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

Downward Dog: Hands on Wall

Hands on the wall create a gentler angle that reduces load on your spine and shoulders, making the decompressive benefits of this pose accessible for almost everyone.

How to do it

1. 1

   Stand facing a wall about an arm's length away

   Feet hip width, toes pointing straight at the wall. Place both hands flat on the wall at roughly hip to waist height.

2. 2

   Walk your feet back until your body makes an L

   Keep walking back until your arms are straight and your torso is close to horizontal, with your hips over your ankles. Your spine ends up far closer to level than in the floor version, so there is much less weight going through it.

3. 3

   Lengthen from your hands to your hips

   Press the wall away, let your head sit between your arms, and reach your hips back. Keep a soft bend in the knees.

4. 4

   Hold for 60 to 90 seconds, breathing easily

   Walk your feet in a step to make it gentler, or out a step for more length. Walk in to come out rather than dropping the arms suddenly.

What to watch for

The lower back dipping and the ribs dropping towards the floor as you reach your hips back. You want one straight line from hands to hips, and if that line breaks, walk your feet in closer.

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.

• Downward Dog: Bent Knees
• Downward Dog: Chair Supported
• Downward Dog: Classic
• Downward Dog: Forearms (Dolphin)
• Downward Dog: Hands on Blocks
• Downward Dog: Movement

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.