Skip to main content
Also known as: Downward dog to chaturanga.

Technique

  1. Begin in Downward dog with your hips high, fingers spread and feet hip-width apart.
  2. Roll forward, stacking your shoulders over your wrists into a solid high plank with your core and glutes engaged.
  3. Shift slightly forward onto your tiptoes and bend your elbows straight back, hugging your ribs, until your upper arms are parallel to the floor.
  4. Keep your body in a straight line from head to heels; do not drop your hips or scoop your chest.
  5. Press strongly through your palms and drive your hips up and back to Downward dog.
  6. Flow continuously between the two positions with your breath.

Form tips

  • Keep your elbows hugging your ribs, not flaring out to the sides.
  • Hold a rigid line from head to heels; your hips should not sag or pike as you lower.

Muscles

Strength

Primary

  • Shoulders
  • Chest
  • Triceps
  • Serratus anterior

Secondary

  • Biceps
  • Forearms
  • Abs
  • Obliques
  • Pelvis
Flexibility

Primary

  • Glutes
  • Hamstrings
  • Legs
  • Chest
  • Back

Secondary

  • Hip adductors
  • Pelvis
  • Anterior deltoid
  • Pectoralis major (clavicular head)
  • Triceps brachii (long head)
  • Triceps brachii (medial head)
  • Triceps brachii (lateral head)
  • Serratus anterior

Equipment

Appears in

Regressions

e037

Downward dog

Beginner
w02d

One-leg dog to plank

Novice
w00s

Sun salutation A simplified

Novice
w00l

Sun salutation A

Intermediate
w02g

One-leg dog plank to figure-4 table top

Intermediate
w02b

Front kick-through to one-legged dog

Novice
Want to log this exercise? Open it in Calistree. Text and images are used under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0; the video plays from the original source.