In short: camel pose is a kneeling backbend: you stand on the knees with the thighs upright, lift the chest and curve back until the hands rest on the heels. It opens the whole front of the body, from the thighs and hip flexors to the chest and throat. Lift and lengthen before you bend, keep the hips over the knees, and stop at the hands-on-hips stage if the lower back or neck complains.
Camel is many people’s first deep backbend, and it can feel intense, physically and emotionally. Below we explain the name, the cues that keep the bend out of the lower back and neck, the precautions, the half camel stage and where it is taught.
The name
The Sanskrit name is Uṣṭrāsana, from uṣṭra, camel; it is also spelled Ushtrasana. Light on Yoga, the Bihar School, Ashtanga and Yoga Journal all teach it with the same basic shape: kneeling, thighs vertical, hands to the heels or soles. In the 26-posture hot yoga sequence it is also called camel.
How to make camel work
Start tall. Kneel with the knees hip-width apart (Iyengar keeps them together; either is fine), place the hands on the hips and lift the chest before going back. Yoga Journal’s advice is not to “flop” into the pose: draw the lower belly in, lengthen the tailbone down and lift the breastbone, so the bend spreads through the upper back. Then reach for the heels one hand at a time. Keep pressing the hips forward so the thighs stay vertical; if the hips drift back over the heels, the pose becomes a collapse into the lower back.
Let the head go back only if the neck is comfortable, and keep length in the back of the neck. The Bihar School advises normal breathing rather than deep breathing, because the chest is already stretched. Hold for about half a minute (Light on Yoga) or 30 to 60 seconds (Yoga Journal); Ashtanga takes five breaths. To come out, bring the chin toward the chest, put the hands on the hips and rise with the belly engaged, leading with the chest.
Half camel: the preparation stage
Half camel is the stage most people practise for a while. Keep the hands on the back of the pelvis, fingers pointing down, and lift the chest into a gentle backbend with the hips pressing forward and the chin slightly tucked; Yoga Journal recommends this if you feel compression in the lower back. A second half version reaches one hand to the same-side heel while the other arm reaches up or stays on the hip, then switches sides. Tucking the toes under raises the heels, which makes them easier to reach (the Bihar School lists this as its first variation). These are teaching stages of camel; “half camel” and “Ardha Uṣṭrāsana” are descriptive names rather than separate classical postures.
Precautions in plain words
Camel is a deep backbend. Warm up first, and skip or modify it with back, shoulder or spinal injuries. With a neck injury or a risk of stroke, Yoga Journal advises not dropping the head back; keep the chin slightly lifted and the neck engaged instead. The Bihar School asks people with severe back conditions such as lumbago to learn it with a teacher. Pad the knees with a blanket, and come up slowly if you feel dizzy. Follow it with a gentle forward bend such as child’s pose.
Preparation and what comes next
Warm up with cobra, upward-facing dog, locust, bridge and upward plank, and stretch the hip flexors in a low lunge. After camel, the Bihar School suggests a forward bend; child’s pose is the simplest. In Ashtanga, camel leads to little thunderbolt and Kapotasana.
Where it is taught
Camel is in Light on Yoga (Iyengar), the Bihar School system, the Ashtanga intermediate series, the 26-posture hot yoga sequence and most hatha and vinyasa classes.
