Category: Arm balances
Level: advanced
Hold: 1–5 breaths
Type: Asana
Breath: Exhale to lift, breathe evenly while you hover, inhale as you lower.

Scale Pose

Tolasana — "balance-scale posture"

Also known as: Lifted Lotus

Sitting in Lotus, you press your hands down and lift your whole seat off the floor. The catch is the prerequisite: a genuinely comfortable Lotus, which many practiced students never force — blocks under the hands make the lift itself accessible.

Step by step

1Sit in Lotus Pose — only if Lotus is already comfortable for your knees; Half Lotus or crossed legs with a lower lift is a fair substitute.
2Place your palms flat on the floor beside your hips, fingers spread and pointing forward.
3Press down through your whole hands and firm your shoulders away from your ears.
4Exhale, draw your belly in and up, and lift your seat and legs off the floor.
5Keep your chest lifted and gaze forward, hanging your folded legs from a strong core.
6Lower down with control, unfold your legs, and change the cross before repeating.

Benefits

✓ Strengthens the arms, wrists, and shoulders
✓ Works the deep abdominal muscles hard
✓ Builds the pressing strength used in Rooster and pick-ups
✓ Trains a strong, lifted seated posture

Make it yours

· Place a block under each hand to make the lift-off much easier
· Sit in a simple cross-legged position and lift just your seat, letting your feet stay on the floor
· Practice pressing down and lifting only an inch — height is not the point

Take care

Skip the Lotus base entirely if you have knee or ankle injuries — the lift is not worth forcing the fold
Take care with wrist injuries or carpal tunnel symptoms

This is general practice guidance, not medical advice. If something hurts, ease out of it.

Practiced in

Ashtanga — as “Utplutih (Tolasana)” (#60)

Props that help here

Liforme Original — The grippiest mat we've used, with alignment markers that genuinely help beginners place hands and feet. Priciest of the three. find one
Wrist wedge — Reduces the wrist angle in plank, chaturanga, and arm balances. Worth trying before concluding your wrists can't do this. find one

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