Puppy Pose (Anahatasana)

MobilityBWMat

Yoga pose combining a deep lat/shoulder stretch with gentle thoracic extension, performed from a quadruped position with hips staying stacked over knees while the chest melts to the floor.

Demo: Yoga With Adriene

Sets

1

Reps

60-90 sec hold

Rest

15s

Contraindications

Shoulder impingement — reduce forward reach and depth.

Setup

Start on hands and knees. Walk the hands forward while keeping the hips over the knees.

Execution

  1. 1Lower the chest and forehead toward the floor as the hands walk forward
  2. 2Keep the hips stacked directly over the knees
  3. 3Let the upper back arch and the armpits sink toward the floor
  4. 4Hold and breathe, relaxing deeper over time

Key cues

  • Hips stay stacked over the knees, don't sit back
  • Melt the chest down, don't force it
  • Relax the neck completely
  • Breathe into the sides of the ribs

Common faults

  • Letting the hips drift back toward the heels (turns it into child's pose)
  • Tensing the neck instead of relaxing it
  • Forcing the chest down too aggressively
  • Shallow breathing instead of full breaths into the ribs

Tweaks

  • Walk one hand further forward at a time for a side-biased stretch
  • Add gentle rocking side to side once settled into the pose
  • Hold for longer (2-3 min) as a deep tissue-release variant

Muscles

Primary: Lats, Thoracic Erectors

Secondary: Shoulders, Triceps

Notes

A gentler alternative to full downward dog for those with wrist or shoulder limitations.

Sources

Attribution: Traditional yoga asana (Anahatasana / Extended Puppy Pose)