Love it or hate it, Camel Pose, called Ustrasana in Sanskrit, can be an intense backbend. It increases your heart rate, which can feel really energizing, that sort of alive feeling after you leave it. With your knees and shins affixed to the ground, it can intensify the stretch in your hip flexors (the front of your leg where it attaches to your hip). It is worth the time to practice and, in layers, is accessible to most people. A variation can even be practiced in a chair.
Camel Pose can feel really vulnerable
Along with the intensity, this pose can feel vulnerable. Maybe it is the fact that your gaze is at the sky or your neck is more exposed. It also could be that the “easier” layer requires a lot of strength in your core, so it can feel tricky to hold it in a supportive manner. Because of that vulnerable feeling, Child’s Pose or embryo pose can be a nice physical and energetic counter posture. It may feel like curling back into yourself.
With your knees and shins affixed to the ground, it can intensify the stretch in your hip flexors (the front of your leg where it attaches to your hip).
How to do Camel Pose
When planning a yoga asana sequence, it’s important to consider what areas of the body require strengthening and where flexibility is needed to execute the pose properly. Camel Pose is a backbend that demands significant strength in the back and core. It also necessitates an open and flexible front side of the body, along with well-stretched hip flexors, quads, back, and chest. Considering this, the following poses would be beneficial to include in a class that prepares for Camel Pose.
Poses to prepare and open the front side of the body, hip flexors, quads, & chest
- Cat/Cow Flow
- Crescent Moon, Ashta Chandrasana
- Runners Lunge
- Crescent Lunge Prayer Twist
- Supine Twist, Supta Matsyendrasana
- Standing side bend
- Bridge Pose, Setu Bandha Sarvangasana
- Cat Pulling Its Tail Pose
- Heros Pose
- Binds at Low back like Humble Warrior or Drinking Bird
- Standing Backbend with Cactus Arms, Anuvittasana
- Dancers Pose, Natarajasana
- Standing Figure 4 Pose
- Half Pigeon Pose, Ardha Kapotasana
Strengthen Your Core
- Chair Pose (Utkatasana)
- Boat Pose – Navasana
- Plank Pose
- Extended Side Angle – Utthita Parsvakonasana (with both hands in the air variation)
- Warrior 3, Virabhadrasana III
Strengthen Your Back
- Locust Pose, Salabhasana
- Cobra Pose, Bhujangasana
- Warrior 3 Pose, Virabhadrasana III
- Reaching Crescent, Ashta Chandrasana Utthita Hasta Vinyasa
How to Cue into Camel Pose
- Start kneeling with your shins on your mat.
- Lift your hips so they stack over your knees.
- Place your hands on your lower back, fingers pointing down
- Roll your shoulders up and back to draw your shoulder blades together and lengthen across your chest.
- Start to gaze up and back to create the backend.
- Imagine a tiny string from your sternum lifting your chest toward the sky
- Hug your belly button toward your spine to help support your lower back
- Press your hips forward to keep them over your knees.
- Squeeze your inner thighs (adductor muscles) toward each other to create more stability in the pose.
- When you are ready, lift your head back in line with your hips and shoulders.
- It might feel nice to round forward and find Rabbit Pose.
Variations of the Posture
- Place a block between your upper thighs at its smallest height. As you actively squeeze the block and bring your hips forward, this muscle contraction will help support your lower back.
- Hold opposite elbows behind your back. This can be a sort of bridge toward more intense postures (This feels plenty intense). Still, roll your shoulders up toward your ears and relax them down your spine as you hold on to your opposite forearm or elbow.
- Have a low bind, holding your own hand, still squeezing your scapula together. Direct your knuckles toward the ground, but keep your heart lifted to the sky.
- Hold on to your ankles or heels. This requires enough mid and upper-spine flexibility and might be limited by your natural anatomy (people with long arms might find this posture a little easier). Try the other three variations above first. If you are ready for this, squeeze your legs together as if there was a block (maybe there still is). Then, grab one heel and the the other. Most importantly, keep directing your chest skyward.
- Crescent Moon Legs. Your front foot is on the ground, and your back foot is in a traditional camel stance. Choose your variation with your arms. Make sure you even things out and try it on each side of your body.
- Chair Backbend. In a supportive chair, sit up nice and tall, feeling your feel securely on the ground. Roll your shoulders up by your ears and then relax them down your back. You arms can be out wide, palms faced forward or find a low bind at your back. Prioritize a log strong spine on your inhale, engaging your core on the exhale. Now lift your sternum to the sky and let yur gaze rise upward.
