How to drop back into Urdhva Dhanurasana
Dropping back down into Urdhva Dhanurasana ( Brdige Pose ) from standing is one of my favourite movements to do, and an excellent part of the Ashtanga Yoga system that is great for opening the front of the body, stabilising the spine and is fun to play with once it is integrated.
It is also ‘tricky’ to learn and often I see practitioners coming into this back bend incorrectly where too much pressure is going into the lumbar region and without the correct activation of the right muscles.
This was a challenging movement for me as I had tight hip flexors and shoulders with little mobility in my upper back. So here are some tips on how to create length at the front of the body without compressing the low back.
Think of lengthening the front of your body, not shorting the low back
In a way, back bending is an incorrect term as we tend to think of shortening the low back. It would be better to call back bending / front stretching as this is the primary goal in a back bend
I’m going to assume you already have a steady and open Urdhva Dhanruasana ( Brdige Pose ) which is necessary before attempting this and are possibly an Ashtanga practitioner where you have reached this point of your practice to try. If you are unsure, seek the correct guidance of an experienced teacher. Also, head to my blog post on how to brdige safely below for more details.
In the photo below is looks like I am doing a deeper back bend where I am pushing my chest out and forward.
Ribs flared out.
But what I am actually doing here is shortening my low back and pushing my back ribs in towards my kidneys. Ribs flared out like this also restricts my diaphragm and my ability to breathe fully. This isn’t what we want in a backbend.
In the picture below I am pushing my hips foward and pulling my ribs in. This activates my rectus abdominis ( 6 pack muscles ) which stabilies my spine and allows me to breathe as I go back.
Active 6 pack muscles to support the spine
The Rectus Abdominis
Activating the 6 pack muscles stabilises the spine in a backbend.
At the same time my oblique muscles are relaxed. The oblique muscles are part of the transversus abdominis, which act as a natural corset arond the waist which has many uses but restricts backbends and breathing fully when engaed too strongly.
Try to think of engaged 6 pack and toned / soft obliques.
Soft but toned obliques allow us to breathe in a back bend and for our spine to move freely.
So what we want to go back safely is a combination of the two movements as shown sbove. We want to be able engage the rectus abdominis as we push the hips foward and at the same time lift up and out from our pelvis so we aren’t dumping all the weight into our low back. This is to be done without flaring the ribs out when we lift our upper body.
This correct engagement of the right muslces and softening of the lumbar muscles as we go back allows us to breahe fully without compressing the diaphrgm.
Breathing fully, wide and down with your diaphragm creates space around the rib cage and trains this muscles to stay open ( the diaphragm widens and pushes down when it contracts ) as you back bend to breathe better. It is also connected to the psoas muscles which are need to lengthen to not compress the spine.
If your breathing becomes too short and too fast in a back bend it means you are doing ‘too much’ and is a clear sign you have not cultivated the necessary openness with your diaphragm. It’s better to come out and start again, rather than pushing into it which will likely cause more tension and stress.
Back bends compress the diaphragm. We need to train this muscle to stay open upon contraction.
As we push the hips forward we want the sacrum to move into nutation.
Creating space for the upper back
When the sacrum is rotated forwards relative to the iliac bones as shown above this allows our spine to move into it’s natural shape to back bend. This is essential to learn so we can open the upper back and access the psoas to create a stretch at the front of the body without compressing the low back. The psoas muscle is the main muscle we are stretching when we ‘hang’ in a drop back.
Long hip flexos help back bending
As the hips push foward, the sacrum moves into nutation, the hip flexors begin to stretch as we engage rectus abdominis. With the obliques toned but soft we can begin to go back.
As we go back we are always lifting up at the same time so we aren’t shorting the low back.
From here we can bring the hands to our chest, chin and then maybe extend fully back which is excellent for finding that full stretch to the front of the body without compressing the low back.
Forward moving and lift
Stretching the psoas and lats
With the feet around the width of your mat, feet roughly paralell, the big toe grounded and when we feel stable here and you can see your mat, and you can breathe comfortably you can bend your knees to drop down onto your mat.
Make sure your arms are strong and not bent when you land. It’s a common reflex to do so but you’ll bump your head slightly when doing so. Keep the arms strong with a micro bend to soften the descent. Think straight arms.
Urdhva Dhanurasana
Landing in bridge with both hands at the same time with control. Try to think of landing as close to your feet as possible so that you aren’t going too far back which will potentially create too much strain on your wrist from the angle.
Remember, your body goes where your eyes / head goes so make sure you look where you are going to direct your body correctly.
For a fully and comprehensive breakdown on this movement as well as coming up to standing from Urdhva Dhanurasana check out my video tutorial below are part of The Asana Guide.
