Peak Pose: Urdhva Dhanurasana – Hugger Mugger

I first learned Urdhva Dhanurasana (Upward Bow Pose) when I was studying ballet in elementary school. This was one of my sisters’ favorite ballet warm-ups. We sometimes “walked” around the yard in the upward bow pose for fun. I’m sure it wasn’t pretty, but we had a great time.

Later in life, as I began practicing yoga asanas, it was fun to revisit Urdhva Dhanurasana as an adult. Because of my loose ligaments, shallow hip sockets, curved spine, and bone structure in my shoulder joints, it was quite easy and still exhilarating.

Although Upward Bow Pose is not one of the original Hatha Yoga Pradipika poses, this pose, along with yoga’s many other backbends, provides balance to our primarily forward-facing lives . Think about it. Most of the things we do in our lives require leaning over objects: keyboards, steering wheels, counters, etc. Backbending helps reverse this habit.

Advantages and contraindications of upward arch pose

In addition to providing a general feeling of postural balance, Urdhva Dhanurasana has many benefits. Here are some of them:

• Strengthens spinal extensors
• Strengthens shoulders, arms and wrists
• Stretches chest, shoulder joints, wrists, abdominal and hip flexors
• Increases energy by stimulating the thyroid and pituitary gland
• Increases respiratory capacity by expanding the chest

Practicing yoga also requires listening to the needs of our body. No matter how much we want to practice Urdhva Dhanurasana, there are times when we should not do it. These would include the following cases:

• Shoulder, neck, elbow, wrist, or spine injuries
• Pregnancy: In the second and third trimesters, it is best not to do backbends.
• High blood pressure or general heart problems: The stimulating nature of the pose can increase blood pressure or stress the heart.
• Carpal tunnel or wrist tendinitis: The pose requires maximum wrist extension, which can aggravate existing injuries.
• Glaucoma, detached retina

Urdhva Dhanurasana is not for everyone

Beyond the contraindications listed above, Urdhva Dhanurasana may or may not be accessible to your particular skeletal structure. Shoulder joints that are on the more stable side can restrict the ability to straighten your arms. Additionally, people with a more pronounced convex thoracic curvature may have more difficulty performing backbends.

Paul Grilley says “yoga is in the bones”. It would be worth your time, whether you are a student or a teacher, to check out this page which shows the variations of bones. There are several photos of differently shaped shoulder blades and shoulder joints that may explain why certain shoulders lend themselves better to Urdhva Dhanurasana. The last photo of the scapula group is particularly helpful in understanding why some people’s shoulder joints easily elevate to vertical or beyond (allowing the arms to straighten) and others do not. height. In the latter case, the elbows will have to bend, which will make Urdhva Dhanurasana much less fun to practice.

The other thing is that no one’s thoracic spine is designed to bend backwards. The thoracic spine can bend forward, rotate, and bend laterally, but the way the facet joints meet limits spinal extension. The spinal extension required for Upward Bow comes from the lumbar spine. And again, all of our spines are formed differently. Some lumbar spines bend a lot before the spinous processes come into contact with each other. For others, longer and thicker spinous processes will limit the amount of movement.

How can you prepare for Urdhva Dhanurasana?

Having said that, anyway, it does not hurt to prepare the body for Urdhva Dhanurasana. This is true even if your bone structure will not allow you to practice the classic pose. The preparation poses that follow can help make any backbend easier. Additionally, preparation poses are great for countering the effects of lots of sitting and all the forward bending we do in our lives.

So what needs to stretch and mobilize to facilitate the Upward Bow?

• Quadriceps and hip flexors
• Cuffs
• Abdomen, chest and shoulders

A sequence to work up to upward arch pose

There are many yoga poses you can practice that stretch all the necessary areas. Feel free to use this sequence as a guide or explore designing your own sequence using the same principles.

1. Gather your accessories: a yoga mat, 2 yoga blocks.
2. Start with Downward Facing Dog Pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana). Move through the pose to engage your different joints.
3. Practicing some sun salutations (Surya Namaskara) will help you mobilize your joints overall. Be sure to include crescent lunge pose (Anjaneyasana). This will begin the process of stretching your quads and hip flexors.
4. Half-Hero Pose (Ardha Virasana): This is optional. This pose is not pleasant for all knees. So feel free to ignore it and practice another round of Crescent Lunge.
5. Hand yoga: Any or all of these stretches can help prepare your wrists.
6. Supported Fish Pose (Salamba Matsyasana): Lying on your yoga blocks can help develop your chest, abdomen, and shoulders.
7. Bridge Pose (Setu Bandhasana): Bridge Pose stretches the chest, abdominal and hip flexors.
8. Upward Arch Pose (Urdhva Dhanurasana): Use the instructions in this link to guide you through the pose. Once I prepare for Urdhva Dhanurasana, I like to practice it at least three times. By the third round, you generally feel much freer. If Urdhva Dhanurasana still feels inconsistent with your body structure, practice a few more bridge poses.
9. Revolved Stomach Pose (Jathara Parivrttanasana): A twist while lying down is a good way to start stretching your back in the opposite direction, one side at a time.
10. Tighten both knees toward your chest and roll a little to further free the spine.
11. Knee Overhead Pose (Janu Sirsasana): This is one of the most effective forward bends for stretching the quadratus lumborum.
12. Seated Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana)
13. Relaxation posture (Savasana)

About Charlotte Bell

Charlotte Bell discovered yoga in 1982 and began teaching in 1986. Charlotte is the author of Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life: A Guide for Everyday Practice, and Yoga for Meditators, both published by Rodmell Press. Her third book is Hip-Healthy Asana: The Yoga Practitioner’s Guide to Protecting the Hips and Avoiding SI Joint Pain (Shambhala Publications). She writes a monthly column for CATALYST magazine and is the editor-in-chief of Yoga U Online. Charlotte is a founding board member of GreenTREE Yoga, a nonprofit organization that brings yoga to underserved populations. A lifelong musician, Charlotte plays oboe and English horn in the Salt Lake Symphony and the folk sextet Red Rock Rondo, whose DVD won two Emmy Awards.