Puppy Pose
Puppy Pose
Muscle Group(s) Stretched: Shoulders, Upper Back
Muscle Group(s) Strengthened: n/a
Type of Stretch: Passive* Static
* While this isn’t a completely “passive” stretch because we are actively trying to maintain shoulder external rotation, it’s not a significant strengthener so I’m considering it “passive” for classification purposes
Difficulty: All-Levels
Suggested Prerequisites: none
Puppy pose is a classic shoulder and upper back stretch - I probably do variations of puppy pose literally every time I work on back or shoulder flexibility. It’s also a pose that can be easily scaled up or down, depending on students’ flexibility level. If you’ve hated puppy pose in the past because you have tight shoulders, elevating your hands on yoga blocks or a chair can make a world of a difference!
How To
Step 1
Start kneeling on all fours.
Step 2
Keeping your butt stacked on top of your knees, walk your hands forwards, keeping your arms straight, as you drop your chest towards the floor. Before you get to your end range, wrap your shoulder blades towards the side of your rubs by reaching the outside of your armpits down towards the floor - we want there to be plenty of space between our shoulder blades as we reach our chest down (don’t let the shoulders relax completely and smoosh the shoulder blades towards your spine).
Hold for 10-30 seconds.
Note: watch out for any “pinching” in the top of the shoulders, or any tingling in your fingers - those are both signs that your shoulders aren’t aligned in a very sustainable position, and you’re impinging bone or a nerve (ouch!). Don’t try to push through this discomfort, come out of the pose, and try to come back in an easier variation.
Modifications
Need to make it easier?
Elevate your hands on yoga blocks, or a low table/chair. This will let you keep more weight in your hips/knees and take some of the pressure out of your shoulders/chest.
Want to make it harder?
Elevate your hands (wait, didn’t you just say that makes this easier?!) - if you can already sink super low in your puppy pose on the floor, elevating your hands will move the floor farther away, allowing you to get a deeper shoulder and upper back stretch
Bend your elbows and hold a yoga block between your hands, holding the block up towards the ceiling. This increases the amount of shoulder external rotation you hold while in the stretch, which is a more challenging shoulder position for most students.
Related Content
Flexopedia: Dolphin Shoulder Shrugs
Blog Post: [Video] 5 Puppy Pose Variations for Open Shoulders
Blog Post: The Importance of “External Shoulder Rotation” in a Backbend
Blog Post: How to Get More Open Shoulders in a Bridge
