Four-limbed staff pose is one of the most dreaded poses in vinyasa classes for two reasons.
First, there are often LOTS of them in an hour and a half class (about 60 in a typical Ashtanga class!), and secondly, it requires good core and upper body strength to do well.
Until then, it just kinda feels, well…awkward.
So it’s important to build up slowly, taking one of the modifications until you feel ready to pull off the multitude of chaturangas that might be offered in your favorite vinyasa class.
Our best advice? Be patient, oh yogi!
(Be sure to download the pdf of this tip sheet at the bottom of this post.)
asana name = chaturanga dandasana
chatur = four
anga = limb
danda = staff or stick
asana = seat
benefits
- strengthens manipura chakra (power center)
- strengthens arms, shoulders and wrists
- no other benefits because we don’t like this pose—just kidding! (ummm—not 🙂 )
contraindications
- shoulder pain
- carpal tunnel
- mid to late-stage pregnancy
modifications
- drop knees to floor
- only lower as deeply as comfortable
- build up strength by taking high plank instead
attitude = a pose of steady, inner strength that comes from the core of the body—the third chakra or manipura.
What you can do next
- Leave us a comment…what do YOU experience in this pose???
- Grab your free asana tip sheet by clicking the button below.
This is definitely a challenging pose. I think I need more upper body strength to do it properly!
Yes, this one DOES take some upper body strength, Tarah. Check out our article on building upper body strength!
1) Picture is incorrect. Wrists should be under elbows.
2) Another way to practice is to put block under hips. Then align pose with hips resting on block. Once everything is aligned then lift hips off block.
1) Yes, in a perfect world you’d be right, Tom…but taking into account the practitioner’s gender, strength and body proportions requires a little fudging on that detail. Not many women can hold the perfect right angle in the arms that putting the wrists directly under the elbows requires without putting a tremendous strain on the rotator cuff.
2) We’ll have to try this suggestion! We’ve used a block under the chest (to keep practitioners from dropping too low) but never under the hips.
Thanks for stopping by! Your input is appreciated…mahalo!
Block under the hips is often the way Maty Ezraty teaches it. With the block under the hips you can get everything lined up. shoulder position correct, etc. Then the trick is to work on lifting the hips just off the block without compromising the alignment.
One more note — I know many women who do it with wrists under shoulders. If this strains rotator cuff it typically means shoulders are rotating forward and/or dropping too low (below elbows).