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Step by step
- Lay on your back with your palms facing upwards.
- Grab your ankles and bend your knees.
- Draw your lower abdomen in and upwards by pressing your pubic bone.
- As you inhale, lift your chest and legs by pressing your ankles into your hands.
- Open your chest by sliding your shoulder blades towards each other.
- Breathe into your chest and ribs for a few moments.
- Release your ankles and lie on your stomach for a few minutes.
Beginner’s tips
- Put a blanket folded under your pelvis so your hip bones don’t press into the floor.
- If you have trouble getting up, use a strap around the ankles.
- You can try the pose by lifting only your chest and leaving your knees and thighs on the ground.
- Use lower backbends like Locust or Cobra to warm up your spine first.
Benefits
- Strengthens the back
- Opens the chest, shoulders, and arms
- Improves flexibility in the hip flexors and front body.
- Energizing
Watch out for
- Do not let your knees extend more comprehensively than the hip width apart.
- If you feel tension in your neck, drop your chin to your chest.
- Avoid if you have high/low blood tension, headaches, or back injuries.
Variations
- If you want to deepen the pose, bring your feet and knees closer together or grab the inside of your ankles to stretch the upper back and shoulders.
- Use your abdominal and back muscles to rock backward and forward in this pose. Place a blanket folded under your hips for extra padding.
- Practice the one-sided Bow Pose. Extend your right leg and rest it on your right forearm while holding the left ankle in the left hand.
- You can also practice Bow Pose by lying on your back.
