Puppy Pose
What Is the Puppy Pose?
Puppy Pose is an isolation exercise that primarily targets the back, stretching the lats and the teres major, and also opens the chest and the backs of the upper arms. It is a beginner-level movement, a kneeling yoga stretch that sits halfway between Child Pose and Downward Dog: the hips stay stacked over the knees while the arms reach forward and the chest sinks toward the floor.
The pose combines two things many people lack, full overhead shoulder flexion and extension through the upper back. That makes it a common choice for anyone whose overhead reach feels short, from desk workers with a stiff upper back to lifters who struggle to get their arms fully overhead. In yoga classes it often appears early in a sequence as a gentle opener, and in the gym it works as a short warm-up hold before overhead pressing or pull-up sessions, or as a longer, calmer hold in a cool-down.
Keeping the hips over the knees is what separates it from Child Pose. When the hips sink back to the heels, the spine rounds and the stretch moves into the lower back and hips; when the hips stay high, the arms travel farther overhead and the stretch concentrates in the lats, shoulders and upper back. A common variation rests the elbows on two blocks and bends the arms so the hands meet behind the head, which adds elbow bend to the overhead reach and shifts more of the stretch into the triceps and lats.
Almost anyone who can kneel comfortably can use Puppy Pose. If the full overhead reach is too much at first, start with Child Pose with the arms extended, where the hips sitting back take the shoulders less far overhead, or with Thread the Needle for the upper back, and use Cat Cow Stretch to warm up the spine first. A forehead block and a folded blanket under the knees make the pose accessible to stiffer beginners.
Muscles Worked
- Latissimus Dorsi
- Primary
- Teres Major
- High
- Pectoralis Major
- Medium
- Erector Spinae
- Minimal
- Gluteus Maximus
- Minimal
Instructions
- Kneel on a mat on all fours with your knees hip-width apart, your hips stacked over your knees and the tops of your feet flat on the floor.
- Walk your hands forward a few hand lengths, palms flat and shoulder-width apart.
- Keeping your hips over your knees, exhale and let your chest sink toward the floor.
- Lower your forehead to the mat, or onto a block if it does not reach, and let your neck relax.
- Keep your arms straight and your elbows lifted off the floor, pressing lightly through your palms to lengthen from your hands to your hips.
- Draw your lower ribs gently in so the bend comes from your upper back rather than your lower back.
- Breathe slowly and hold for 30 to 60 seconds.
- To come out, walk your hands back toward your knees and return to all fours, or sit your hips back onto your heels into Child Pose.
Common Mistakes
Sitting the hips back
Letting the hips drift back toward the heels turns the pose into Child Pose and takes the stretch out of the lats and shoulders.
Collapsing the lower back
Dropping the belly and ribs toward the floor bends the spine at the waist instead of opening the upper back and can pinch the lower back.
Resting on the elbows
Letting the elbows or forearms sink onto the mat takes the reach out of the arms and shortens the stretch along the sides of the torso.
Shrugging into the neck
Letting the shoulders crowd up around the ears tenses the neck, so draw them gently away from the ears while the arms stay long.
Forcing the chest down
Pushing the chest toward the floor past what the shoulders allow strains the front of the shoulder, so let the depth come with slow breathing and use a block under the forehead.
Holding the breath
Holding the breath keeps the chest and shoulders tense, while slow breathing lets the upper back relax deeper into the stretch.
Injuries
Puppy Pose is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The only load is body weight resting on the knees and hands, and the strain points are the front and top of the shoulder at the end of the overhead reach, the lower back when the belly drops and the spine bends from the waist, and the knees, which carry most of the weight on the floor.
To keep it comfortable, sink the chest only as far as the shoulders allow, draw the lower ribs gently in so the bend comes from the upper back, and keep the arms active with the elbows off the floor. Pad the knees with a folded blanket, and rest the forehead on a block when it does not reach the mat so the neck can relax instead of straining.
To make it easier, walk the hands back a little so the arms are less overhead, or sit back into Child Pose with the arms extended. To progress, place the elbows on blocks with the hands together behind the head, or move on to Dolphin Pose and Downward Dog, which ask the shoulders to hold body weight overhead.
Stop if you feel a sharp or pinching pain in the shoulder, tingling or numbness running down the arms, pain in the lower back, or knee pain that padding does not relieve. Anyone with a recent shoulder injury, a history of shoulder dislocation or an acute knee injury should skip the pose or check with a clinician first.
- Primary Focus
- Back
- Equipment
- Body weight
- Modality
- Yoga
- Difficulty
- Beginner
Alternative Exercises
Other Names for the Puppy Pose
The Puppy Pose is also known as:
- Extended Puppy Pose
- Uttana Shishosana
- Anahatasana
- Melting Heart Pose
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: How long should I hold Puppy Pose?
Hold it for 30 to 60 seconds, about 5 to 10 slow breaths, then sit back onto your heels to release. In slower yin or restorative classes the same shape is often held for several minutes with props under the chest and forehead.
- Q: What is the difference between Puppy Pose and Child Pose?
In Child Pose the hips sink back to the heels and the spine rounds, which moves the stretch into the lower back and hips. Puppy Pose keeps the hips over the knees, so the arms reach farther overhead and the stretch stays in the lats, shoulders and upper back.
- Q: How is Puppy Pose different from Downward Dog?
Downward Dog lifts the knees and holds the body up on the hands and feet, which adds a hamstring and calf stretch and makes the shoulders support body weight. Puppy Pose keeps the knees down, so it asks less of the arms and hamstrings and is a gentler way to open the shoulders.
- Q: What if my forehead does not reach the floor?
Rest your forehead on a yoga block or a folded blanket so your neck can relax and your shoulders stay comfortable. The stretch comes from the arms reaching and the chest softening, not from touching the floor.
- Q: Is Puppy Pose a good warm-up before lifting?
Yes, a short hold works well before overhead pressing, pull-ups or other overhead work because it takes the shoulders through full flexion while opening the upper back. Keep warm-up holds brief and save longer holds for the cool-down.