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Natural Awakenings NYC & Long Island

Downward Dog: The Breakdown of a Posture

By Dana Costantino

Downward dog, perhaps the most known yoga pose, is featured in nearly every style of yoga class and is a known to even the most novice of practitioners. In fact, many people who have never practiced yoga are familiar with downward dog—even if they don’t know what the pose looks like. With that in mind, let’s look at what goes into downward dog, why it is such an important pose, and where it all began.

Swami Kuvalayananda first brought downward dog into his series of poses and exercises in the early 1930s. From there, one of his students—a now well-known yoga teacher named Tirumalai Krishnamacharya—began to regularly use it in practice. Kuvalayananda then taught B. K. S. Iyengar and Pattabhi Jois, who founded two highly practiced styles of yoga known as Iyengar Yoga and Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. These yoga styles remain popular today—especially in New York City. On any given day, yoga practitioners can find dozens of studios offering these yoga classes for a wide range of levels from beginner to advanced.

New yoga practitioners frequently find downward dog to be a difficult and trying pose, while those who have practiced for many years and are comfortable with an advanced yoga practice often find it to be a restorative pose.

When taking the shape of this pose, it is common to resemble a stretching dog—hence the name. In downward dog, a triangle shape is formed with the body. The head is pointed down toward the mat, with the palms of the hands flat on the mat. In addition, the feet are a foot apart, the legs are straight, and the hips are raised as high as possible. It is important to relax the neck and to breath evenly.

The Sanskrit name for downward dog is Adho Mukha Shvanasana and, depending on the style of yoga class one takes, it is likely that the teacher will refer to downward dog this way.

During a class which involves flowing from one pose to another, downward dog is often used as the link to smoothly and safely move in and out of other poses while maintaining grounding and balance. Downward dog also provides a feeling of being one with the mat and the earth.

Many yogis and practitioners believe that this pose helps to keep internal organs healthy while providing a positive impact on the immune system. Some conditions including certain illnesses, injuries or pregnancy might be contraindicated for this particular pose. When in doubt, it’s always best to consult with one’s yoga teacher regarding questions or concerns surrounding any poses being practiced. 

For nearly one hundred years this pose has been part of the yoga journey and as downward dog takes the walk into the next hundred, it will surely continue to be part of the health and wellness journey of millions—be it the practice of a beginner or that of a seasoned master.

Dana Costantino is wellness director for Natural Awakenings New York and certified to teach yoga, meditation and aromatherapy. Reach her at [email protected].


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