Yoga Pose Primer: Sphinx Pose Tutorial (Salamba Bhujangasana)

Sphinx Pose (Salamba Bhujangasana) is a seemingly simple yoga pose, but there are many important points of alignment in this posture, which many people miss. These points are important, however, because they help prepare your body for more challenging yoga backbends.

Enjoy this yoga tutorial with master yoga teacher, Natasha Rizopoulos on how facilitate perfect positioning and alignment in Sphinx Pose.

Step-by-Step Yoga Pose Primer for Salamba Bhujangasana

1. Keep your elbows slightly ahead of the shoulders and pinned into the midline to counteract the natural tendency for the elbows to splay. If the elbows splay out to the side, it creates an internal rotation in the shoulders which is counterproductive for the chest-opening and backbending action of the pose.
2. Push your elbows into the floor to lift up through your shoulders and engage the serratus anterior muscle.
3. Keep your ankles engaged toward the midline, so your feet don’t bow out or sickle. To accomplish this, stretch your big toes straight back and firm your outer ankles in. As you firm your outer ankles in, spin your inner thighs to the ceiling. This can be an important action throughout the practice to maintain the width, and the breadth, across the lower back.
4. Use the strength of your arms to pull your chest through the gateway of your arms, mobilizing your upper back, and finding that openness and length in the front of each shoulder. To keep the back of your neck long, lead with your sternum, rather than your chin.

Yoga Video: Sphinx Pose to Upward-Facing Dog Pose

Sphinx Pose is a great preparation for Upward Facing Dog Pose (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana). In the online yoga tutorial below, practice along with Natasha as she shows how to achieve correct alignment in Sphinx Pose and how to carry this alignment into Urdhva Mukha Svanasana.