Bow Pose

The Gheranda Samhita instructs: stretch the legs back, hold the toes with the hands and draw the body into the shape of a bow. The image is exact — the arms are the string, the torso and legs the bending wood. In the hatha texts backbends belong with the practices that open the front of the body and free the breath; the chest lifts, the abdomen lengthens and the diaphragm has room. The tradition credits such postures with dispelling sluggishness and awakening energy along the spine, and places them before seated breath work rather than after it, so the ribcage is already mobile when pranayama begins.

The posture combines hip extension, thoracic extension and shoulder extension. Most spines extend easily in the lumbar region and poorly in the thoracic, so the common fault is hinging at the lower back — the source of most complaints after backbends. Pressing the thighs back and up, rather than pulling the shoulders back, distributes extension more evenly. Chest-opening backbends measurably increase upper-ribcage expansion and sympathetic activation; they are energising rather than calming, which matches the traditional placement. Because the abdomen is compressed against the floor, the posture is not appropriate soon after eating or with reflux symptoms.

1. Lie face down, forehead on the floor, arms alongside the body.
2. Bend the knees and take hold of the ankles or the tops of the feet.
3. Keep the knees roughly hip-width apart.
4. Inhale, press the feet back into the hands and lift the thighs and chest together.
5. Lengthen the front of the body rather than squeezing the lower back.
6. Keep the neck long and the gaze forward, breathing steadily for five breaths.
7. Release slowly, turn the head to one side and rest before repeating up to three times.

Avoid with disc injury, spondylolisthesis, recent abdominal surgery, hernia, severe reflux, uncontrolled high blood pressure, or during pregnancy. Stop if there is pinching in the lower back.