Vinyasa Five (Urdhva Mukha Shvanasana — Upward Facing Dog)

Initiating the movement with an inhalation, straighten your arms and draw your chest forward, rolling the toes over until the feet point away from you. Press the tops of your feet down into the floor, using them as brakes to resist the forward-dragging action of the arms. Combined, these actions put the back in traction and elongate the spine.

Rather than rolling the shoulders back (which pinches the shoulder blades together by contracting the rhomboid muscles and leads to a closing behind the heart), keep the shoulder blades wide (serratus anterior muscle) and draw them down the back (latissimus dorsi). Rolling the shoulders back will free up the chest to move forward and puff out proudly like that of a lion. Imagine the arms as the upright support of a swing, the shoulder joints as the fulcrum, and the chest as the seat of the swing. Slide the heart through the arms to gain length in the spine. The lowest ribs now move forward and lift upward.

Lifting the chin to the ceiling and keeping the back of the neck long, the head is taken back. Those with previous whiplash injuries should avoid this movement and keep the neck straight, gazing down toward the tip of the nose; this will prevent overcontraction of the back of the neck. Students who are in need of inducing more backbend can look up between the eyebrows. At the same time be careful not to limit the backbend to the neck only.

This posture is frequently confused with Bhujangasana (Cobra) from Hatha Yoga, and often hybrids between the two postures can be observed. Upward Facing Dog is distinctly different. As well as the arms being straight, the legs are kept strong and straight, so much so that the knees remain off the floor. The strength in the legs provides support for the lumbar spine. By keeping the legs straight, the stretch is taken in the front of the hip joint, lengthening the hip flexor muscles, which is imperative in all backbending postures. It is important to draw forward with the arms and lengthen the whole spine, rather than to collapse and dip into the low back. Incorrectly performed, this posture can easily lead to low-back pain. Performed correctly, it can relieve back pain caused by spending long hours sitting at a desk or in a driver’s seat.

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