Test your balance, strength, and flexibility with Visvamitra’s Pose – an advanced yoga challenge for the whole body!

Visvamitra’s Pose (Visvamitrasana) is a fun and inspiring advanced yoga pose that requires complete body awareness and activation. This amazing arm balance pose calls for both great strength and great flexibility. It will challenge your balance, your upper body strength, and your flexibility through the hips, groin, and hamstrings. It builds strength in the wrists, arms, shoulders, legs, and core, stretches the legs, hips, torso, pelvis, and sciatic nerves, and helps improve concentration and balance.

Be sure your body is fully warmed up and stretched before attempting this pose! Always practice on a yoga mat with enough cushioning to protect you if you fall.

To modify the pose, try resting your forearm on the floor instead of balancing on your hand, or you can also rest your hand on a block. You can also rest your back knee on the floor (like this) until you are able to lift up into the full pose – or press your raised foot against a wall.

Those who suffer from shoulder, wrist, or hamstring injuries, or who suffer from low back pain, should avoid this pose.

How to Do Visvamitra’s Pose:

1. Begin in Lizard Pose (right foot forward).
2. Bring the right hand underneath the leg to the outside of the right foot, working the arm and shoulder under the right thigh.
3. Turn the left foot flat with toes pointed outwards.
4. Extend the right leg in front.
5. Raise the left arm overhead to grasp the extended right foot.
6. Turn the head and rotate torso upwards.
7. To come out of the pose, lower the left hand and then the right foot to the ground.
8. Unbind the right arm and shoulder, returning to the Lizard lunge.
9. Repeat on the other side.

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