Upward-Facing Dog
Benefits
- Strengthens the arms, wrists, and spine
- Stretches the chest, shoulders, and abdomen
- Improves posture
- Firms the buttocks and legs
- Often used as a transitional pose in sun salutations and vinyasa flow
How to practice — step by step
- From a plank or lying face down, place the hands beside the lower ribs with the fingers spread wide.
- Press into the hands and tops of the feet to straighten the arms, lifting the thighs and hips off the floor.
- Engage the legs and draw the tailbone slightly down and forward, rather than letting the low back sink.
- Roll the shoulders back and down, opening the chest, rather than hunching them toward the ears.
- Keep the gaze forward or only slightly upward, avoiding a hard drop of the head back.
Contraindications — when to avoid or modify this pose
- Carpal tunnel syndrome or wrist injury
- Pregnancy
- Recent back injury (caution with herniated disc)
- Headache
- Spondylolisthesis (caution with deep extension)
Muscles worked
Contract / work (engaged)
- Triceps
- Quadriceps
- Glutes
- Lower back (erector spinae)
Stretch / lengthen (released)
- Chest (pectorals)
- Core / abdominals
Chakra
Traditional association, based on common hatha yoga teaching — not a medical or scientific claim.
Unlike Cobra, the thighs and hips lift off the floor here and the arms are fully straight — pressing evenly through the hands helps avoid compressing the lower back.
This pose was added in the first post-launch catalog-expansion batch (17 sept 2026). Three other poses added in that same batch turned out to be covered in the professional anatomy book used for Round 4, but this one is not profiled there, so it's written with general, widely-taught yoga knowledge rather than from a specific course or book source.
This page is for general education only and is not a substitute for guidance from a qualified yoga teacher or medical professional. If you have an injury, a chronic condition, or are pregnant, consult a doctor and a certified instructor before practicing this pose.