Chaturanga: alignment, modifications and build-up drills

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In short: chaturanga (four-limbed staff pose) is a low plank: from plank you lower your straight body until the elbows bend to about 90 degrees, elbows hugging the ribs and shoulders level with the elbows, not below them. It is a strength pose that appears many times in flowing classes, so learn it with the knees down first and build up.

Chaturanga goes by quickly in a vinyasa class, often on a single exhale, and that speed is the problem: repeated many times with the shoulders dipping and the elbows flaring, it can load the front of the shoulders more than it should. The good news is that it is easy to scale. Lowering with the knees down, lowering halfway, or practicing against a wall all teach the same action. This guide covers the setup, the cues that protect the shoulders, the build-up drills and where the pose fits in a sun salutation.

What the name means

Catur means four, aṅga limb, daṇḍa staff or stick and āsana posture (see asana): a staff supported on four limbs. Yoga Journal describes the staff as the spine, the central support of the body, which is a good image for the pose: one long, firm line from head to heels. Chaturanga is a modern pose. It is not among the 15 postures of the 15th-century Hatha Yoga Pradipika, and it became central to practice through the flowing styles of the 20th century, including Ashtanga, vinyasa and power yoga.

Protecting your shoulders in chaturanga

The one rule that matters most is depth. Yoga Journal’s guidance is not to bring the shoulders below the elbows or bend the elbows past 90 degrees; going lower shifts the load onto the front of the shoulder. Most people lower too far because they are trying to look like the photo, or because their strength runs out halfway and the body drops. Stopping higher, with the elbows pulled in along the ribs and the chest broad, is the better pose. If you cannot stop there with control yet, lower with the knees down, or lower only partway and press back up. Yoga Journal also suggests a strap looped around the arms just above the elbows, shoulder-width apart: it stops the elbows from flaring and catches the ribs at the right height.

A yoga strap is useful well beyond chaturanga, for stretches and seated forward bends. Two common straps are below, both with the length to loop around the arms.

Chaturanga build-up drills

• Plank holds: build to 30 seconds with a straight line and steady breathing.
• Slow knees-down lowers: three to five lowers to the floor, taking three to five seconds each.
• Hover and press: lower halfway on the knees, pause, press back up.
• Warm-ups: cat-cow and downward dog prepare the wrists and shoulders.

Who should modify chaturanga

Yoga Journal advises avoiding or modifying chaturanga if you have a rotator cuff injury, shoulder weakness, shoulder arthritis or another shoulder injury, and also with wrist arthritis, wrist pain or carpal tunnel syndrome. In those cases the wall version, or simply lowering from the knees to the floor, is a good substitute. In pregnancy, ask your health care provider before including it and read our guide to prenatal yoga. If you have any health condition, check with your doctor before practicing. This page is general information, not individual advice.

Chaturanga in the sun salutation

Many sequences use chaturanga to move from a standing forward fold to upward-facing dog in Sun Salutation A, and in vinyasa flows. A typical link is plank, chaturanga on an exhale, upward-facing dog or cobra pose on an inhale, then downward dog. Our step-by-step sun salutation shows the whole sequence with options for each step. Steady breathing matters here; many teachers use ujjayi breathing to set the pace.

Strength from chaturanga carries straight into arm balances such as crow pose. Browse more in the pose directory.