Urdhva Prasarita Padasana | Yoga pour les débutants complets | Yoga For Digestive System in French

Though it sounds impressive in Sanskrit, Urdhva Prasarita Padasana rendered in English becomes the decidedly clunky “Raised Stretched-Out Foot Pose.”

The name is much ado about a fairly simple exercise that has deep benefits, but most teachers just call it by its initials. UPP involves nothing more than lying on your back and swinging your extended legs through a slightly less than 90-degree arc, from perpendicular to the floor to nearly—but not quite—parallel, and back again.

This simple movement strengthens a muscle that passes through the very core of your body, which aids your posture, your movement, and even (because this muscle is in close proximity to the back of the diaphragm) the way you breathe.