In short: downward dog (downward-facing dog) is an upside-down V shape: hands and feet on the floor, hips lifted high, head relaxed between the arms. The aim is a long spine, not straight legs or flat heels, so bend your knees as much as you need. It is part arm support, part stretch for the back of the body, and part gentle inversion.
If you take more than a couple of yoga classes, you will spend a lot of time in downward dog. It links poses together in flowing classes, it is a resting point in sun salutations and it shows up in almost every style. That makes it worth learning well. Most of the trouble people have with it, from aching wrists to a rounded back, comes from two habits: pushing the legs straight before the back is long, and letting the shoulders sink. This guide shows you how to build the pose from the ground up and how to adapt it.
Building a better downward dog
The step-by-step sections of this guide give the setup; the idea behind them is simple. Downward dog is a long line from the hands to the hips, then from the hips to the heels, and the first line matters more. When the backs of the legs are tight, straightening the knees pulls the pelvis down and rounds the back, so bend the knees first, lift the sitting bones, and only then see how far the legs want to straighten. Heels that stay off the floor are common and fine. At the other end, press the whole hand into the mat, especially the base of the index finger, and let the shoulders move away from the ears so the neck can hang freely.
If your wrists complain, shift a little more weight back toward your legs by bending the knees, try turning the hands slightly out or placing them on blocks, or take the wall version, with your hands on a wall at hip height and your body in an L shape. The wall version is also the one to use while you check with a doctor about any condition that makes head-down positions a concern.
The name and where the pose comes from
The Sanskrit name combines adho mukha, “face downward,” śvāna, “dog,” and āsana, posture (see asana in our glossary). Anyone who has watched a dog stretch after a nap will recognize the shape. The name is modern: the pose is not among the 15 postures of the 15th-century Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Yoga historian Mark Singleton has described finding Downward Dog and other familiar poses in an early 20th-century Danish gymnastics manual, one of several influences on the way yoga postures were taught in India in the 1920s and 1930s. It became central to modern practice through the sun salutation and the flowing styles that followed, including Ashtanga and vinyasa yoga. Our guide to the history of yoga puts this in context.
Wrists, eyes and other cautions
Downward dog puts weight on the wrists and shoulders, so use the wall or forearm versions if you have a wrist or shoulder injury, carpal tunnel symptoms or arthritis in those joints. The head is below the heart, which matters for some people: a small 2015 study published in PLOS ONE measured a quick rise in eye pressure during downward dog, in people with and without glaucoma, that returned to normal within two minutes of sitting up. The researchers said more work is needed on what that means over time. If you have glaucoma or another eye or health condition where head-down positions are a concern, ask your doctor first and use the wall version meanwhile.
In pregnancy, the shape may need adapting; see prenatal yoga and check with your health care provider. If you are newer to practice or returning after time off, our guide to yoga for older adults has gentler starting points. This is general information, not individual advice.
Preparation and what comes next
Warm up with a few rounds of cat-cow to move the spine and load the wrists gradually. From downward dog, flowing classes move forward into plank and chaturanga, then into upward-facing dog or cobra, and back again. Downward dog is also the usual entry to pigeon pose, and its forearm variation, often called dolphin, builds the shoulder strength that inversions such as headstand also need. To rest after it, lie down in corpse pose or come back to hands and knees.
To practice it in context, follow our step-by-step sun salutation or the short morning yoga plan. Many teachers ask for ujjayi breathing here; a slow, even breath through the nose is all you need to start. Browse more foundations in the pose directory and our list of beginner yoga poses.
