Tips & Tricks for Your Best Downward Facing Dog

Downward facing dog pose is one of the most beloved and frequently practiced yoga poses around the world. This yoga pose is the foundation for sun salutations and many vinyasa yoga classes. Learning how to adapt your downward facing dog pose to meet your body’s needs can provide you with a much more nourishing and supportive experience in any yoga class.

In this article, we will go over the steps to practice downward facing dog pose and how to modify it to your body. Additionally, we will cover the contraindications and benefits of downward facing dog pose. Through this article, you will have all the tools you need to practice the perfect downward facing dog pose for you! So, let’s get started.

How to Do Downward Facing Dog Pose

Downward facing dog pose is a foundational yoga pose, so it is essential to learn the steps to practice it safely. Below we will go over the basic steps to do a downward facing dog pose. But remember to check out the section below on modifying downward facing dog pose to ensure that you can adapt this pose to your body’s needs. Now, let’s go over the steps to practicing downward facing dog pose:

1.     Begin in a tabletop position on your hands and knees in the middle of your mat. Ensure that your knees are in line with your hips and your toes are tucked. Additionally, ensure that your fingers are fully spread apart, with your middle finger pointing toward the top of your mat and your hands placed firmly on the mat underneath your shoulders.

2.     Gently walk your hands around six inches forward on your mat to create a wider stance for your downward facing dog.

3.     Then, slowly lift your knees off of the mat, shift your weight into your hands and feet, and lift your hips up and back into an inverted triangle position as you straighten your legs completely. Ensure that your feet are approximately hip distance apart.

4.     Press your chest towards your toes to lengthen your spine, keeping your arms straight with the eyes of your elbows facing each other.

5.     Lift your heels up and down toward the mat one at a time to stretch out the backs of your calves. When you are ready, firmly press both heels down toward the mat to straighten your legs.

6.     Relax your neck between your arms and gaze toward your toes, keeping your neck in line with your spine.

7.     To exit the pose, begin to bend your knees and lower back down onto the mat in a tabletop position. Alternatively, you can raise one leg behind you while in downward facing dog pose and step your feet in between your hands one at a time.

These are the basic steps to practicing downward facing dog pose on its own. But downward facing dog pose is often practiced in a sun salutation or vinyasa, where it is used in a sequence with other yoga poses. In these cases, the method for entering or exiting the pose may be a bit different, with many practitioners opting to jump back and forth from a forward fold into a downward facing dog pose, but this is reserved for more advanced yoga practitioners.

How to Practice Downward Facing Dog Pose

Once you know the steps of how to do a downward facing dog pose, the next step is figuring out how to incorporate it into your regular yoga practice. Downward facing dog pose is typically a transition yoga pose that is used during sun salutations or during a vinyasa, which is the flowing transition of a modified sun salutation often practiced between poses or when moving to practice a sequence on the opposite side of the body.

Downward facing dog pose is best practiced when transitioning from standing to seated poses, when switching to the other side of the body for a standing sequence, or even as a short resting pose. Downward facing dog pose is a powerful yoga pose that builds strength in the body and mind, providing deep activation for the entire body.

How to Modify Downward Facing Dog Pose

Downward facing dog pose is accessible to most students, but there are some essential modifications to make this pose more accessible to your body. Below we will go over a few crucial ways to modify downward facing dog pose:

1.     Modifications for Downward Facing Dog Without Props

Modifications without props are most commonly used for yoga students with a decent range of motion but are just looking for some minor adjustments to make their downward facing dog pose more comfortable or accessible for their body.

The most common modification of downward facing dog pose is to bring a soft bend into the knees. This adjustment allows you to focus on lengthening your spine and lifting your hips rather than forcing your heels toward the ground.  This helps if you notice an unhealthy tilt in the pelvis while in downward facing dog due to tight hamstrings or tight calves.

If you struggle with wrist pain, you might also explore keeping your fingers together rather than spread apart. This modification adds greater cushioning for your wrist and can decrease the intensity of the pressure placed on these joints.

For those with elbow pain, it is important to ensure that the eyes of your elbows are facing each other rather than being turned forward. You might also add a micro bend to your elbows to soften the intensity on your elbow joints. Alternatively, you can shift into a dolphin pose by dropping your forearms on the ground if downward facing dog pose puts too much strain on your wrists.

2.     Using Props for Downward Facing Dog Modifications on the Mat

Adding props into your yoga practice on the mat is a great way to support your body and give yourself a bit of added support beyond what your body can typically do.

One common modification using props is to utilize a strap around the outside of your upper arms or around the outside of your thighs. Utilizing a strap in these regions is excellent for yoga practitioners who find it difficult to conceptualize the alignment of their legs and arms with their shoulders and hips. This can also help support deeper muscular engagement. An alternative to supporting muscular engagement in the legs is to place a block between your thighs and use your inner thigh muscles to hold the block steady.

Another excellent modification for downward facing dog pose is to place blocks underneath your hands. This can provide more space to get into the pose, particularly if you find it challenging to bring your heels closer to the ground. This can also reduce the intensity on your wrists depending on how you hold the blocks.

Finally, some yoga practitioners place a folded blanket underneath the base of their hands to reduce wrist pain by lessening the angle of the wrist. Or you can place a folded blanket underneath your heels if you find it adds too much strain to reach your heels toward the floor.  

3.     Practicing Downward Facing Dog With a Wall Support

Practicing downward facing dog pose against a wall is excellent for individuals who cannot do a full inversion, such as when they have blood pressure issues, glaucoma, circulatory disorders, or certain stages of pregnancy.

To practice downward facing dog against a wall, begin by standing a few feet away from a wall and placing your hands in front of you on the wall in line with your shoulders. Then walk your hands down the wall until you are at approximately a ninety-degree angle with your arms straight. Gaze down toward the floor and drop your chest between your arms for a stretch of your shoulders.

4.     Practicing Downward Facing Dog on a Chair

Downward facing dog pose can also be practiced in a chair for people with ambulatory issues or who struggle to get up and down from a mat. One way to practice downward facing dog pose in a chair is to stand in front of the chair and place your hands on the seat or on the back of the chair and then drop your chest down to a ninety-degree angle to come into a standing downward facing dog pose variation.

You can also practice downward facing dog pose seated in a chair by straightening your legs and leaning your chest slightly forward with your arms extended to form the same triangle shape but in a seated position. Alternatively, you can bring another chair in front of you and place your hands on the back of the opposite chair to form the shape of downward facing dog pose in the upper body.

For people with paraplegia or those with extreme pain conditions, they can also practice downward facing dog pose by visualizing the pose mentally without moving the body. This modification still activates the same regions of the brain activated when practicing downward facing dog pose but without the physical strain.

Contraindications for Downward Facing Dog Pose

Since downward facing dog pose is an inversion, it is not recommended for individuals with circulatory disorders, high blood pressure, glaucoma, or disorders involving swelling or stagnation in the head, neck, or chest. Additionally, the strain put on the wrists may make certain variations of this pose contraindicated for people with carpal tunnel syndrome or wrist disorders. Individuals with injuries to their spine, arms, shoulders, and hips may also need to take added precautions.

However, there are many modifications of downward facing dog pose that can make this pose accessible to individuals regardless of their condition. It is best to work with a trained yoga therapist and medical professional to determine how to adapt your downward facing dog pose to your needs.

The Benefits of Downward Facing Dog Pose

Downward facing dog pose is a full-body yoga pose that provides innumerable benefits to mental, physical, and spiritual health. See below for a brief overview of some of the primary benefits of downward facing dog pose:

·      Lengthens the spine

·      Strengthens the arms, upper back, and shoulders

·      Builds dexterity in the hands, wrists, and fingers

·      Stretches the entire back of the legs

·      Relieves tension in the ankles and bottoms of the feet

·      Builds endurance and promotes weight loss

·      Supports circulation

·      Improves concentration and focus

·      Relieves stress and anxiety

Learn Downward Facing Dog Pose and More in Our Online Yoga Teacher Training!

Downward facing dog pose is a foundational yoga pose that every yoga student and yoga teacher must learn. Whether you are looking to improve your yoga practice or are ready to share yoga with others, taking an online yoga teacher training course can give you the tools to deepen into the world of yoga and build a strong foundation. So, join us in our online yoga teacher training to dive deeper into your downward facing dog pose and more!