Whether you’ve come from part one or arrived here directly, this is where the practical guidance lives. Here you’ll find how to come into the pose, what to notice once you’re there and how to adapt it if you need to. Take your time with it – Dhanurasana (Bow pose) rewards patience considerably more than it rewards effort.
Coming Into Dhanurasana (Bow pose)
Begin lying face down with the forehead resting on the mat and the arms alongside the body. Take a moment here before doing anything else. Feel the back of the body – the back of the ribcage, the lower back, the backs of the legs. These are the structures that are about to do most of the work. It’s worth saying hello to them before you ask something significant of them.
On an exhale, bend both knees and reach the arms back to take hold of the outer ankles. The outer ankle bones rather than the tops of the feet – this gives a more stable and comfortable grip and avoids pulling the toes into an awkward position.
On an inhale, draw the feet back and upward into the hands while simultaneously lifting the chest forward and up from the mat. This is important: neither end should initiate alone. As you draw the feet back the chest lifts forward – both movements happening together, the opposition between them creating the arc of the bow. When both ends move simultaneously, the spine distributes the backbend evenly. When the chest goes up without the feet drawing back, or the feet kick without the chest lifting, the lower back tends to bear more than its share.
Keep the knees roughly hip-width apart throughout – the tendency is for them to splay outward, which creates rotational stress in the lower back. Hip-width keeps the bow’s geometry clean and the lumbar spine protected.
The gaze follows the lift of the chest – forward and slightly upward, the neck long. The shoulder blades draw gently toward each other and down the back, creating that opening across the collarbones.
Hold for three to five steady breaths. Then lower on an exhale – slowly, with the same care that brought you up. Rest in Balasana (Child’s pose) or simply lie face down for a few breaths before repeating or moving on. The transition down is as much the practice as the pose itself.
What to Notice in Dhanurasana (Bow pose)
As you settle into the bow, see if you can feel where the backbend is actually happening. Is it distributed through the whole spine, or does one area – usually the lower back – feel like it’s doing most of the work? If the lower back feels compressed rather than lengthened, ease off slightly and draw the shoulder blades more firmly down the back. A backbend that’s evenly distributed through the spine feels expansive. One that’s hinging at the lumbar feels pinchy. The difference is immediate and worth learning to recognise.
Notice too the quality of the effort. There’s a kind of effortful gripping in the pose that feels like strength but actually depletes quickly. And there’s a different quality – more organised, more whole-body – that feels sustainable and even, on a good day, like flight. The breath is your guide: when it flows, the effort is right. When it stops, something needs to ease.
Modifications and Variations for Dhanurasana (Bow pose)
Ardha Dhanurasana (Half Bow pose) – is the variation I return to most often with students, (particularly those newer to backbends or working with lower back sensitivity). One hand reaches back to hold one ankle while the opposite arm extends forward along the floor. The spinal load is considerably reduced, the hip flexor opening is still present, and the back body strength required is exactly the same. Work with Ardha Dhanurasana (Half Bow pose) consistently before attempting the full pose and you’ll find the full version much more accessible when you do.
A strap looped around the ankles – held with both hands – is a genuinely useful option for anyone who finds reaching the ankles directly creates strain in the shoulders or wrists. The strap maintains the essential opposition of the pose without requiring the arms to work at an angle that doesn’t suit them.
A folded blanket under the hip bones makes the prone position considerably more comfortable for anyone who finds pressure on the pubic bone or hip points uncomfortable. This small adjustment is worth making – discomfort in the starting position makes it much harder to find ease in the pose itself.
For anyone with knee concerns, keeping the knees hip-width rather than allowing them to splay, and ensuring the bend doesn’t create any sharp sensation in the knee joints themselves, is the primary adjustment needed. If discomfort in the knees persists, Half Bow removes the bilateral knee bend entirely.
As always, the pose that serves you is the one that feels steady and relatively easy – sthira and sukha, in Patanjali’s terms. Not the one that looks most complete from the outside.
Part three explores the classical story behind the bow and what Dhanurasana might reflect beyond the physical practice.