Table Pose

How to do Table Pose

1. 1Come onto your hands and knees on your mat, stacking your wrists directly under your shoulders and your knees directly beneath your hips.
2. 2Spread your fingers wide and press firmly through the pads of your fingers and the base of your knuckles to ground your palms.
3. 3Point your toes straight back with the tops of your feet resting on the floor, or tuck your toes under for extra grounding.
4. 4Draw your navel gently toward your spine to keep your lower back long and prevent your abdomen from sagging.
5. 5Press the floor away through your palms to broaden your upper back, keeping your collarbones wide and shoulders drawn away from your ears.
6. 6Lengthen through the crown of your head forward while reaching your tailbone back to create a long, neutral spine.
7. 7Gaze straight down at the mat between your thumbs to keep the back of your neck long and unstrained.

Benefits

• Reinforces healthy neutral spine awareness and posture mechanics.
• Builds isometric strength in the deep core, shoulder girdle, and upper back.
• Tones the stabilizing muscles running along the entire length of the spine.
• Decompresses the lower back when maintained with proper core engagement.
• Conditions the wrists, hands, and forearms for weight-bearing yoga postures.

Common mistakes and cues

• Sagging Lower Back

  Avoid letting your belly drop toward the floor by actively lifting your navel toward your spine.

• Collapsing into Shoulders

  Press actively through your hands to keep your chest lifted rather than letting your shoulder blades pinch together.

• Craning the Neck

  Keep your gaze downward at the mat to maintain a neutral cervical spine rather than looking forward.

• Hyperextending Elbows

  Keep a micro-bend in your elbows and rotate your inner elbow creases slightly toward each other to protect your joints.

• Uneven Weight Distribution

  Balance your body weight evenly between your hands and your knees to avoid overloading your wrists.

Modifications and props

• Knee Sensitivity

  Place a folded blanket beneath your knees to provide cushioning and reduce pressure.

• Wrist Discomfort

  Make fists with your hands with your thumbs facing forward, or lower onto your forearms to relieve wrist pressure.

• Incline Elevation

  Rest your hands on yoga blocks placed on their lowest setting under your shoulders to decrease wrist extension angle.

• Wall Variation

  Place your hands flat against a wall at shoulder height and step back into an L-shape to practice neutral spine alignment while standing.

Cautions

• Acute Wrist Injury or Carpal Tunnel

  Avoid placing full body weight on flexed wrists; choose a forearm variation instead.

• Recent Knee Injury

  Avoid bearing direct weight on the knees without generous cushioning or approval from a healthcare provider.

• Shoulder Impingement

  Place your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width and slightly forward of your shoulders to reduce joint compression.

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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