Puppy Pose (Uttana Shishosana)
Puppy Pose sits halfway between Child's Pose and Downward-Facing Dog: the hips stay high over the knees while the arms reach forward and the chest melts toward the floor. Uttana means extended and shishu means puppy or young one. It opens the shoulders and the upper back, and in Yin it is often called Melting Heart.
At a glance
- Sanskrit name
- Uttana Shishosana
- Pronunciation
- oo-TAH-nuh shee-SHOH-suh-nuh. Both words stress their second syllable.
- Family
- Yin shapes
- Practised in
- Yin yoga
- In pregnancy
- Adapt
- After birth
- Adapt
Puppy Pose is the shape I give students whose shoulders have spent the week hunched over a screen. It is quiet, it needs no strength, and it reaches the upper back in a way few floor shapes do.
In Yin lessons with bolsters and long holds I support the chest so you can stay a few minutes and let the stretch arrive slowly.
When the arms tire, sit back into the resting fold of Balasana. The two belong together, and moving between them a few times is a lesson in itself.
How to do Puppy Pose
Come to hands and knees with your hips over your knees and a blanket under the knees.
Walk your hands forward a few hand-lengths, keeping the hips stacked over the knees.
Rest your forehead on the mat, a block or a cushion, with the arms shoulder-width apart.
Let the chest soften down toward the floor while the hips stay lifted. Keep the elbows off the floor if you can.
Breathe into the back of the ribs for five breaths, or stay two to three minutes in a Yin practice.
Walk the hands back and sit into Child's Pose to rest.
My cues
- Imagine the hips and the hands pulling gently away from each other, so the whole spine gets longer.
- Let the chest drop by itself. Pushing it down usually pinches the lower back.
- If the shoulders complain, take the hands wider and turn the palms to face each other.
Modifications
- Rest the chest on a bolster or a stack of pillows so the stretch stays mild.
- Put the forearms on two blocks with the palms together, for a deeper shoulder stretch with less weight.
- Do it standing at a wall or a kitchen counter, hands on the surface and hips over the feet.
In pregnancy. Adapt. Take the knees wide so the belly has room, rest the chest on a bolster and keep the hold short. Come up slowly if you feel light-headed with the head down. Check with your OB or midwife before you start.
After birth. Adapt. Once your doctor or midwife has cleared you, it is a gentle way back into shoulder and upper back work after hours of feeding and carrying. Use a bolster under the chest at first.
Common mistakes
- Letting the hips drift back toward the heels, which turns it into Child's Pose.
- Sagging into the lower back. Draw the belly in a little and let the stretch sit in the upper back.
- Forcing the chest to the floor when the shoulders are tight.
Pairs well with
- Child's PoseBalasana
- Downward-Facing DogAdho Mukha Svanasana
- Cat-CowMarjaryasana Bitilasana