In short: extended puppy pose is a kneeling shoulder and upper-back opener halfway between child’s pose and downward-facing dog: the hips stay up over the knees while the hands walk forward and the chest and forehead sink toward the floor. It lengthens the spine and stretches the shoulders and the front of the chest. It is gentle for most people, but people with tight or injured shoulders should go easy.
Puppy is a common warm-up for backbends and a counterpose after them. Below we explain the name, the cues, the precautions, the props that make it more comfortable, how it relates to the yin pose called melting heart, and where it is taught.
The name: a modern pose with a modern Sanskrit label
“Extended puppy” is a modern descriptive name. Yoga Journal gives it the Sanskrit Uttāna Śiśosana (Uttana Shishosana), usually explained as an intensely stretched puppy. Yoga International uses the same Sanskrit for extended puppy pose, but the pose does not appear in Light on Yoga or the other older manuals we checked, so we treat Uttana Shishosana as modern usage. In many classes the same active shape is also called “melting heart”; a Yoga International article calls puppy pose anahatasana (heart melting pose). Yin yoga uses the name melting heart (and Anāhatāsana) for a long, passive hold of a similar shape, which has its own page, yin melting heart.
How to make puppy work
Start on hands and knees with the shoulders over the wrists and the hips over the knees. Walk the hands forward a few inches and, if you like, tuck the toes under. On an exhalation, move the buttocks halfway back toward the heels, keeping the hips above the knees rather than sitting down. Rest the forehead on the floor or on a blanket and let the neck relax.
Keep the arms active: Yoga Journal asks you not to let the elbows touch the ground, and to press the hands down while drawing the hips back so you feel a long stretch through the spine. Keep a slight natural curve in the lower back rather than letting the belly hang. Breathe into the back for 30 seconds to a minute, then sit the buttocks onto the heels into child’s pose.
Precautions in plain words
Puppy is demanding for tight shoulders: if you feel pinching at the front or top of the shoulder, widen the hands, bend the elbows onto blocks or use the chair version. With a shoulder injury, ask a teacher or physiotherapist first. Pad sensitive knees with a blanket. If the lower back sags uncomfortably, draw the belly in gently and bring the hips a little further back. People who feel pressure in the head or eyes in head-down positions should keep the forehead on a raised support.
Props and variations
Yoga Journal offers three prop versions. If the head does not reach the floor, rest it on a block or folded blankets. For a deeper shoulder opening, put the elbows on two blocks and bring the hands together above the head. Standing, you can rest the forearms and head on a chair seat covered with a blanket and fold forward from the hips. A rolled blanket between the thighs and calves lets you stay longer and protects the knees.
Preparation and what comes next
Warm up with cat-cow, downward-facing dog and hero pose. Follow puppy with child’s pose, or use it to prepare for backbends such as camel and wheel, which need open shoulders.
Where it is taught
Extended puppy is common in hatha and vinyasa classes as a warm-up and in gentle practice. The long passive version belongs to yin yoga (see yin melting heart).
