Chaturanga Dandasana (Four Limbed Staff Pose)
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- Stretching
Chaturanga Dandasana, or Four Limbed Staff Pose, is a body-weight yoga pose where you lower from a high plank into a low hover, holding your body in one straight line just above the floor. It builds control and stability through the core, shoulders, and arms, and serves as the bridge between plank and upward-facing dog in a vinyasa flow.
How to do the Chaturanga Dandasana (Four Limbed Staff Pose)
- 1Start in a high plank with your wrists stacked under your shoulders, fingers spread, and your body in one straight line from head to heels.
- 2Engage your core, draw your shoulder blades down your back, and press the floor away to keep your upper back broad.
- 3Shift your weight forward on an inhale so your shoulders move slightly past your wrists and you come onto the balls of your feet.
- 4Exhale and bend your elbows straight back, keeping them tucked close to your ribs rather than flaring out to the sides.
- 5Lower under control until your upper arms are roughly parallel to the floor and your elbows are bent close to 90°, holding your body in one line.
- 6Hover here with your gaze slightly forward, keeping your hips level with your shoulders and your legs active.
- 7Hold for a breath, then either lower all the way down or roll forward over your toes and press into upward-facing dog to continue the flow.
- 8To exit, release your knees and chest to the mat or press back up to plank with control.
Form tips
- Keep your elbows hugging your ribs as you lower — they should track straight back over your wrists, not splay outward.
- Lead with your chest and keep your body in a single line; avoid letting the hips sag or pike up first.
- Move with your breath: inhale to shift forward, exhale to lower, so the descent stays slow and controlled.
- If full Chaturanga is too much, lower your knees to the floor first to build strength without losing alignment.
- Press firmly through your whole hand to protect your wrists and keep your shoulders stable at the bottom.
Common mistakes
- Letting the elbows flare out to the sides, which strains the shoulders and collapses the supporting structure of the pose.
- Dropping the chest below the elbows or sinking the shoulders forward of the hands, overloading the shoulder joints.
- Letting the hips sag or pike up so the body bends instead of staying in one straight line, which loses core engagement.
- Rushing the descent in a quick drop rather than lowering slowly, which sacrifices control and form.
- Shrugging the shoulders up toward the ears instead of drawing the shoulder blades down the back.
Frequently asked questions
Is Chaturanga Dandasana good for beginners?
Full Chaturanga is demanding, but beginners can build up to it by lowering the knees to the floor first. This keeps the same elbows-in, one-line alignment while reducing the load through the arms and core until you're strong enough for the full pose.
How do I transition from Chaturanga to upward-facing dog?
From the low hover, roll forward over the tops of your feet, straighten your arms, and lift your chest as your thighs rise off the mat. Keep your shoulders down and away from your ears. This forward roll is the standard vinyasa link between Chaturanga and upward dog.
What are the most common alignment errors in Chaturanga?
The two biggest are flaring the elbows out to the sides instead of keeping them tucked over the wrists, and letting the chest drop below the elbows or the hips sag. Both overload the shoulders and break the straight line of the body.
How low should I go in Chaturanga Dandasana?
Lower only until your upper arms are about parallel to the floor and your elbows bend near 90°, with your body hovering in one line. Going lower than this collapses the shoulders forward and offers no added benefit.
