Downward Dog With Fingers Facing Feet

Category

Yoga

Difficulty

Beginner

Equipment

Bodyweight

Primary muscles

Hamstrings, Gastrocnemius

Secondary muscles

Latissimus Dorsi, Deltoids, Erector Spinae

How to do it

1. Start on your hands and knees in a tabletop position with knees under hips and wrists under shoulders.
2. Rotate your hands so the fingers point back toward your feet.
3. Tuck your toes, lift your knees off the mat, and press your hips up and back toward the ceiling.
4. Straighten the legs as much as the hamstrings allow and reach the heels toward the floor.
5. Press the floor away through the palms and lengthen through the spine.

Form tips

• The reverse hand position deepens the forearm and biceps stretch — do not push through wrist pain.
• Lift the sitting bones toward the ceiling; let the head hang naturally between the arms.
• Bend one knee at a time if the hamstrings are tight — keep the spine long.
• Press through the index-finger knuckles to protect the wrists.