Do you want stronger arms? Try inverting this common yoga pose.

In Yoga diaryIn the Archives series, we share a curated collection of articles originally published in back issues dating back to 1975. These stories offer a glimpse into how yoga has been interpreted, written about, and practiced over the years. This article first appeared in the May-June 1980 issue of Yoga diary. You can find more of our archives here.

One of the goals of yoga is to bring us into harmony with ourselves and our environment. Upward Plank Pose (Purvottanasana) recognizes this yoga principle. In Sanskirt, “purva” refers to both the “East” direction and the “front of the body,” reflecting the relationship of the yogi’s body to the earth. ‘Uttana’ means ‘intense stretch’, therefore the pose is a stretch towards the east or front of the body. (The back of the body is west; the head is north; the feet are south.)

BKS lyengar gives Upward Plank Pose a one on its difficulty level. This makes it a good pose for beginning students. Many beginners find that their arms are weak when they first do this pose, especially if their typical workout routines are not focused on building strength. Others find Upward Plank challenging because the pose requires more flexibility in the shoulder joints than they do. In any case, Upward Plank is an excellent way to strengthen the arms and loosen the shoulders.

How to practice the upward plank pose

When practicing the pose, start with Staff Pose (Dandasana), with your legs straight in front of you and your back straight.

Then place the hands behind the buttocks, with the fingers pointing away. When you exhale, lift your body, using the leg and gluteal muscles as well as those of the back and arms. Hold for a few breaths; then come down with an exhalation.

Be careful not to tense the neck, sag the back or buttocks, or let the feet roll outward. This is an important point to remember in all back extension asanas. Whenever the back is arched, there is a tendency for the feet, knees and thighs to roll outward, which can be harmful. When this rise occurs, the pelvis cannot move efficiently over the heads of the femurs (thigh bones) at the hip joints. Instead, the body compensates by putting pressure on the lumbar (lower) part of the spine, causing an uncomfortable sensation. But if the feet and knees continue to point forward, the thigh bones cannot roll outward. Then the movement in the hip sockets will be more even, because all joints participate in the work and the lumbar spine is not loaded. This starting position demonstrates the principles of correct back bending. They will be just as important later.

Finding ease in the upward plank pose

Upward Plank Pose strengthens the muscles of the wrists and ankles, increases flexibility in the shoulder joints and expands the chest. The pose also strengthens the back muscles, such as the latisimus dorsi, the intra-scapular muscles and the gluteal muscles. The legs will be affected, as will the triceps brachii of the rear upper arm, which is mainly used when ascending and coming back from the position. However, as you hold the completed pose, extension of the elbow joint helps keep the arm straight, allowing the triceps to work a little less.

Upward Plank Pose can be used to counterbalance strenuous forward bends. Using a counter pose is a popular approach that provides opposing movement and stretch, and uses asanas in pairs. But this approach can also cause problems. First, if the holding pose is used to counteract discomfort, then the starting pose is not an asana: Patanjali defines ‘asana’ as ‘stable, comfortable posture’. Instead of moving in the opposite direction to relieve any discomfort. Students would do well to observe how they practice the pose to determine the cause of the discomfort.

Some of the causes of discomfort include unnatural breathing, poor body alignment, and postural unconsciousness. When performed properly, an asana should create relaxation and relaxation, not constriction and tension. Often a pose that is difficult to perform will bring relaxation afterwards. However, too many students practice in such a way that a pose feels good. They only notice the tension afterwards and think that this necessitates the inevitable movement in the opposite direction. As the student progresses in yoga, there should be less need for counter movements.

The second problem that contradiction presents to the student is mental. By strictly adhering to a pose-counterpose pattern, the student limits his or her freedom in choosing poses and sequences of poses, and may generally misunderstand what yoga is all about. When yoga teaches how to consciously let go of self-imposed physicality. mental and spiritual imitations, then we must start by being bold in the practice of asana.

Yoga practice is not merely a series of rote exercises where the mind can wander. Ask yourself if you feel free to try new things in your practice? To do poses in a new order? To enable new interpretations of what yoga can be? The ultimate definition of yoga does not exist. Yet its significance seems to lie in overcoming the tyranny of boring habit.

A note for the yoga teacher

An interesting variation on Upward Plank is performed by turning the hands in the opposite direction, with the fingers pointing toward the buttocks instead of away.

This gives the shoulder joints the opposite or external rotation. The muscles are strengthened by contracting against gravity and the internal rotators are stretched. The standard pose strengthens the internal rotators and stretches the external rotators.

In addition to training the shoulder muscles differently, inverting the hands shows how ‘small’ changes in alignment can change the dynamics and difficulty of a pose. Using this variation of the Upward Plank Pose, the teacher can help students increase their sensitivity during yoga practice.

Note: The author gratefully acknowledges her teacher BKS Lyengar and his book Light on yoga, while writing this article.