In short: legs up the wall is a fully supported resting pose. You lie on your back with the buttocks close to a wall and the legs resting up it, often with a folded blanket or bolster under the pelvis, and simply stay for 5 to 20 minutes. Nothing has to be held up by muscle, which makes it one of the most accessible inversions, suitable for most beginners.
It is a supported adaptation rather than a classical asana, and it is the shape most people picture when a teacher says “Viparita Karani”. This page explains how the two relate.
The name: legs up the wall and Viparita Karani
Legs up the wall is a modern descriptive name; there is no separate classical Sanskrit name for this exact shape. In modern classes and in Yoga Journal it is very often called Viparita Karani, which means “inverted action”. That is modern usage. In the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Viparita Karani is a mudra practised with the head down and the feet up, and the Bihar School teaches an inverted asana of that name with the hips lifted on the hands. The Iyengar tradition bridged the two with a version on a bolster against the wall. Interestingly, the Bihar School’s own magazine suggests that people who cannot do its inverted asana, such as pregnant women or elderly people, simply rest their legs against a wall. So legs up the wall is best understood as the gentlest, most supported member of the Viparita Karani family: the legs are raised, but the wall and the floor do all the holding.
Setting it up
The simplest version needs only a wall: sit sideways with one hip against it, roll onto your back as you swing the legs up, and shuffle the buttocks close to the wall. If the hamstrings protest, move a few inches further away; the legs do not need to be perfectly straight or touching the wall all the way down.
For the supported version, Yoga Journal’s Iyengar-based instructions place a bolster or two firm folded blankets parallel to the wall, a few inches away, so the support runs from the back of the pelvis to the lowest ribs. Let the sitting bones drop slightly off the edge toward the wall, so the lower belly settles and you do not feel you are sliding toward your head. Rest the shoulders on the floor, arms out to the sides, and add a folded blanket under the head and neck if needed. A loose strap around the shins or thighs lets the legs relax completely, and an eye pillow helps many people let go.
Staying and coming out
Yoga Journal’s Cyndi Lee suggests 5 to 20 minutes, starting with about 5 if restorative yoga is new to you; YogaUOnline gives the same range. Breathe naturally. Many people find the pose calming and a good way to end a practice or a long day of standing or sitting. To come out, bend the knees, slide the feet down the wall or press them into it to lift the hips off the support, then roll onto your side, rest there for a few breaths and push up to sitting with the head coming up last.
Precautions in plain words
Legs up the wall is gentle, but it is still a mild inversion. With glaucoma, a detached retina or other eye conditions, or with uncontrolled high blood pressure, ask your doctor first and keep the pelvis low or flat on the floor. Cyndi Lee notes that some yoga traditions advise against it during menstruation; follow your own teacher’s guidance. Later in pregnancy, lying flat on the back can be uncomfortable, so keep the stay short or raise the upper body, and ask your provider. If your legs tingle or go numb, bend the knees and come out. This page is general information, not individual advice.
Related practices
Legs up the wall fits naturally at the end of a restorative sequence or a bedtime practice, before corpse pose. Slow breathing, such as a gentle diaphragmatic breath with a longer exhale, sits well in it. It also prepares you for active inversions such as Viparita Karani with the hands supporting the hips and shoulderstand. Related restorative poses include supported bridge and reclining bound angle.
You will meet it in restorative, Iyengar, yin and gentle hatha classes.
