Forward Bend / Heart Opener
Extended Puppy Pose
Uttāna Śiśosanaउत्तान शिशोसन· oo-TAH-nah shee-SHOH-suh-nuhextended puppy posture (śiśu = puppy / child)
Extended Puppy Pose (Uttana Shishosana) is a gentle heart-opener — half child's pose, half downward dog — with the hips over the knees and the arms and chest melting toward the floor. It opens the shoulders, chest and upper back and calms the mind, releasing the tension of hunched, screen-heavy days.
Step by step
- 1
Start on hands and knees
Come to all fours with the hips stacked over the knees and the hands under the shoulders.
- 2
Walk the hands forward
Keeping the hips high over the knees, walk the hands forward and lower the chest and forehead toward the floor, arms extending long in front of you.
- 3
Melt the heart down
Let the chest and armpits soften toward the mat while the hips stay lifted, feeling the stretch through the shoulders, chest and upper back. Rest the forehead or chin on the floor.
- 4
Breathe and release
Stay for several slow breaths, then walk the hands back to child's pose to rest.
Benefits
- Opens the shoulders, chest and upper back
- Gently lengthens the spine
- Calming and stress-relieving
- Eases the hunch of desk and screen posture
Common mistakes
- Letting the hips sink back toward child's pose
- Sagging the lower back instead of lengthening
- Forcing the chest down and straining the shoulders
Modifications & variations
- Rest the forehead on a block or cushion
- Place a blanket under the knees
- Keep the hips a little lower for a gentler stretch
Related poses
Video transcriptIn this session, Yoga & You Teaching Faculty demonstrates Extended Puppy Pose (Uttana Shishosana) from Vajrasana into child's pose to open the shoulders.
Namaste, welcome to Yoga & You. This is Yoga & You Teaching Faculty, a freelance yoga instructor based in Chennai.
In this video I am going to be demonstrating a beautiful posture, its name is Extended Puppy posture. So this posture really helps in opening out your shoulders. If you have really tight shoulders in which you are struggling to open them, then this posture is going to be a really good help. So let's move on to the posture.
Now generally we are going to sit in Vajrasana with your knees slightly wide apart and slowly inhale, lift your arms all the way up, creating length in your spine and begin to come into child's pose. Basically just relax yourself once you are ready, inhale, slide your body all the way forward so that your butt comes all the way up in the air and your chest is stretching the mat. So it creates a lot of room for your shoulders to open up and just keep on breathing.
So your breath is really important in the posture and once you want to release the posture, inhale, slide your arms all the way back and relax in child's pose.
Frequently asked questions
- What is Extended Puppy Pose good for?
- It's a gentle heart-opener that stretches the shoulders, chest and upper back and lengthens the spine, while calming the mind. It's especially good for releasing the rounded-forward tension of sitting at a screen.
- How is it different from Child's Pose?
- In Child's Pose the hips sink back onto the heels; in Extended Puppy the hips stay lifted over the knees while the chest melts down. That keeps the shoulders and upper back in a deeper, more active stretch.
References
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), 'Yoga: What You Need To Know', nccih.nih.gov · Institution — On yoga easing musculoskeletal tension when practised gently.