Anantasana — Both Legs Lifted: A Complete Guide

Quick Intro

Anantasana — Both Legs Lifted is a yoga exercise that builds on Anantasana by lifting the bottom leg off the floor to hover parallel with the ground, so both legs work against gravity at once while the torso balances on the side of the ribcage and the supporting elbow.

Equipment Needed

No equipment is required for Anantasana — Both Legs Lifted, though a folded yoga mat is a common addition for the ribs and elbow.

Why Anantasana — Both Legs Lifted Matters

Both legs draw on the hamstrings (biceps femoris), inner thighs (adductors) and hip flexors (iliopsoas) at once, the top leg reaching toward vertical and the bottom leg lifting to hover, while the side of the waist (obliques) and deep core (transverse abdominis) brace to keep the torso from tipping toward the floor or the ceiling. The outer hip (gluteus medius) works to hold both legs’ positions, and the muscles along the spine (erector spinae) keep the whole line long.

Flexibility is the main demand, and balance is much higher than in the single-leg version because the bottom leg no longer rests on the floor.

When to Do It

Anantasana — Both Legs Lifted belongs later in a hip and core sequence, once the single-leg version already holds steady, since the added bottom-leg lift removes the pose’s only stable point of contact with the floor.

Anyone with a shoulder injury on the supporting side, or vertigo that reacts poorly to an off-floor balance, should stay with the single-leg version instead, since the supporting elbow and shoulder now bear the entire body’s weight with no floor contact anywhere else.

Getting Ready

A steady hold of Anantasana, with the bottom leg still resting on the floor, previews the position this pose lifts out of. A few rounds of side-lying leg lifts, bottom leg only, build the specific strength the floating leg needs.

Lift the bottom leg from the hip flexor itself, not by rolling the pelvis backward onto the glute, since that roll is the quickest way the torso’s line breaks down.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. The base. Establish Anantasana with the top leg gripped and extended toward vertical.

2. The float. Engage the bottom leg’s hip flexor and lift that leg off the floor, hovering it parallel to the ground.

3. The stack. Keep the torso stacked directly on its side, neither tipping toward the floor nor the ceiling.

4. The hold. Sustain both legs’ lift while breathing steadily.

5. The land. Lower the bottom leg first, then the top leg, before rolling to rest.

How Many, How Often

Anantasana — Both Legs Lifted is dosed by breath count, since a steady breath keeps both floating legs and the torso’s stacked line actively managed at once.

A torso that stays stacked, neither tipping forward nor back, is worth more here than how high the bottom leg climbs, since a tip disguised as extra lift undercuts the balance work.

Modifications and Variations

Anantasana — Both Legs Lifted sits at the hardest end of its progression, with an easier step below it.

For an easier entry point, Anantasana keeps the bottom leg resting on the floor, removing the two-limb balance demand this version adds.

Progression path: Anantasana — Strap Assist → Anantasana → Anantasana — Both Legs Lifted

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Rolling the pelvis backward to fake a higher bottom-leg lift. This breaks the side-lying line of the torso in exchange for a taller-looking leg. Lifting from the hip flexor itself, even at a lower height, keeps the line intact.

Letting the torso tip toward the floor as fatigue sets in. A tipping torso signals the core has stopped actively bracing. Re-engaging the waist and deep core resets the line before continuing the hold.

Rushing into this version before the single-leg hold feels fully settled. An unsteady base pose makes the added lift considerably harder to control safely. Building patience with Anantasana first pays off directly here.

After Your Set

Setting both legs down and rolling flat onto the back for a few slow breaths lets the hip flexors and obliques recover from the double lift. A gentle knee-hug settles the lower back before switching to the second side.

Going Deeper

Progress in this pose comes from treating the torso’s stacked line as the non-negotiable part of the hold, letting bottom-leg height increase only as a byproduct of hip-flexor and core strength. What usually caps how long this hold can be sustained isn’t hip flexibility, since the single-leg version already demonstrated that range, but core endurance running out and the pelvis quietly rolling to compensate. A torso that holds its line for the full breath count, every session, is what builds this pose over time.

Someone who already holds a steady single-leg version generally manages a 2-breath double lift within the first couple of weeks, and reaches a settled 5-breath hold somewhere in the six to eight week range.

How to Know You’re Improving

1. The bottom leg hovering for even a single breath without the pelvis rolling back
2. A 2-breath double-leg hold with the torso staying stacked
3. A 4-breath hold with the bottom leg reaching closer to parallel
4. A hold that feels roughly even on both sides

A torso line that holds through the whole hold, not how high the bottom leg floats, is the marker of progress here.

Muscles Worked

• Biceps Femoris (a muscle at the back of the thigh, stretched on the top leg while the bottom one also works)
• Adductors (the inner thigh muscles, lengthened on the raised leg as it reaches up)
• Obliques (the muscles along the sides of the waist, holding the whole body balanced on the side of the ribs)
• Iliopsoas (the hip flexor group at the front of the hip, holding both legs off the floor at once)
• Gluteus Medius (a smaller glute muscle at the side of the hip, keeping both legs in the same plane)
• Erector Spinae (the muscles running along the length of the spine, keeping the trunk from folding as support narrows)
• Transverse Abdominis (a deep core muscle that wraps around the torso like a corset, supplying the only stability left once both legs lift)

FAQ

Do both legs need to reach the same height? No, the top leg typically extends much closer to vertical than the bottom leg ever will, since the two legs are working against gravity from very different angles.

Why does this feel so much harder than the single-leg version even though the top leg is doing the same thing? Removing the bottom leg’s floor contact takes away the pose’s only stable anchor point, so the whole balance demand shifts onto the supporting elbow, the core and the floating bottom leg all at once.

Is it normal for the hold to be much shorter here than in the single-leg version? Yes, a 2 to 5 breath hold is a realistic range for most practitioners in this version, considerably shorter than a well-developed single-leg hold, since the demand is higher.

Should I keep practicing the single-leg version once I can do this one? Yes, the single-leg version remains useful as a warm-up and as a longer-hold option even after this harder version becomes accessible.

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Next in this series: Anantasana, the single-leg version this hold builds from.