhva Prasarita Padasana. Word by word: urdhva means "upward", prasarita "stretched out", eka "one", pada "foot" or "leg" and asana "pose": the "one leg stretched upward pose". The Sanskrit name is long, so most English classes just say standing splits.

It is not the gym exercise called a standing split squat (a lunge with the back foot raised), and it is different from a dancer's standing split, where you stand upright and hold one leg up in front or to the side.

Before you start: prerequisites

• You can fold into standing forward bend and touch the floor or a block with only a slight knee bend.
• You can balance steadily in Warrior III for a few breaths.
• You have no uncontrolled high blood pressure, glaucoma or eye condition (see precautions).

If you are new to yoga, spend a few weeks with the beginner poses first.

How to do a standing split

The steps above match the 3D figure: standing on the left leg with the right leg lifting first. These standing split cues fix the common problems and keep your posture clean:

• Height comes from the fold, not the leg. Bring your chest toward your standing thigh first; the leg rises as the fold deepens.
• Hips square. Point the lifted toes down. Turning the hip open makes the leg look higher but twists the lower back.
• Do not kick. A standing split kick with momentum can strain the hamstring. Lift slowly and hold.
• Soft standing knee. Keep a micro-bend and press the big-toe side of the foot down.
• Relax the neck. Let the head hang; looking forward shortens the back of the neck.

How to do a standing split for beginners

Put two blocks on either side of the standing foot and rest your hands on them. Lift the back leg only to hip height at first, like a tilted Warrior III. You can also rest the hands on a wall at hip height and lift the leg behind you. Standing split pose for beginners is about a long back and a level pelvis, not how high the foot goes. These modifications for yoga poses are the safest way to learn how to do a split standing up.

A few standing split flexibility tips: warm up with a few rounds of Surya Namaskar first, never bounce, and stretch a little on both sides rather than a lot on one.

Standing split benefits

The main standing split stretch benefits are for the back of the standing leg: the hamstrings and calf lengthen with your body weight helping. The front of the lifted hip stretches too. At the same time, the glutes and the back of the lifted leg work to hold it up, and the standing ankle, knee and thigh work to keep you balanced. That mix makes it both a flexibility and a strength pose.

Because it is a gentle inversion with the head low, many people find the standing split calming. It is also useful standing split balance practice: small ankle adjustments train steadiness in a way two-footed folds do not.

Is doing the splits good for you?

Flexibility training is good for most people when it is gradual. Doing the splits with yoga builds range slowly and adds strength, which protects the joints. Forcing a split, cold or with bouncing, can strain the hamstrings or the hip.

Doing the splits with back pain

If you have back pain, a standing split is usually not the place to start, because the deep fold loads the lower back. Begin with the gentler poses in our yoga for back pain plan and ask your physiotherapist before deep folds.

What muscles does a standing split stretch?

The Body guide on the 3D figure shows this: green for the stretch, saffron for the work.

Standing split progression and variations

1. Hands on blocks, leg at hip height. Focus on level hips.
2. Hands on the floor, leg higher. Chest toward the thigh.
3. Hand to ankle: hold the standing ankle with one or both hands and draw the chest closer.
4. Vertical standing split: the chest touches the thigh and the legs form nearly one vertical line.

Other standing split variations bend the lifted knee (easier on tight hip flexors) or open the hip in a flowing class. For a standing split stretch routine that supports the pose, practise half splits, low lunge and three-legged dog two or three times a week.

The half split pose in yoga is the best single prep for the hamstrings, and it is the core of any standing split flexibility training. Over months, this flexibility training leads toward the full front splits, Hanumanasana.

Standing split vs Warrior 3

Both balance on one leg with the other leg behind you. In Warrior III, the body is a horizontal line and the back leg stays at hip height, so it builds more strength. In the standing split, the chest folds down and the leg rises high, so it gives a deeper stretch. Flowing from standing splits to Warrior 3 and back is a good balance drill.

Splits for yoga and dance

In ballet and dance, a standing split usually means standing upright with one leg held high. The yoga version, folded forward with hands down, is a helpful stretch for dancers because it builds the same hamstring length with support from the floor.

Who should avoid the standing split?

Because the head is below the heart, avoid it with high blood pressure, glaucoma or other eye pressure problems; see our yoga for high blood pressure page for safer poses. Skip it with a hamstring tear, sciatica or a recent ankle or knee injury, and in pregnancy. Practise the standing forward bend with voice guidance in our guided sessions while you build up.

This page is for general education. Check with your doctor before starting yoga if you are pregnant, have a medical condition or an injury. Stop if you feel pain, dizziness or shortness of breath.