Downward-Facing Dog

Stretches feet, shoulders, hamstrings, and calves; strengthens arms, legs, and core

Start on your hands and knees with your feet and knees hip-width apart. Position your hands about shoulder-width apart, and spread your fingers wide. Pressing firmly through your hands, lift your knees off the floor and straighten your legs. (If you have tight hamstrings, a gentle bend in the knees is fine). Walk your hands forward a few inches, and walk your feet back a few inches to lengthen the pose. Squeeze your thighs as you press them toward the back wall. Press your heels back and down toward the floor (though they might not reach the floor). Relax your head and neck and let your shoulder blades slide down your back toward your feet. Set your gaze between your feet. Suck your stomach in and engage your core muscles. Breathe deeply. Hold for three minutes, rest, and repeat one more time.

Why it's good for you: We often experience back pain due to chronic tightness in the hamstrings and hips. It's also common for us to have very tight shoulders. Down Dog releases those areas, while building upper body strength. If you can do only one pose a day, start with Downward Dog.

Downward-Facing Dog

1. Start on your hands and knees in table position. Your knees should be right below your hips, and your hands should be just above your shoulders with your fingers spread out. Curl your toes under.
2. When you exhale, lift your knees up off the floor. If your heels don’t naturally drop toward the floor, or if the pose feels tight, slowly heel toe press. Keep your feet still, but alternately bend and straighten each leg like you’re walking in place.
3. Push your thighs back and straighten your knees without locking them.
4. Let your head hang between your straight arms. Push your chest towards your thighs. It’s tempting to let your shoulders hunch up toward your ears, but the position is much more comfortable if you pull them down. Concentrate on maintaining a long neck. Also, rotating your upper arms out can help to release the tension in your shoulders.

Downward-Facing Dog

The way I teach beginners this one from kneeling on all fours: lift knees an inch off the floor, look down and push the mat as "far away" with your hands as you can, so your head dives between your arms, then with knees still bent, the LAST thing you do is try straighten the knees and pedal the feet, one by one. I find this helps them get a nice, long, flat back, which is more important initially than straight legs.

A Simple Downward-Facing Dog

Down dog helps to strengthen the deep abdominal muscles, which support low back posture. The action of the hip joint flexing and folding in the front brings the abdominals in close toward the spine, strengthening them.