Having trouble getting into Chaturanga? You need these essential exercises.

Chaturanga, also called a “yoga push-up,” is a humbling exercise. One moment you are in class and moving along with the rest of the group. The next moment the teacher gives Chaturanga a signal and everyone seems to lower their bodies as one stable unit. Meanwhile, you might still be negotiating the position of your wrists, struggling to support your body weight against gravity, and thinking, “Wait… since when do we do push-ups in yoga?”

Chaturanga Dandasana is essentially Plank Pose, or the top of a push-up, but with your elbows bent, and it’s a position that’s repeated over and over in vinyasa and Ashtanga style exercises. It is commonly translated from Sanskrit as ‘Four-limbed Staff Position’ and the word staff business. In Chaturanga the idea is not to get into position quickly. Instead, you train your body to stay extended and firm like a staff as you descend in a controlled manner.

In traditional Indian strength training, wrestlers practiced dance– repetitive push-up variations – to build endurance, coordination, shoulder stability and full-body endurance. Over time, that move influenced modern yoga sequences, which is part of the reason Chaturanga can feel like a familiar (and sometimes frustrating) cousin of the push-up.

So how do you build the control and stamina that Chaturanga needs? The answer is to use your yoga practice to prepare for it.

Benefits of Chaturanga

Chaturanga is often incorporated into fast-moving streams, which can make it extra challenging to channel the power and mind-body connection needed to practice it. Your wrists should bear weight, your core should brace and support your lower back, and your shoulders should stabilize the movement. Not to mention triceps and chest strength, and quad and glute strength, so your arms aren’t doing all the work.

But Chaturanga is not just an exercise to make your yoga practice more difficult. It can:

• Build muscle endurance
  Learning to lower your body slowly and in a controlled manner (instead of dropping it onto the mat) creates a form of muscle tension that builds long-term endurance.
• Simplify vinyasa transitions
  Chaturanga is an important “link” in the Sun Salutation and other yoga flows. Learning to practice it can make your practice feel smoother.
• Shoulder strength support
  Especially in challenging poses. The same full-body integration you use in Chaturanga supports you with inversions (such as Handstand and Downward Dog), arm balances (including Crow and Koundinyasana), and weight-bearing transitions (such as Plank to Side Plank).

4 exercises to help you work towards Chaturanga

Working on Chaturanga takes time and patience. Consistently incorporate some or all of the poses below into your practice and you will develop the strength, stamina, and endurance to take your Chaturanga from a leap of faith to something intuitive.

Keep these best practices in mind while practicing Chautranga and any preparatory poses:

• Lengthen the back of your neck. Look slightly forward and down at the mat a few inches in front of you, keeping your neck in line with your spine.
• Keep your body in a plank shape as you descend. Chaturanga is essentially Plank Pose with bent elbows. Keep your core engaged and try not to let your lower back sink toward the mat, also known as “dumping into your back.”
• Press through your hands. Spread your fingers, press evenly through your palms, and plant the bases of your knuckles into the mat (especially under your index fingers and thumbs) to distribute the weight evenly so it’s not all resting on your wrists.
• Point your elbows straight back. Your elbows will probably want to spread out to the sides. Hug your inner arms close to, but without touching your ribs, to keep your chest elevated and reduce shoulder strain.

1. Plank (Phalakasana)

How: Come to your hands and knees with your shoulders over your wrists and your hips over your knees. Press your palms into the mat. Step back one foot at a time and press the balls of your feet into the mat. Pull your belly button toward your spine and keep your hips level in Plank. Your body should lie in one long line, from your head to your heels.

2. Lunge-to-push-up switches

How: Come into downward facing dog. Step one foot forward into the High Lunge with your front knee stacked over your ankle. Plant both palms on the mat in your front foot on blocks or on the mat. Bend your elbows and lower into a mini Chaturanga. Pause here. Then straighten your arms, lift your chest and step back into Plank. Come into Downward Dog and repeat on the other side.

3. Chaturanga with knees down

How: Come into Plank and lower your knees to the mat. Move your shoulders slightly in front of your wrists. Continue pressing your hands into the mat. Bend your elbows and lower them as far as you can without compromising your alignment. Extend your arms back into the knees down Plank.

4. Hindu Push-ups (Dancing)

How: Come to Downward Dog. Bend your arms, point your elbows back and reach your chest forward as you move through Chaturanga, then to Upward Facing Dog, then back to Downward Dog in one continuous motion.

How to get to Chaturanga?

When you’re ready, follow these steps to enter Chaturanga.

1. Start in Plank with your shoulders stacked over your wrists. Draw your belly button toward your spine and press your heels toward the wall behind you. Spread your fingers wide and press evenly through the base of your knuckles.
2. Shift your weight forward so that your shoulders move slightly in front of your wrists. Hug your elbows to your body.
3. Bend your elbows so that they point straight back. Look at the mat a few inches in front of you and continue to pull your belly button toward your spine (avoid arching your lower back). You can even place a block under each shoulder so that you have a ‘target’ as you lower your body down. Try to lightly touch the blocks with the front of your shoulders. Pause where you can still hold Plank without collapsing.
4. To come out, straighten your arms and press back to Plank or lower all the way to the mat and onto your stomach. To assume a counter pose, move into Cobra or Upward Facing Dog.

The next time you’re in class, treat Chaturanga as a skill you’re developing, not a pose you need to “break.” Prioritize alignment over how much you can lower yourself. With consistency, Chaturanga no longer feels like a stressful checkpoint and becomes what it should be: a steady, safe transition that you can repeat with confidence.