Handstand Pro Handstand Pro Download the app
EN

Shoulders · On the floor

Down dog

The pose comes from yoga, and it's useful for the handstand. Hands and feet on the floor, hips up, your body forms an upside-down V. You push the floor away with your hands, your ears pass between your arms, and your heels reach for the floor.

Your arms end up overhead, in line with your back, with part of your weight on them. That's the arm-to-torso line of the handstand, trained without having to hold your balance. The harder you push the floor away, the more your shoulders open.

Family
Shoulders
Equipment
None
Type
Hold
Down dog, filmed for the app (22 seconds)

Train this exercise in the app

How to do it

  1. On all fours, hands slightly in front of your shoulders, lift your hips as you straighten your legs.
  2. Press hard through both palms, and move your chest away from your hands.
  3. Let your ears pass between your arms, without arching your back.
  4. Let your heels reach for the floor. Straighten one leg, then the other, if the back of your legs pulls.
  5. Hold the position and breathe.

Two mistakes to avoid

Rounding your back. When the back of your legs lacks flexibility, your pelvis tilts, your back rounds, and your shoulders stop opening at all. Bend your knees a little to keep your back straight: here, your shoulders are what matters; heels on the floor will come later.

Letting your shoulders sink. Your weight rests on your hands without pushing them, your head drops toward the floor and your shoulders bunch up against your ears. Push the floor away with your hands as in a handstand, to increase the distance between your hands and your hips.

A coach in your ear

Upside down, you can't read a screen. In the app, a voice guides you through the exercise and tells you what to fix right when you need it. For example, when your shoulders sink toward the floor:

“Push the floor away with your hands”

Train this exercise

Related exercises

Wall shoulder stretchHands on the wall above your head, you walk your feet back and let your chest sink between your arms.ShouldersHoldPike holdHands and feet on the floor, hips high: the simplest version of that right angle, the one that teaches your shoulders to carry.ShouldersHoldWall arm slidesBack to the wall, forearms against it, you slide your arms down and up without anything coming off the wall.ShouldersMobility

All exercises: the catalog