Uttanpadasana (Raised Leg Pose): steps, benefits and a back-friendly version

How to do Raised Leg Pose step by step

1. Lie on your back with your legs straight and together, arms beside your body, palms pressing lightly into the mat.
2. Draw your navel gently toward your spine so your lower back rests closer to the floor. Relax your shoulders and neck.
3. Breathe in and slowly lift both straight legs off the floor, keeping the knees straight and the feet together. Stop at a low angle where your lower back stays down.
4. Point or flex your feet and keep breathing evenly. Do not hold your breath.
5. Hold for 3–5 breaths (about 10–20 seconds) while the belly stays firm and the back stays grounded.
6. Breathe out and lower your legs slowly, with control, until your heels touch the mat.
7. Rest in corpse pose or hug your knees to your chest for a few breaths before repeating.

Where you feel Raised Leg Pose: what it stretches and strengthens

Lift your legs slowly, keeping your lower back on the floor. In the 3D guide, turn on Body guide: areas that stretch glow green and areas that work glow saffron.

Benefits and precautions

Raised leg pose (Uttanpadasana) is a core exercise done lying on your back: you lift both legs, straight and together, a short way off the floor and hold them with your belly muscles. It looks simple, yet holding the legs low is harder than lifting them high, so it is a quick test of core strength. This page covers the correct form, the benefits of Uttanpadasana, the muscles it uses, a gentler bent-knee version and who should not do it.

What is raised leg pose in yoga?

Uttanpadasana, also written Uttana Padasana, comes from three Sanskrit words: uttana ("raised" or "stretched out"), pada ("leg" or "foot") and asana ("pose"). So the name literally means "raised leg pose". In Hindi it is उत्तानपादासन. You may also hear it called lifted leg pose or elevated leg pose, and if you were looking for the name of this legs-raised position, Uttanpadasana is it. Instead of flat Uttanpadasana images for beginners, the 3D guide lets you rotate the figure and see the leg angle from every side.

What is a leg raise in yoga terms? It is a supine leg raise: the leg raise supine position that gym workouts use, but held still with slow breathing instead of repeated quickly. It is common in Indian school yoga, in Hatha classes and in core sequences, often just before boat pose.

How to do raised leg pose with proper form

The steps above give you the full Uttanpadasana procedure. The key to leg raises proper form is simple: your lower back decides how low your legs go.

• Find your angle. Some schools hold the legs at 30 degrees, others use a straight leg raise at 45 degrees or 60 degrees. Pick the lowest height at which your lower back stays on the mat.
• Straight but not locked knees. Squeeze the thighs and reach through the heels.
• Arms as anchors. Press the palms lightly down. You can also slide your hands under your hips for more support.
• Soft face and neck. If your chin juts forward or your shoulders lift, you are straining. Raise the legs a little higher, or rest.
• Breathe. Holding the breath raises blood pressure. Breathe slowly through the nose throughout.

How long and how often

Hold for 3–5 breaths, then lower and rest. Repeat 3–5 times. Beginners are better off doing several short holds with good form than one long hold with a shaking, arched back. Do it on an empty stomach, two to three hours after a meal.

Raised leg pose benefits

What are leg raises good for? Mainly core strength. The main Uttana Padasana benefits, and the advantages of leg raises in general, are:

• Stronger lower abdomen. The deep and lower belly muscles work hard to keep the pelvis still while the legs hang in the air.
• Hip flexor and thigh strength. Useful for walking, climbing stairs and many standing poses, which makes it one of the simpler yoga poses for leg strength.
• Body control. Learning to move your legs without arching your back is the basis for safe core work in yoga and in sport.
• Digestion (traditional). Yoga tradition says the gentle pressure on the belly helps digestion and gas. There is little research on this one pose, but many people find core poses and wind-relieving pose comfortable for the tummy.

Does raised leg pose reduce belly fat?

Not by itself. Leg raises exercise benefits are about muscle, not burning fat from one spot. Stronger abdominal muscles can make the belly feel firmer, but fat loss depends on overall movement, food and sleep. Our yoga for belly fat plan combines Uttanpadasana with other active poses.

Muscles worked in Uttanpadasana

So, what muscle raises the leg? Mostly the iliopsoas and the rectus femoris, the hip flexors. The belly muscles do not lift the legs; they stop the lower back from being pulled into an arch. That is why weak abdominals plus strong hip flexors can strain the back.

Easier versions: knees bent and one leg

• Raised legs pose, knees bent: lift the feet with the knees bent at a right angle, shins parallel to the floor. This modified straight leg raise shortens the lever and is much kinder to the back.
• One raised leg pose (Eka Pada Uttanpadasana): a yoga pose holding one leg up while the other foot stays on the floor, knee bent. Change sides. This is the best starting point after back pain.
• Legs higher: raise the legs toward 90 degrees, as in upward extended feet pose. The higher the legs, the easier the hold.
• Side version: a side-lying straight leg raise, as in side-reclining leg lift, works the outer hip instead.

These modifications for yoga poses keep the same idea, lifting the legs with a steady trunk, while changing how heavy the load feels.

Raised leg pose vs legs up the wall pose

Both are legs-raised positions, but they do opposite jobs. Uttanpadasana is active: your muscles hold the legs in the air. In legs up the wall pose the wall holds your legs and you relax. The benefits of keeping your legs raised against a wall are rest and a sense of lighter legs at the end of the day, not core strength. You can stay in legs up the wall pose as long as 5–15 minutes, while the active lifted leg yoga pose lasts only a few breaths. Many people do raised leg pose in a morning routine and the leg up the wall pose before bed.

You may also see "passive leg raise" online. That is a medical test in which a doctor or nurse lifts a patient's legs to check circulation. It is not a yoga pose.

Uttanpadasana contraindications and back safety

Is raised leg pose a good yoga pose for lower back pain? Usually not the full version. Lifting two straight legs pulls strongly on the lower spine, so during back pain choose the one-leg or bent-knee version, or begin with bridge pose and the gentler asanas for back pain in our yoga for back pain plan. Also skip it in pregnancy, after abdominal surgery or with a hernia, as listed in the caution box.

If you feel the lower back lifting, lower back pain or strain in the neck, come down, rest and try an easier version next time. You can practise this pose with voice cues in the Core Strength session on our guided sessions page.

Health conditions this pose is used for

Yoga for belly fat

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.