Bow Pose
What Is the Bow Pose?
Bow Pose is a compound exercise that primarily targets the back and also engages the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps and the muscles between the shoulder blades. It is an intermediate-level movement held lying face down, with the knees bent, the hands holding the ankles and the chest and thighs lifted so the body curves like a drawn bow, with the straight arms as its string. Known in Sanskrit as Dhanurasana, it is one of the classic belly-down backbends of yoga and usually comes after Cobra Pose and Locust Pose in that part of a class.
The pose strengthens the spinal extensors and hip extensors while it stretches the whole front of the body, from the fronts of the thighs and hip flexors through the abdomen to the chest and the fronts of the shoulders. That combination makes it a useful counterbalance to long hours of sitting with the hips bent and the shoulders rounded forward, and a good way to train back extension and shoulder opening in one position.
The lift does not come from the arms. The legs press the shins back into the hands, the glutes and hamstrings lift the thighs, and that tension travels through the straight arms to raise the chest and draw the shoulder blades back. Keeping the knees about hip width apart spreads the bend through the upper and lower back instead of crowding it into the lumbar spine. Half Bow, which lifts one leg at a time while the other thigh and forearm stay down, and a strap looped around the ankles both make the pose more accessible, while rocking forward and back or rolling onto one side (Parsva Dhanurasana) make it harder.
Bow Pose suits people who are already comfortable in Cobra Pose, Locust Pose or the Superman and have reasonable flexibility in the fronts of the thighs and hips. If reaching the ankles or lifting the thighs is a struggle, build up with Locust Pose for strength and with the Lying Side Quadriceps Stretch and Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch for flexibility. Child Pose is the usual counterpose afterward.
Muscles Worked
- Erector Spinae
- Primary
- Gluteus Maximus
- High
- Biceps Femoris
- Medium
- Lower Trapezius
- Medium
- Rectus Femoris
- Medium
- Rhomboid Major
- Medium
- Semitendinosus
- Medium
- Deltoid
- Low
Instructions
- Lie face down on a mat with your legs about hip width apart and your arms alongside your body, palms facing up.
- Bend your knees and bring your heels toward your buttocks.
- Reach back one hand at a time and take hold of the outsides of your ankles, keeping your arms straight.
- Keep your knees about hip width apart and point your toes.
- Inhale and kick your feet back into your hands. Let that press lift your thighs off the floor and draw your chest and head up.
- Keep your arms straight and let your shoulders draw back and away from your ears, broadening across your chest.
- Rest your weight on your belly, lengthen your tailbone toward the backs of your knees, and look forward with your neck long.
- Breathe slowly and steadily, and hold for 20 to 30 seconds.
- Exhale, lower your thighs, chest and head to the floor, release your ankles, and rest before repeating or moving into Child Pose.
Common Mistakes
Pulling with the arms
Bending the elbows and hauling on the ankles hunches the shoulders and leaves the lift to the arms, when the feet should kick back into the hands to raise the chest and thighs.
Letting the knees splay
Knees that drift wider than the hips compress the lower back, so keep them about hip width apart throughout the hold.
Bending only in the lower back
Driving the arch into the lumbar spine instead of lifting through the chest and upper back crowds the lower back, so lengthen the tailbone toward the knees and broaden across the collarbones.
Throwing the head back
Tipping the head back to look up pinches the back of the neck, so keep the neck long with the gaze forward.
Holding the breath
With the belly pressed into the floor it is easy to stop breathing, so keep the breath slow and steady and come down when it turns short and strained.
Injuries
Bow Pose is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. It takes the spine into a deep backbend while the legs pull against the arms and the body rests on the belly, so it loads the back and the knees more than gentler prone backbends. The usual strain points are the lower back, when the knees splay wide or the arch collapses into the lumbar spine, the knees, which are bent deeply under the pull of the hands, the fronts of the shoulders, which are drawn back behind the body, and the neck, when the head is thrown back.
Warm up first with Cobra Pose and Locust Pose so the back and hips are ready for the bend. Keep the knees about hip width apart, hold the ankles rather than the toes, lift by kicking the feet back into the hands instead of hauling with the arms, and lengthen the tailbone toward the backs of the knees so the arch spreads through the whole spine. Keep the neck long with the gaze forward.
To make it easier, practice Half Bow one leg at a time, loop a strap around the ankles if you cannot reach them, or stay with Locust Pose. To progress, lift the thighs higher, hold the pose longer, or rock gently forward and back once the static hold feels steady. Skip the pose during pregnancy, after recent abdominal or back surgery, with a hernia or uncontrolled high blood pressure, and while a back, knee or shoulder injury is still painful.
Come down at once if you feel sharp or pinching pain in the lower back, pain in the knees, tingling or numbness down the legs, or dizziness. Release the ankles slowly, rest on your belly for a few breaths, and then rest in Child Pose.
- Primary Focus
- Back
- Equipment
- Body weight
- Modality
- Yoga
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
Alternative Exercises
Other Names for the Bow Pose
The Bow Pose is also known as:
- Dhanurasana
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: What is the difference between Bow Pose and Locust Pose?
In Locust Pose the legs stay straight and the arms reach back alongside the body without holding anything, so the back and hip muscles lift the body on their own. In Bow Pose the hands hold the ankles, and the legs pressing back into that grip pull the body into a deeper arch. Locust Pose is the usual way to build the strength Bow Pose relies on.
- Q: Is Bow Pose the same as Upward Bow or Wheel Pose?
No. Upward Bow (Urdhva Dhanurasana), often called Wheel Pose, is a different backbend pressed up from lying on your back onto your hands and feet. Bow Pose stays face down, balanced on the belly.
- Q: What if I cannot reach my ankles?
Loop a yoga strap around the fronts of your ankles and hold the ends with straight arms, or practice Half Bow, reaching back for one ankle at a time while the other thigh and forearm stay on the floor. Regular quad and hip flexor stretching, such as the Lying Side Quadriceps Stretch, can bring the ankles within reach over time.
- Q: Why does Bow Pose leave me out of breath?
The whole back of the body is working while the belly presses into the floor, which makes breathing harder than it looks. In a study of 22 young nursing students trained in yoga, heart rate rose more right after a 30-second Bow Pose hold than after a seated twist, a seated forward bend, Fish Pose or Corpse Pose. Keep the breath slow, and come down when it turns short and strained.
- Q: How long should I hold Bow Pose?
Hold for 20 to 30 seconds while breathing steadily, then lower down and rest. Repeat two or three times, and lengthen the hold only once you can keep the knees hip width apart and the breath smooth.