Utthita Padangusthasana

Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana (Sanskrit: उत्थित हस्त पादाङ्गुष्ठासन, IAST: Utthita Hasta Pādāṅguṣṭhāsana), Standing Big Toe Hold or Extended Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose is a standing balancing asana in modern yoga as exercise.

"Toe Stand Pose" is number 12 in its asana sequence; it is a squatting pose with one leg lightly crossed over the standing leg, which is bent so that the buttocks approach or rest on the heel; despite the etymology there is no contact between hand and foot.

Swami Kuvalayananda incorporated it into his system of exercises, from where it was taken up by the influential yoga teacher Tirumalai Krishnamacharya.

[1][6][7] Students can practise the pose using a strap to hold the extended foot, or a ledge or wall for support;[1][8] or may keep the knee bent.

[10] Utthita Ekapadasana is a milder form of the same pose, the leg not lifted far enough for the toes to be grasped.