This entry was published on June 9, 2025 by Charlotte Bell.
The backbends are exhilarating. They stimulate the nervous system and can promote freer breathing. They are the perfect antidote for a sedentary life. Camel Pose (Utrasana) is one of the most difficult backbends in yoga.
The installation of camels (Utrasana) that we know today – as in the photo above – is not the same as in its early incarnation. While the installation of camel has been mentioned in the yogic texts since the 1700s, it looked more like an arc pose (Dhanurasana) than the Ustrasana that we know today. The traditional pose looked a lot like Dhanurasana, but instead of lifting the thighs from the ground, the thighs have remained anchored, the ankles cross.
The first description of the installation of camels in its current form was of Sita Devi, author of Easy Yoga Postures for Women, in 1934. However, the traditional version continued to proliferate in certain circles until the 1960s, when the kneeling version became omnipresent.
One thing on which most of us can agree is that USTRASANA in its current form can be intense. This is why it is important to prepare the body before trying to practice it.
Why practice the installation of camels?
Like all backbends, Utrasana relieves some of the problems that arise from too sitting. When we usually sit for long periods, our glutes lose strength when our hip flexors shorten. Bending forward on a desk or a device can drop our shoulders over time, giving way to the posture of the head.
Practicing camels can help reverse all these problems. Here are some of the advantages:
- Stretches the whole front of the body, the ankles, the thighs and the thorns, the abdomen, the chest and the throat
- Extension the flexors of the deep hip (psoas)
- Strengthens the back muscles
- Improves posture
- Stimulates the organs of the abdomen
Utrasana Mande
As with all yoga asanas, Camel Pose is not for everyone. Here are some contraindications to practice pose:
- Neck or lower back injury
- High or low blood pressure
- Insomnia
- Migraine
- Second and third quarters of pregnancy
How to prepare for the installation of camel
As I mentioned above, the preparation is important. Here’s how I suggest preparing camels:
- Start with a few relaxed sun greetings (Surya Namaskara) to warm the body in general.
- Mobilize the chest spine. The thoracic spine (the segment of the spine which is attached to the rib cage) is not able to decompose. But you can create more mobility in this area by twisting and folding lateral. Try Talasana (Palm Tree Pose) for lateral flexion. Any twist that you choose may be useful. Try to add twists and turns to your greetings in the sun. The installation of rotating slit (Parvrtta Anjaneyasana) can be integrated into your sun greetings.
- Stretch the quadriceps and hip flexors. You can do this by practicing listed (Anjaneyasana), or the installation of Half Hero (Ardha Virasana).
- Stretch the shoulders and chest. The installation of sustained fish (Salamba Matsyasana) is an excellent way to relieve your open chest to prepare for pose.
- The Dhanurasana (arc installation) is in the same shape as the installation of camel, but with a different orientation towards gravity, it can also be a useful preparation.
How to practice Utrasana
- Gather your accessories: a yoga carpet, two yoga blocks and a folded yoga blanket. The blocks and coverage are optional, but it is good to have them at hand in case.
- If you know that your knees are sensitive to pressure, place your folded blanket on your yoga carpet. Otherwise, you can jump using the cover.
- Come to a kneeling position on your carpet or cover with the top of your feet on the floor. Place a block of yoga, at its highest height, outside each foot. Make sure the blocks are on your carpet and not on your cover if you use one.
- Place your hands on your pelvic edge and press down. Imagine your coccyx extending to the ground. At the same time, lift your chest, lengthening your back.
- For some people, including myself, allow the head to completely release, as in the photo above, can cause stunning or nausea. Do not hesitate to keep your head more neutral, lengthening both the front and the back of your neck. You can also move your chin to your chest.
- Without leaning your pool back – Keep your basin on your knees – criticize your lumbar column behind and look for your blocks. Continue to lift your chest.
- Press your blocks to lift the chest even more. If it seems easy enough, you can lower your blocks to their average height. If it seems easy, you can reach your heels.
- Take 5 to 8 deep breaths. Then release the installation and sit on your heels or on one of your blocks, keeping the vertebral column standing.
- It may be useful to repeat the installation once or twice as much. Backbends often become more optional with rehearsal.
End
You may feel tempted to go directly to a turn before after practicing the camel. But it can be nicer in the back to relieve you in the front bending. Before the front bending, practice a torsion, like the stomach installation (Jathara Parivrttanasana). Then practice a few turns in front to lengthen your back and relax your nervous system.
About Charlotte Bell
Charlotte Bell discovered yoga in 1982 and started teaching in 1986. Charlotte is the author of Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life: A Guide for Everyding Practice and Yoga for Meditators, both published by Rodmell Press. His third book is entitled Hip-Healthy Asana: The Yoga Pratitioner’s Guide to Protect of the Hips and Avoid Si Joint Pain (Shambhala Publications). She writes a monthly chronicle for Catalyst Magazine and is online Yoga U publisher. Charlotte is a founding member of the board of directors of Greentree Yoga, a non -profit organization that brings yoga to poorly served populations. Musician for life, Charlotte plays an oboe and an English horn in the Salt Lake Symphony and the Sextuant Folk Red rock Rondo, whose DVD won two Emmy Awards.