Both Big Toes · Upward-Facing Fold · Ubhaya Padangusthasana · Urdhva Mukha Paschimottanasana

Ubhaya Padangusthasana · Urdhva Mukha Paschimottanasana · 우바야 파당구쉬타사나 · 위를 향한 전굴

Primary Series · Yoga Chikitsa (Yoga Therapy) — Seated Sequence

Breath: 5×2 · Drishti (gaze): up · toes

Roll back, then up, catching both big toes and balancing on the sitting bones with the legs straight. In the following urdhva mukha paschimottanasana the grip moves to the feet's edges and chest and legs draw together — a fold completed in mid-air.

Alignment

Hands — hooking both big toes (Ubhaya) or clasping the soles (Urdhva Mukha), arms straight
Feet — together, pointed through the toes
Knees — straight while balancing on the sit bones, the back kept concave and tall
Gaze — upward in Ubhaya; to the toes in Urdhva Mukha

Entering the pose

Roll back, then roll up
Hold the toes, straighten the legs
Draw chest and legs toward each other

Common mistakes

Rounding and tumbling backward again
Pulling with hiked shoulders

Modifications & props

Skip the roll at first: seated, bend the knees, catch the toes, straighten — finding the balance point is most of this pose.
Repeatedly tumbling backward means the gaze goes up too late — look up the instant you arrive.
Sealing chest to legs in Urdhva Mukha is the final stage; pausing at the V and filling the breath count is enough.

Benefits

Integrates core and back strength on a balance point
The roll gently massages the spine
Combines fold and balance in a single shape

Role in the sequence

The balancing pair that opens the seated sequence's finale. The roll-and-rise practiced in Supta Konasana is demanded twice in a row here, and the second — Urdhva Mukha — rewrites Primary's central theme, Paschimottanasana, in mid-air: something like a summary of the whole sequence. It is where fold flexibility and Navasana's balancing strength are tested as one.

Practice notes

Ubhaya means both; urdhva mukha means upward-facing. One pose balances while holding both big toes, and the other draws the face toward the shins from that same balance. They are cousins of Navasana as seated balances, but far more honest, because here the legs must stay straight.

Both poses arrive by rolling up from lying down. The roll learned in Supta Konasana returns, the only difference being that the feet stay together. Learning to brake with the lower belly rather than with the toes — so the momentum stops exactly at the seat — makes both poses easier at once.

The first holds five breaths with the back upright and the chest open; the second bends the elbows to draw the torso toward the legs for five more. In that second shape balance survives only if the torso travels toward the legs, not the legs toward the face. Pull the legs in and you go straight over backwards.

Two things to check: is the back upright, even if that means bent knees, and are you hoisting the shoulders in the effort to balance? On a day the roll refuses to arrive at a balance, practising near a wall, or simply holding bent knees and toes for the five breaths, is entirely enough.

Find the balance with bent knees, then straighten.

Written by Choi Seongjin — 20 years of Ashtanga practice, currently teaching three classes a week. Last updated: 2026-09-05.

This guide is for general information and is not medical advice. If you are pregnant, injured, or have a medical condition, consult a qualified teacher or physician before practising. Disclaimer & Legal Notice

Other poses in this sequence

Ashtanga Shala — Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga guide · Blog