Puppy Pose
Description
Puppy Pose (Uttana Shishosana) is a gentle yoga stretch performed from a tabletop position by walking your hands forward and lowering your chest toward the floor while keeping your hips directly above your knees. It deeply stretches the chest, shoulders, and spine — like a combination of Child's Pose and Downward Dog.
Equipment Required
Puppy Pose Instructions
- Start in a tabletop position on your hands and knees. Hips directly above knees, shoulders above wrists.
- Walk your hands forward as far as you can while keeping your hips stacked above your knees.
- Lower your chest toward the floor. Let your forehead or chin rest on the mat.
- Keep your arms active — press your palms into the floor and reach forward.
- Feel the stretch through your chest, shoulders, armpits, and upper back.
- Keep your hips high — directly above your knees. Do not let them drift forward.
- Hold for 30 to 60 seconds. Breathe deeply into the stretch.
- To release, walk your hands back toward your knees.
Puppy Pose Form & Visual
Puppy Pose Benefits
- Deeply stretches the chest, shoulders, and upper back
- Opens the armpits and lats
- Extends the spine gently
- More active than Child’s Pose, deeper than Downward Dog
- Calming and restorative
- No equipment needed
Puppy Pose Muscles Worked
- Pectoralis major (stretched)
- Latissimus dorsi (stretched)
- Anterior deltoid (stretched)
- Erector spinae (gently extended)
- Triceps brachii (extended arms)
Puppy Pose Variations & Alternatives
- Child’s Pose
- Downward-Facing Dog
- Cobra Pose
- Thread the Needle (add twist)
- Puppy Pose with Blocks Under Elbows
