Last week we looked at Cobra pose, a beginning-level backbend. Today, let’s turn our attention to Upward-Facing Dog pose (Urdva Mukha Svanasana), a more intermediate-level backbend that is the next logical progression from Cobra pose. As in Cobra pose, in Upward-Facing Dog pose, you will be lifting your chest up away from gravity into a backbend shape, but this pose is more strengthening for your arms and shoulders because you are bearing more body weight with them and more strengthening for your legs because they are lifting off the ground. In addition, compared with Cobra, this pose stretches more of your front body muscles—and stretches them more intensely—and strengthens your back spinal muscles more. It also creates more stretch at the fronts of your hip joints and ankle joints in some variations. All in all, it is a wonderful pose for increasing the strength in your leg and chest muscles, such as the quadriceps (quads) and hamstrings in your legs and your pectorals (pecs) and lattisimus dorsi (lats) in your chest.
I prescribe this pose for:
- Building upper body strength
- Building lower body strength
- Stretching the front body, especially the front hip joints, abdomen and front legs
- Strengthening the back spinal muscles
- Improving posture
- Energizing pose for fatigue
- Uplifting pose for depression
Classic Version
To come into the pose, start by coming into Downward-Facing Dog pose. Then swing your shoulders forward over your wrists into Plank pose.
At this point your toes are still turned under, so take a moment to individually lift and point your toes backwards and rest the tops of your feet and toes on your mat, pressing the tops of your feet down firmly into the mat to assist in keeping your knees off the floor. As you do this, pivoting at your shoulders, swing your hips forward towards your wrists. Make sure to keep your shoulders directly over your wrists to avoid hyperextending your wrist joints.
To work in the pose, press your entire palms firmly down into the floor. Firm your arms and press upwards towards your shoulders while also firming the muscles of your legs to keep your legs hovering just a few inches off the floor. Widen your collarbones away from your breast bone and draw your shoulder blades down your back as you keep your chest lifted. Either look straight ahead or, if you have a healthy cervical spine, arch your neck and lift your chin and head to look upwards.
Start by holding the pose for 6-8 breaths and gradually work your way up to longer holds, up to 1 minute. To come out of the pose, one foot at a time, turn your toes under. Then on an inhalation swing your hips up and back into Downward-Facing Dog, engaging your abdominal muscles towards your spine to assist in the transition.
Toes Turned Under
This variation of Upward-Facing Dog pose is a good one to use when you are practicing Sun Salutations. Because you are only in Upward-Facing Dog for a breath or two, it is more efficient to make the transitions to and from Downward-Facing Dog without dealing with the foot change in the classic version. Also, with your toes turned under, your legs work differently, creating more isometric action in your calves, which can both stretch and strengthen that area.
Enter the pose the same way as the classic version, skipping the part where you come onto the tops of your feet. Instead, as you bring your body into the backbend, imagine you are pressing your heels into a wall behind you. This will engage your entire leg musculature more actively to assist your arms in keeping you into the pose. If you feel a pain or pinching in your lower back in this version, try firming your abdomen back toward your spine.
You can stay in the pose for a breath or two, as in a Sun Salutation, or longer as in the classic version. To come out of the pose, exit on an exhalation as in the classic pose.
Hands on Blocks
Having your hands on blocks elevates you a few inches higher than the classic pose, so is great if you are having trouble getting your knees off the floor. It also allows for a bigger backbend curve in your spine if you’d like to work on spinal flexibility.
Although you could come into this version from Downward Dog with your hands on blocks, I recommend coming into the pose from a prone position, lying on your belly. Start by coming onto your belly as you would for Cobra pose, with two blocks on their lowest height, positioned lengthwise next to your middle to lower ribs (the first few times you do the pose, you may have to move the blocks a bit forward and back to fight the right position for them so that when you are up in pose, your shoulders are over the wrists without hyperextension).
Now, bend your arms like grasshopper legs and place your palms on the blocks. Begin to roll your chest and head up, pressing your hands more firmly to allow your arms to assist you in gradually curling up towards straight arms. As you roll up, press down with the tops of your feet and lift your legs off the floor, keeping your knees straight. Once your arms are straight, work in the pose the same way as for the classic version.
Stay for 6-8 breaths initially, and gradually work up to longer holds, up to 1 minute. To exit the pose, slowly bend your arms and lower yourself back down onto your belly, chest, and chin.
Chair Version
(sorry, no photo)
Because this version does not require as much strength or spinal flexibility as the classic version, it is a good intermediate pose in going from Cobra towards learning full Upward Dog. For this version, I’m suggesting that keep your toes turned under, as rolling onto the tops of your feet in this position is a much more intense stretch than in the classic version, but if having the tops of your feet on the floor is comfortable, you can practice that way if you wish.
Start by placing a chair against a wall on your sticky mat. Then stand facing the chair, about a foot away. Bend your knees a bit, and bend forward, placing your hands flat on the chair seat with your wrists near the front edge of the chair. Then, walk your feet away from the chair about 3-4 feet, coming into Downward-Facing Dog on the chair.
Then, on an inhalation, swing your shoulders forward over your wrists into chair Plank pose.
Next, swing your hips forward towards the chair to come into the backbend while simultaneously pressing back into your heels to firm your legs. To work in the pose, use the same actions as the classic version.
Stay in the pose for 6-8 breaths and gradually work up to longer holds, up to 1 minute. To come out of the pose, on an exhalation, swing back into Downward-Facing Dog with the chair. Then walk forward toward the chair and come up into Mountain pose (Tadasana).
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