Crocodile Pose

How to do Crocodile Pose

1. 1Lie face down on your mat with your legs extended straight behind you at hip-width distance.
2. 2Turn your heels outward and bring your big toes toward each other to completely relax your glutes and sacrum.
3. 3Cross your forearms in front of your chest, stacking your hands or holding onto opposite elbows.
4. 4Rest your forehead or cheek onto your stacked forearms, maintaining length throughout the back of your neck.
5. 5For the classical intermediate variation, lift your chest, prop your elbows on the mat, and cradle your chin in your palms.
6. 6Draw your shoulder blades gently down away from your ears to keep your collarbones broad and relaxed.
7. 7Allow your belly and pelvic bowl to sink heavily into the mat with each cycle of breath.
8. 8Hold the posture for two to five minutes, observing the natural rise and fall of your abdomen against the floor.

Benefits

• Decompresses the lumbar spine by releasing tension around the sacrum and lower back
• Retrains healthy diaphragmatic breathing via tactile abdominal feedback against the floor
• Gently stretches the anterior chest and throat in the classical chin-supported variation
• Stimulates abdominal organs through rhythmic compression during breathing
• Relieves muscular tension in the gluteals and deep pelvic rotators
• Calms the sympathetic nervous system, helping to lower heart rate and reduce stress

Common mistakes and cues

• Glute clenching

  Keep your heels flopped outward and toes touching to ensure your buttocks and lower back remain entirely disengaged.

• Neck compression

  Avoid hyper-extending your cervical spine in the chin-supported variation by lengthening the back of your neck rather than jamming your head back.

• Shoulder hiking

  Relax your upper trapezius muscles so your shoulders do not bunch up around your ears.

• Chest-only breathing

  Send the breath down into the lower lobes of your lungs to actively press your abdomen into the mat.

Modifications and props

• Pelvic blanket

  Place a folded blanket beneath your hips and lower belly if your hip points feel tender against the hard floor.

• Chest bolster

  Slide a low bolster horizontally under your upper chest if lifting the torso with elbows grounded strains your lower back.

• Forehead block

  Rest your forehead on a foam block turned on its lowest height if tight shoulders make crossing your arms uncomfortable.

• Wide legs

  Take your feet as wide as the yoga mat if you experience any pinch or compression in your sacroiliac joints.

Cautions

• Pregnancy

  Avoid lying prone during the second and third trimesters; practice side-lying or supported child pose instead.

• Recent abdominal surgery

  Do not practice prone postures until incisions and deep tissues are fully healed and cleared by a physician.

• Acute neck pain

  Skip the intermediate chin-in-hands variation and rest your forehead directly on stacked hands to keep the neck neutral.

• Severe spinal stenosis

  Avoid the extended-chest variation, as passive backward bending may narrow the spinal canal and cause discomfort.

If you are working with an injury, pregnancy or a medical condition, check with a qualified professional before practising this pose.

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