Category: Arm balances
Level: intermediate
Hold: 1–3 breaths — it's usually a transition, not a long hold
Type: Asana
Breath: Exhale as you lower; keep the breath moving even during the brief hold.

Four-Limbed Staff Pose

Chaturanga Dandasana — "four-limbed staff posture"

Also known as: Chaturanga, Low Plank

A slow half push-up held with the elbows at ninety degrees, hugging the ribs. It shows up in nearly every vinyasa class, and doing it sloppily is how shoulders get grumpy — knees down is the smarter version for most people, most days.

Step by step

1Start in Plank Pose with your shoulders slightly ahead of your wrists.
2Firm your legs, draw your navel in, and shift a little further forward onto your toes.
3On an exhale, bend your elbows straight back, keeping them hugged against your ribs.
4Lower only until your upper arms are about parallel to the floor — elbows at roughly ninety degrees, not lower.
5Keep your shoulders level with your elbows and your body in one straight line; don't let the chest dip or the hips sag.
6Gaze slightly forward, hold briefly, then either lower all the way down or roll forward into Upward-Facing Dog.

Benefits

✓ Builds serious arm, chest, and core strength
✓ Teaches shoulder control for every other arm balance
✓ Makes vinyasa transitions smooth instead of a collapse
✓ Strengthens the wrists gradually when practiced with care

Make it yours

· Lower your knees to the mat first, then bend the elbows — this is the default version, not a lesser one
· Place a block lengthwise under your sternum as a target so you don't lower too far
· Skip the lowering entirely: step back to Downward-Facing Dog from Plank instead

Take care

Take care with wrist injuries or carpal tunnel symptoms — the wrists are heavily loaded here
Approach cautiously with shoulder injuries, especially anything involving the rotator cuff; knees-down or skipping it entirely are both fine choices

This is general practice guidance, not medical advice. If something hurts, ease out of it.

Practiced in

Props that help here

Liforme Original — The grippiest mat we've used, with alignment markers that genuinely help beginners place hands and feet. Priciest of the three. find one
Wrist wedge — Reduces the wrist angle in plank, chaturanga, and arm balances. Worth trying before concluding your wrists can't do this. find one

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