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

Downward Dog: Classic

A whole-body stretch and strengthening pose that decompresses your spine while opening your shoulders, hamstrings, and calves: a versatile foundation of yoga practice.

Upper Limb Weight Bearing60 to 90 seconds
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How to do it

  1. 1

    Start on hands and knees and spread your fingers

    Hands under your shoulders, knees under your hips. Press evenly through the whole hand, especially the knuckles at the base of your fingers, so your wrists are not taking it all.

  2. 2

    Tuck your toes and lift your hips up and back

    Push the floor away and send your hips towards the ceiling so your body makes one long upside down V. Your heels do not need to reach the floor.

  3. 3

    Lengthen your back before you straighten your legs

    Reach your tailbone away from your hands and feel the whole spine get longer. Bend your knees as much as you need to keep that length, the long back comes first.

  4. 4

    Let your head hang and your neck soften

    Ears roughly in line with your upper arms, gaze back towards your feet. Shoulders draw away from your ears rather than bunching up around them.

  5. 5

    Hold for 60 to 90 seconds, resting as needed

    Drop to your knees and sit back any time, then set up again. Two shorter holds are as useful as one long one.

What to watch for

Rounding through the back to force the heels down. The moment your spine starts to curve, bend your knees more, length in the back matters far more than straight legs here.

Other ways to do this movement

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

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.

One movement is a start. A session is the thing.

A few questions about your body and how it is today, and Vinys builds a session around it, including which movements to leave out.

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From the clinically authored Vinys movement library.