Category: Inversions
Level: beginner
Hold: 3–5 breaths per side
Type: Asana
Breath: Inhale as you lift the leg; keep steady, even breaths while you hold.

Three-Legged Dog

Eka Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana — "one-legged downward-facing dog posture"

Also known as: One-Legged Downward Dog, Down Dog Split

Downward dog with one leg lifted behind you. It adds a hip and hamstring stretch, a light balance challenge, and is the usual doorway into lunges and standing poses.

Step by step

1Begin in downward-facing dog with your hands shoulder-width apart and weight even through both palms.
2Ground firmly through your standing foot, then sweep your other leg up and back.
3Keep your hips level at first — reach through the lifted heel rather than lifting it as high as possible.
4Press both hands into the floor equally; resist leaning away from the lifted leg.
5For a hip stretch, bend the lifted knee and let the hip open toward the ceiling.
6Lower the leg with control and repeat on the other side.

Benefits

✓ Stretches the hamstrings and hip flexors of both legs at once
✓ Builds shoulder and core strength as you stabilize on two hands and one foot
✓ Opens the side body and hip when you bend the lifted knee
✓ Smooths transitions into lunges, warrior poses, and pigeon

Make it yours

· Keep the lifted leg low, or keep both knees bent, while you build shoulder strength.
· Place your hands on blocks or a chair seat to bring the floor closer.
· Practice with your heel pressing into a wall behind you for feedback on a level pelvis.

Take care

Approach with care if you have wrist, shoulder, or hamstring injuries.
If holding your head below your heart feels uncomfortable — for example with high blood pressure or eye pressure concerns — keep the hold brief.

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

Practiced in

Props that help here

Yoga blanket — Folded under the hips in seated poses, under the knees in kneeling ones, under the shoulders for shoulderstand. A firm household blanket works too. 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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