Upward-Facing Dog Pose

How to do Upward-Facing Dog Pose

1. 1Lie prone on your mat with your legs extended straight back, hip-width apart, and the tops of your feet pressing down.
2. 2Place your palms flat beside your lower ribs with fingers spread wide and elbows hugging your torso.
3. 3Inhale and press firmly into your hands, straightening your arms while rolling your shoulders back and down.
4. 4Press the tops of your feet firmly into the floor to lift your thighs, knees, and hips completely off the mat.
5. 5Pull your chest forward and upward through your upper arms without collapsing your lower back.
6. 6Keep your neck long, gazing straight ahead or softly upward without pinching the back of your cervical spine.
7. 7Broaden across your collarbones and firm your glutes lightly while maintaining strong engagement through your legs.

Benefits

• Strengthens the wrists, arms, and shoulder girdle.
• Increases flexibility and endurance along the entire spine.
• Expands the chest and lungs, encouraging deeper respiration.
• Stretches the hip flexors, abdomen, and tops of the feet.
• Improves posture by opening rounded shoulders and strengthening the upper back.

Common mistakes and cues

• Resting thighs on mat

  Keep your legs fully active and drive through the tops of your feet so thighs and knees stay lifted.

• Shrugging shoulders to ears

  Draw your shoulder blades down your back and press the ground away to create space around your neck.

• Hands too far forward

  Align your wrists directly under or slightly behind your shoulders so your arms can stack vertically.

• Crunched lower back

  Focus on pulling your sternum forward rather than forcing an extreme arch in the lumbar spine.

• Hyperextending the neck

  Keep the back of your neck long by lifting from your sternum rather than tossing your head backward.

Modifications and props

• Cobra pose alternative

  Keep your thighs and pelvis grounded on the mat and bend your elbows softly if full extension is inaccessible.

• Blocks under hands

  Place your hands on two flat yoga blocks to create extra clearance for tight wrists or a compressed lower back.

• Toes tucked

  Tuck your toes under instead of resting on the tops of the feet if you need more stability or have foot cramps.

• Bolster support

  Place a bolster crosswise under your thighs to support pelvic elevation while learning arm engagement.

Cautions

• Carpal tunnel or wrist pain

  Avoid placing full body weight onto extended wrists; substitute with Sphinx or Cobra on forearms.

• Lumbar disc injuries

  Refrain from deep backbending or practice mild Cobra pose with clear core integration instead.

• Late-stage pregnancy

  Skip prone backbends that place excessive pressure on the abdomen in favor of gentle upright extensions.

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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