Front body and upper back
5 Camel Pose variations, from gentlest to strongest
Also called ustrasana, camel stretch, kneeling backbend.
A kneeling backbend, and one of the stronger positions in the library. The versions differ in how far back the hands reach, which is the whole intensity scale.
Start here
The list runs from the most supported version to the most demanding. Camel: Side-Lying is the one to begin with. Harder is not better: the version you can do without gripping is the one doing the work.
Every version in the library
1 · Spinal Mobility · 20 to 45 seconds
Camel: Side-Lying
The gentlest way into the Camel family: lying on your side lets you explore a little hip extension and chest opening with the floor doing all the supporting.
2 · Spinal Mobility · 20 to 45 seconds
Camel: Chair
Opens the chest and the front of the spine from the safety of a chair, countering long hours of sitting hunched forward.
3 · Spinal Mobility · 20 to 45 seconds
Camel: Hands on Pelvis
A gentle first backbend: your hands support the pelvis so the chest can open without straining the lower back.
4 · Spinal Mobility · 20 to 45 seconds
Camel: Hands on Lower Back
The most accessible camel: hands on your lower back support and guide the extension, providing gentle anterior chain opening at a manageable depth.
Make it work for you: Half Camel. Chair back. Chin to chest
5 · Spinal Mobility · 20 to 45 seconds
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.
Make it work for you: Hands on lower back. Toes tucked. Gaze forward
When to stop and ask someone
Nothing on this page can tell whether what you are feeling is ordinary mechanical back pain or something that needs looking at, and the published guidance is direct about that distinction. NICE asks clinicians to think about alternative diagnoses when symptoms are new or have changed, and to exclude specific causes such as cancer, infection, trauma or inflammatory disease.
In practice that means stopping and speaking to someone rather than working through it if the pain followed a significant fall or accident, if it comes with fever or unexplained weight loss, if it wakes you at night and does not change when you change position, or if there is weakness in a leg rather than only pain.
One group needs same-day medical attention rather than a phone call: numbness around the groin or back passage, any change in bladder or bowel control, or weakness developing in both legs.
- NICE NG59, low back pain and sciatica in over 16s, recommendation 1.1.1
Think about alternative diagnoses when examining or reviewing people with low back pain, particularly if they develop new or changed symptoms, and exclude specific causes such as cancer, infection, trauma or inflammatory disease.
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.
Every version above is drawn from the clinically authored Vinys library. This page is general movement information, not medical advice, and it is not a diagnosis. What helps for a specific condition.