Pairs with
Pose · U
Camel Pose
Uṣṭrāsana
Kneeling with the shins on the mat and the hands reaching back to the heels, the whole front of the body opens at once. Camel is the backbend most people find genuinely uncomfortable in the thighs and the front of the hips, which is exactly where a day of sitting has shortened them.
The shape, with joint angles
The angles are measured on the drawn skeleton and change with the variant you pick. Treat them as a starting reference, not a target to force.
Specification
| Sanskrit | Uṣṭrāsana |
|---|---|
| Also called | Ustrasana |
| Level | Intermediate |
| Loads | Spine · Chest · Hips · Quadriceps |
| Props | Mat · Blanket · Block |
| Typical hold | 20 sec |
| Gaze | |
| Published | 2 November 2026 · By The Asana Desk |
Getting in
- 01
Kneel with the knees hip-width apart and the shins and the tops of the feet on the mat.
- 02
Bring the hands to the lower back, fingers pointing down, and lift the chest.
- 03
Tuck the toes under if the ankles or the tops of the feet are uncomfortable.
- 04
Lean the pelvis forward slightly so the hips stay over the knees, and lengthen the tailbone down rather than tucking it hard.
- 05
Reach one hand back to the heel, then the other, keeping the chest lifted between the shoulders.
- 06
Keep the hips over the knees — this is the rule that decides everything else about the pose.
- 07
Hold for 15 to 20 seconds, come up with a hand on the lower back, and rest in Child's Pose.
Working notes
Hips over knees is the whole pose
| Setup | What it changes |
|---|---|
| Toes tucked under | Makes the ankles and the tops of the feet comfortable |
| Blanket under the shins | Turns a knee complaint into a non-issue |
| Hands on the lower back | Half the depth, still most of the chest opening |
| Block between the shins | Stops the knees splaying and gives feedback |
| Hands on blocks beside the heels | Accessible version for stiff shoulders |
The shape looks like a backbend and behaves like a hip exercise: if the hips travel back over the heels, the pose becomes a comfortable lean and the backbend disappears; if they travel forward, the lower back takes the whole load. Hips over knees keeps the work in the hip flexors and the thoracic spine, which is where it belongs.
The instruction that makes it possible is to lengthen the tailbone down toward the mat before the chest goes up. That keeps the lumbar spine from over-arching, and it is why the order is hips first, chest second.
The neck is the last thing to move
The full version of this pose has the head dropped back between the shoulders, which is a large amount of extension for the cervical spine at the end of a long lever. It is also entirely optional: the pose loses nothing important with the gaze forward.
Keep the neck long and the chin slightly toward the chest at first. Add the head drop only when the thoracic spine is mobile enough that the neck is not making up the difference.
Self-checks
- Are the hips staying over the knees?
- Is the lower back long, or has it taken the whole bend?
- Is the chest lifting between the shoulders, or sinking?
- Can you breathe into the front of the ribs without strain?
Safety
Skip or heavily modify the pose if any of these apply to you. When in doubt, ask a teacher who can see you move, or a clinician who knows your history.
- Lower back injury or a disc problem: use the reclining bolster version instead.
- Knee injury or knee replacement: pad heavily, or use the reclining version.
- Neck injury: keep the gaze forward and the chin slightly tucked; never drop the head back.
- High or uncontrolled blood pressure: keep the hands on the lower back and the head level.
- Dizziness on coming up: come up slowly, hand on the lower back, and sit down before standing.
This page is informational only. It is not medical advice and no pose here is a treatment for any condition.
- Hands on the lower back, with no reach for the heels — the standard half version.
- A block beside each heel, so the hands have somewhere to land.
- A folded blanket under the shins, always, if the knees complain.
- Backbend over a bolster: lying back over a bolster gives most of the opening with none of the balance demand.
Useful propsMat · Blanket · Block
- A blanket under the shins is the difference between a pose you avoid and one you do weekly.
- Two blocks beside the heels make the pose available to anyone with tight shoulders.
- A bolster behind you, for the reclining version, opens the front of the body with no load on the knees.
- Lower back injury or a disc problem: use the reclining bolster version instead.
- Knee injury or knee replacement: pad heavily, or use the reclining version.
- Neck injury: keep the gaze forward and the chin slightly tucked; never drop the head back.
- High or uncontrolled blood pressure: keep the hands on the lower back and the head level.
- Dizziness on coming up: come up slowly, hand on the lower back, and sit down before standing.
Breathe into the front of the ribs, keeping the exhale longer than the inhale.
- If the breath is only reaching the throat, the head has gone back too far.
- Come up on an exhale, with a hand on the lower back.
- Three breaths is a real hold in the full version.