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

Downward Dog: Movement

A gentle pedaling warm-up: bending one knee, then the other, that wakes up your calves, hamstrings, and shoulders while keeping your spine long and your body fluid.

Upper Limb Weight Bearing30 to 60 seconds
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How to do it

  1. 1

    Come into the shape with both knees softly bent

    Hands under your shoulders, hips up and back, heels off the floor. This is a warm up, so start comfortable rather than at your deepest.

  2. 2

    Bend one knee and let the other heel drift down

    Softening one knee at a time sends a gentle stretch through the back of the straighter leg, then swaps it to the other side.

  3. 3

    Alternate slowly, one side then the other

    Change sides on a slow count rather than pedalling quickly. Keep the range small at first and let it open as you go.

  4. 4

    Keep your spine just as long as when you started

    Your hips stay high and your back stays long the whole time. If the range is making your back round, keep both knees bent and move through a shorter range.

  5. 5

    Keep moving for 30 to 60 seconds, then rest

    Finish by holding still with both knees bent for a breath or two, then lower to your knees.

What to watch for

Speeding up until the movement starts to bounce. This one only works slow, with the spine staying long between sides, so shorten the range before you lose either.

Ways to adjust it

  • Bent knees
  • Short range
  • Bent knees, short range

If this one is too much today

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

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.

Start your first session

From the clinically authored Vinys movement library.