Dynamic Downward Dog
Start in a low quadruped position: hands under your shoulders, toes tucked, knees low. From there, push your hips back and up until your body forms an inverted V — arms straight, shoulder girdle pushed back, heels drawing towards the floor. Then come forwards and down again. You move rhythmically in and out, roughly one rep every two seconds.
The dynamic downward dog brings three things into one movement: the hips go into deep flexion, the shoulder goes overhead, and the calves and the back of the leg lengthen. Instead of staying in the position, you move rhythmically in and out.
Hands and feet stay put and the hips do the travelling. As you push back, the shoulder girdle extends with it — you press away from the floor and backwards at the same time. Your heels draw towards the floor, as far as your back stays long.
You need nothing but a mat. If the shoulder does not go overhead yet, put your hands on a bench or a step — the hips travel the same path.
From practice: I use this as a warm-up before upper-body work and before running. If your wrists give you trouble, work on your fists or with your hands raised. That is what I see in the studio.
Starting position
Come into a quadruped position and tuck your toes. Your hands are roughly under your shoulders, fingers spread, and your knees stay just off the floor. That is the position you work from.
Push your hips back and up until your body forms an inverted V. Your arms straighten, and as they do you push the shoulder girdle back — so you are pressing away from the floor and backwards at the same time, not just upwards. Your heels draw towards the floor, as far as they will go without rounding your back; they do not have to reach it.
Then come forwards and down into the low starting position and straight back up again. Hands and feet stay in the same place throughout. The tempo is calm and even — roughly one rep every two seconds, with no swinging and no bouncing in the end position.
The three cues
- Push your hips back and up
- Push the shoulder girdle back, arms straight
- Draw your heels towards the floor — as far as they go without rounding your back
- Hands and feet stay put, calm tempo with no swinging
Common faults
| Fault | How to fix it |
|---|---|
| The back rounds to get the heels down | Leave the heels up. A long back takes priority — the heels come down on their own over the weeks. |
| The hips stay low and it becomes a plank | Push the hips deliberately back and up until your body forms an inverted V. The movement goes backwards, not just upwards. |
| The shoulder girdle stays passive and the head hangs between the arms | Actively press away from the floor and push the shoulder girdle back. The head stays in line with the torso. |
| The hands creep forward | Hands and feet stay in the same place for the whole set. If the hands creep, the shoulder travels a shorter path. |
| Bouncing in the end position | A calm, even tempo with no swinging — roughly one rep every two seconds. In and out, not springing. |
| The wrists hurt | Spread your fingers and share the load across the whole hand, or switch to fists or a raised surface. If the pain persists, leave the position out. |
Variations
| Variation | When to use it |
|---|---|
| Hands raised | Hands on a bench or a step. Less shoulder elevation needed, less load on the wrists — and the hip still travels the same path. |
| Hands on the floor, heels as low as they will go | Alternating between the low quadruped position and the inverted V, back long, hands and feet staying put. |
| Single leg | One foot lifts in the end position while the other heel draws towards the floor — only once the back stays long on every rep with both feet down. |
Reps and load
Eight to twelve reps, one or two sets, at a calm tempo with no swinging.
It fits into the warm-up before upper-body work, before anything overhead, and before running. Together with the inchworm and the bird dog it makes a short warm-up covering shoulders, hips and trunk in one pass.
Which muscles do the work
| Muscle | Role | What it does here |
|---|---|---|
| Tibialis anterior M. tibialis anterior | Prime mover | Actively draws the heels towards the floor |
| Serratus anterior M. serratus anterior | Prime mover | Rotates the scapula upwards and holds it on the ribcage while the arm is overhead |
| Lower trapezius M. trapezius pars ascendens | Synergist | Works with the serratus on upward rotation of the scapula |
| Latissimus dorsi M. latissimus dorsi | Synergist | Is stretched as the arm goes overhead and limits how far the shoulder travels |
| Trunk muscles Mm. abdominis, M. erector spinae | Stabiliser | Keep the back long as the hips push back and up |
| Hamstrings Mm. ischiocrurales | Stabiliser | Are lengthened in the end position and limit how high the hips go |
| Calf muscles M. gastrocnemius, M. soleus | Stabiliser | Are lengthened and limit how far the heels come towards the floor |
| Forearm and hand muscles Mm. antebrachii | Stabiliser | Spread the load across the hand and hold the wrist while it takes your weight |
The calves and the back of the leg lengthen here rather than getting stronger — drawing the heels down comes from the front of the shin. The work higher up is done by the serratus and lower trapezius, which guide the scapula in the overhead position.
Seeing it done right is not the same as doing it right
Video, cues and variations take you a long way. What they cannot give you is an outside eye at the moment the movement isn't quite there yet. That is what training with me is for — in the studio or in a workshop.
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Sources
Kelley K, Slattery K, Apollo K. (2018). An electromyographic analysis of selected asana in experienced yogic practitioners. J Bodyw Mov Ther 22(1):152–158. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbmt.2017.05.018 — In 13 experienced practitioners (mean age 37.5 years, more than five years of practice), activity in tibialis anterior, medial gastrocnemius, rectus femoris, biceps femoris and gluteus medius was measured across five positions including downward dog, held for 15 seconds and repeated three times. In downward dog the tibialis anterior was the most active of the muscles recorded, while calf, hamstrings and gluteus medius were low. The basis for saying the calf and the back of the leg are lengthened rather than strengthened here, and that drawing the heels down runs through the front of the shin. Only the lower limb was recorded, the sample was small and mostly female, the position was held rather than cyclical, and the abstract gives no per-muscle, per-position percentages. (Evidence type: EMG)
Behm DG, Blazevich AJ, Kay AD, McHugh M. (2016). Acute effects of muscle stretching on physical performance, range of motion, and injury incidence in healthy active individuals: a systematic review. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab 41(1):1–11. DOI: 10.1139/apnm-2015-0235 — A systematic review of the acute effects of static and dynamic stretching in healthy, active individuals. Immediately after stretching, performance changed by minus 3.7 per cent for static and plus 1.3 per cent for dynamic stretching, with a clear dependence on duration: minus 4.6 per cent at 60 seconds or more per muscle group against minus 1.1 per cent below that. All modes improved range of motion, typically lasting under 30 minutes. The basis for choosing the dynamic version in a warm-up when loading follows, and for describing the gain as short-lived. A review rather than a meta-analysis in the strict sense, mostly young and athletic samples, and no data on dynamic stretching and injury incidence. (Evidence type: Review)
Somers K, Aune D, Horten A, Kim J, Rogers J. (2020). Acute effects of gastrocnemius/soleus self-myofascial release versus dynamic stretching on closed-chain dorsiflexion. J Sport Rehabil 29(3):287–293. DOI: 10.1123/jsr.2018-0199 — The only study in which a dynamic stretch was actually performed in downward dog: 42 asymptomatic students (26.1 ± 4.0 years) were allocated to foam rolling, dynamic stretching in downward dog, or both, twice for one minute each. Weight-bearing ankle mobility was measured. There was no difference between groups; mean gains were 0.48 centimetres for rolling, 0.70 for dynamic stretching and 0.91 for the combination. The basis for saying that moving rhythmically in and out improves ankle mobility only slightly at best and is no better than the alternatives. There was no control group that did nothing, so the changes cannot be separated from warm-up and repeat-measurement effects; the sample was young and the cadence was not reported. (Evidence type: RCT)
Richmond D, Castro K, Rathod V, Dias TMDC, Filho NML, Meer J, Rao S. (2022). Interrater reliability of an observational rating scale and video analysis of yoga poses. J Sport Rehabil 31(2):246–252. DOI: 10.1123/jsr.2021-0056 — 38 people performed downward dog, plank and side plank after standardised instruction; two raters scored lateral videos against a scale covering seven body regions. In downward dog only 20 per cent showed the alignment defined as ideal at the neck, 28 per cent at the shoulder and 37 per cent at the back, with usable agreement between raters. The basis for saying deviations in this position are the rule even after instruction, and hence for the cues and the quality check before any progression. The study validates a rating scale and shows no link between deviation and pain; the age, sex and training status of the 38 participants are not in the abstract, and ideal alignment was set by consensus rather than derived biomechanically. (Evidence type: Messmethodik)
Medeiros HB, de Araújo DS, de Araújo CG. (2013). Age-related mobility loss is joint-specific: an analysis from 6,000 Flexitest results. Age (Dordr) 35(6):2399–2407. DOI: 10.1007/s11357-013-9525-z — An analysis of 6,000 people (3,835 men, 2,165 women) aged 5 to 92, in whom passive range of motion across 20 movements was assessed and aggregated into joint and overall scores. The overall score declined with age, by roughly 0.6 per cent per year in women and 0.8 in men; from age 30 in men and 40 in women the contribution of individual joints shifted markedly, and the shoulder's share of the overall score in men fell from 13.9 per cent at 28 to 5.2 per cent at 85. Shoulder and trunk lost proportionally the most. The basis for saying the shoulder elevation this position demands declines disproportionately in the target group. Cross-sectional with no individual trajectories, ordinal scores rather than degrees, ankle mobility not reported separately, and the sample comes from a Brazilian clinic population. (Evidence type: Querschnitt)
Jasien JV, Jonas JB, de Moraes CG, Ritch R. (2015). Intraocular pressure rise in subjects with and without glaucoma during four common yoga positions. PLoS One 10(12):e0144505. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0144505 — 10 people with primary open-angle glaucoma and 10 without held four positions for two minutes each, including downward dog; intraocular pressure was measured before, during and after. The largest rise occurred in downward dog: from 17 ± 3.2 to 28 ± 3.8 mmHg in the glaucoma group and from 17 ± 2.8 to 29 ± 3.9 mmHg in the others, within one minute in both, returning to baseline within two minutes of standing up. The basis for advising that head-down positions be cleared with an eye specialist where glaucoma or raised intraocular pressure is known — relevant from age 40 onwards. A very small sample, a held two-minute position rather than cyclical movement, and the study shows acute pressure spikes, not that glaucoma progression follows. (Evidence type: Querschnitt)
Opplert J, Babault N. (2018). Acute effects of dynamic stretching on muscle flexibility and performance: an analysis of the current literature. Sports Med 48(2):299–325. DOI: 10.1007/s40279-017-0797-9 — An analysis of the literature specifically on dynamic stretching. There is substantial evidence for favourable effects on range of motion and on subsequent force, power, sprinting and jumping; the range-of-motion gain is attributed mainly to reduced muscle-tendon stiffness, and the performance gain to temperature and potentiation effects of the voluntary contraction. Controlled dynamic stretching outperformed ballistic stretching at high speed. The basis for the calm, even tempo in the cues. A narrative analysis without pooled effect sizes, the authors themselves stress that inconsistently described protocols prevent a consensus, and duration, amplitude and velocity act as moderators, with some studies showing no effect. (Evidence type: Review)
A note on context: EMG studies show which muscles an exercise recruits — that is a good reason to pick it, but it does not replace adjusting things to the person in front of you. See a doctor for persistent or severe pain.