- 1). Lie on the mat with your back to the floor, feet flat, hips-width distance apart. The knees should track over the ankles. Place your hands by your ears so the palms are flat on the mat and your elbows are drawn towards each other.
- 2). As you exhale, raise your hips off the floor, drawing your pelvis and tailbone toward the sky, by pressing your feet and hands into your mat. Lift the hips and place the crown of your head on the mat, keeping the weight in your hands. Lengthen the back of the buttock flesh towards the heels to create length in the lumbar: this protects the low back.
- 3). Do not emphasize the back bend in the low back or neck: these are the areas of greatest risk for injury. Instead, lengthen the spine and distribute the back bend evenly through the entire spine: this is the healthy way to do any back bend.
- 4). Work intelligently in the pose by pressing all four corners of each hand into the mat and rooting the four corners of each foot: these comprise the foundation. Draw the chest forward and tailbone towards the back of the knees: this creates the extension through the spine to protect the neck and low back.
- 5). If you are a regular practitioner of back bends, and you have no history of sacral or neck injuries, you might consider deepening the pose. Walk your feet in closer to the hands, maintaing the extension through the spine. Remain for 5 breaths.
- 6). Exit the pose by drawing the chin towards the chest and lower your back down to the mat, letting the back of the shoulder blades touch down first. Rest for several breaths.
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