Category: Backbends
Level: intermediate
Hold: 3–5 breaths
Type: Asana
Breath: Inhale to lift the hips; breathe steadily across the front of the chest.

Upward Plank Pose

Purvottanasana — "intense stretch of the east (front) side of the body"

Also known as: Reverse Plank

The mirror image of Plank: face up, legs straight, hips pressing high while the hands and heels hold you up. A strength pose as much as a backbend — the whole back body works so the front body can open.

Step by step

1Sit in Staff Pose with your legs extended and hands on the floor behind your hips.
2Point your fingers toward your feet, or slightly outward if that suits your wrists.
3Press into your hands and heels and, on an inhale, lift your hips toward the ceiling.
4Aim for a straight line from shoulders to heels, legs together and active.
5Press the soles of your feet toward the floor and lift your chest.
6Keep your neck long; let the head drop back only if it feels supported.
7Exhale to lower your hips back to the floor with control.

Benefits

✓ Strengthens the arms, wrists, glutes, and hamstrings
✓ Opens the chest and the fronts of the shoulders
✓ Counterbalances forward folds and long sitting
✓ Builds shoulder stability in extension

Make it yours

· Practice Reverse Tabletop (knees bent, feet flat) to build strength first
· Place the hands on blocks or the edge of a low platform to reduce wrist angle
· Keep the chin tucked toward the chest throughout to protect the neck

Take care

Take care with wrist issues — the wrists are extended under full body weight
Keep the chin toward the chest if you have neck concerns
Ease off with shoulder injuries; Reverse Tabletop is the gentler option

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

Practiced in

Ashtanga — as “Purvottanasana” (#30)

Props that help here

Cork blocks (set of 2) — Bring the floor closer in lunges, folds, and triangle — and a block between the shoulder blades turns a backbend into something you can hold. find one
Bolster — The single best restorative purchase. Under the knees, under the spine, or lengthwise under the back to open a gentle supported backbend. find one

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