Lower back, upper back, neck, hips, knees, shoulders and wrists

Camel: Classic

Opens the entire front of your body through deep kneeling extension, improving posture, counteracting the effects of sitting, and building back and hip strength.

How to do it

1. 1

   Kneel with your knees about hip width apart

   Put a folded blanket under the knees if the floor is hard. Bring the hips directly over the knees so you start from a tall, stacked position.

2. 2

   Hands to your lower back, then lift the chest

   Fingers point down, elbows draw towards each other. Lift up through the breastbone before you take anything backwards, so the length spreads along the whole front of the body.

3. 3

   Reach one hand at a time back to your heels

   This is the deepest version in the family, so only take the hands back if the hips can stay forward over the knees. Keep the hips where they are as the chest travels.

4. 4

   Hold 20 to 45 seconds, then come up

   Come out by lifting the breastbone and bringing the hands back to your lower back. If the full reach is too much, stay with the hands on your lower back, or set blocks beside your feet.

What to watch for

Any sensation that starts to travel away from your back and out along a limb. Come straight out and choose a version with less depth. Height at the chest is the point of this pose, not how far back your head goes, so keep the gaze forward if dropping the head is uncomfortable.

Ways to adjust it

• Hands on lower back
• Toes tucked
• Gaze forward
• Chin to chest
• Hands on back
• Blanket under knees
• Blocks
• Fists

If this one is too much today

Try the gentler version instead. It asks less of you and does much the same work.

• Camel: Hands on Lower Back

Other ways to do this movement

Every version below is the same movement set up differently, so one of them usually suits. See all Camel Pose versions in one place, ordered from gentlest to strongest.

• Camel: Chair
• Camel: Hands on Lower Back
• Camel: Hands on Pelvis
• Camel: Side-Lying

Before you try it

Move within a range that stays comfortable. Stop if this brings on sharp pain, dizziness, or symptoms that travel down an arm or a leg, and speak to a clinician before repeating it.

From the clinically authored Vinys movement library.