How long should you hold camel pose when you are new to the exercise?

Hold for 3 to 5 breaths, doing one or two rounds with a rest in child's pose between them. Add a third round, or reach for the heels instead of keeping the hands on the pelvis, only once the shorter version feels completely comfortable.

How do I make camel pose easier or harder?

Keep the hands on the lower back, or rest them on blocks set by the heels, to make the pose easier and keep more control over the depth. To make it harder, reach one or both hands fully to the heels, or hold the position for an extra breath or two.

What is camel pose good for, and when should you avoid it?

It actively opens the chest and hip flexors while strengthening the back extensors and glutes, a strong counter to a day spent hunched over a desk. Avoid it during an acute low back flare-up, or approach it very gently with any neck sensitivity, since the depth of this backbend is significant.

Intermediate

Camel Pose

Camel is an active heart-opener: the back extensors and glutes hold you in extension while the abs, hip flexors, and chest lengthen across the front. It is a strong antidote to a day spent hunched over a desk, and it teaches you to distribute a backbend evenly instead of hinging at one spot. Warm the spine with gentler bends first, since the depth here is significant.

Equipment: Body Weight
Body part: Abs, Back
Type: Stretching, Yoga
Browse by muscle: Erector Spinae, Gluteus Maximus

How to do it

1
Kneel upright with knees hip-width apart and the shins and tops of the feet on the floor.
2
Set the hands on the back of the pelvis with fingers pointing down and elbows drawing toward each other.
3
Lift the chest and lengthen the whole spine upward before leaning back.
4
Press the hips forward over the knees and let the head and chest arc back.
5
Reach one hand at a time to the heels if the depth is available, keeping the neck long.
6
Hold with steady breath, then lead with the chest to rise and rest in a brief child's pose.

Tips

Drive the hips forward over the knees so the bend spreads through the whole spine, not just the lower back.
Squeeze the glutes lightly to support the pelvis and protect the lumbar region.
Keep the hands on the pelvis or on blocks by the heels until the full reach feels easy.

Variations

Common mistakes

The head drops back before the chest has lifted, so the neck takes the first part of the bend that the upper spine should be sharing.
The knees drift together or splay apart mid-pose instead of staying hip-width, which destabilizes the base the whole backbend depends on.
Reaching for the heels before the hips are actually stacked over the knees pulls the low back into most of the bend instead of the whole spine.
The breath gets shallow and rushed once the stretch across the front of the hips and chest intensifies, tightening muscles that need to lengthen.
Coming out of the pose by leading with the head instead of the chest whips the neck through a fast reversal it was not braced for.

Frequently asked

How long should you hold camel pose when you are new to the exercise?: Hold for 3 to 5 breaths, doing one or two rounds with a rest in child's pose between them. Add a third round, or reach for the heels instead of keeping the hands on the pelvis, only once the shorter version feels completely comfortable.
How do I make camel pose easier or harder?: Keep the hands on the lower back, or rest them on blocks set by the heels, to make the pose easier and keep more control over the depth. To make it harder, reach one or both hands fully to the heels, or hold the position for an extra breath or two.
What is camel pose good for, and when should you avoid it?: It actively opens the chest and hip flexors while strengthening the back extensors and glutes, a strong counter to a day spent hunched over a desk. Avoid it during an acute low back flare-up, or approach it very gently with any neck sensitivity, since the depth of this backbend is significant.

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