Full Side Plank · Vasisthasana

Vasisthasana · 바시스타사나 · 현자 바시스타 자세

Advanced Series · Sthira Bhaga (Strength & Grace) — From Advanced A (Third Series)

Breath: 5 · Drishti (gaze): fingertips

On one hand and foot edge, lift the body into a single line, then raise the top leg vertical and catch its toe. The instant the hips sag the wrist takes the load — keep the lower waist lifting, gaze to the top hand.

Alignment

Hands — the base hand vertical under the shoulder; the top fingers hooking the lifted big toe
Feet — balancing on the lower foot's edge, the top leg vertical
Knees — both straight, the hips lifting rather than sagging
Gaze — the raised fingertips

Entering the pose

Roll onto one hand and foot-edge
Lift the hips into one line
Catch the top toe and extend

Common mistakes

Hips sagging, loading the wrist
The supporting hand ahead of the shoulder

Modifications & props

The half side plank, lower knee grounded, teaches wrist and shoulder the identical alignment.
Before lifting the top leg, stack both feet and lift the pelvis — an unsagging flank outranks a raised leg.
The lower foot-edge set against a wall's base removes the fear of sliding, freeing all attention for the pelvis.

Benefits

Strengthens the side chain and supporting shoulder
Core that holds one line from wrist to foot edge
Wakes the often-sleeping outer hip muscles

Role in the sequence

First of the Advanced A (sthira bhaga) selections: the body raised sideways on one arm and one foot-edge. Where balance through Intermediate ran mostly on the front-back axis, the lateral axis now becomes the theme — and the full form, top leg vertical with toe caught, rewrites the standing sequence's Utthita Hasta on air's sideways plane. Vishvamitrasana will soon add rotation to this same axis.

Practice notes

Vasistha is one of the seven great sages. From a side plank on one hand and one foot, the full form lifts the upper leg and catches the big toe. It is the first arm balance of the Advanced Series and also the standing hand-to-big-toe pose of the Primary Series, returned on its side.

What collapses is almost always the lower hip. Once it sags toward the floor the weight piles into the shoulder and wrist and the line of the body breaks. Pressing the underside waist upward so the pelvis stays inside that line is very nearly the whole pose.

The side plank itself has to be steady before the leg is lifted. Then bend the knee to catch the toe, and straighten last. If the leg will not straighten, hold five breaths with it bent, or place the sole against the inner thigh in a tree-shaped variation.

Two checks: is the supporting hand directly under the shoulder with the elbow unlocked, and is the outer edge of the bottom foot pressing firmly into the floor? If the wrist complains, dropping to the forearm changes nothing about what the side body is doing.

Bottom knee down builds the shoulder first.

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

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