# Four-Limbed Staff (Chaturanga Dandasana): how to do it

- Main muscles: triceps, chest
- Also works: front delts, abs
- Equipment: yoga mat
- Level: intermediate
- 3D demo (side view): https://media.trainaq.com/exercises/chaturanga/32299d5797/side-m-720.mp4

## Steps

1. Start in a high plank with your hands under your shoulders.
2. Shift forward onto the balls of your feet.
3. Breathe out and bend your elbows straight back, close to your ribs.
4. Lower until your upper arms are level with the floor and your elbows are over your wrists.
5. Keep your body in one line; hold for 1–3 breaths or flow on to Upward-Facing Dog.

## Cues

- Elbows hug your ribs and point back.
- Shoulders at elbow height, no lower.
- One straight line from head to heels.

## Common mistakes

- Going too low: stop when your upper arms are level with the floor.
- Elbows flaring: squeeze them in towards your sides.
- Sagging hips: draw your belly in and press back through your heels; lower the knees if needed.

## The version in our demo

The held low point of Chaturanga as Iyengar and Yoga Journal teach it: body in one line, elbows bent to 90° straight over the wrists and hugging the ribs, shoulders at elbow height.

## Starting position

High plank, hands under the shoulders.

## The position

Shift forward a little onto the balls of the feet, then bend the elbows straight back, close to the ribs, lowering the whole body as one piece until the upper arms are level with the mat and the elbows sit straight over the wrists. Stop there: the shoulders stay at elbow height, the chest broad, the shoulder blades flat on the back. Legs strong, hips in line, belly drawn in, head in line with the spine and gaze a little ahead.

## Breathing

Lower on an out-breath; keep breathing in a held Chaturanga.

## Tempo

A held position through one slow breath, 6 s: in-breath 2.5 s, the chest broadens and lifts a few millimetres; out-breath 3.5 s, back. Hands and feet stay put. Real practice: hold 1–3 breaths, or pass through it in a vinyasa on an out-breath.

## Form in numbers

- Body line 6–9° above level (heels higher than the floor-level hands), hips in line within 3°.
- Elbows bent about 90°, forearms vertical (within 6°), elbows 3–7 cm out from the shoulders' line (hugging the ribs, pointing back).
- Hands flat, about 38 cm apart, beside the lower ribs; feet hip-width on the balls, toes tucked.

## Sources

1. Yoga Journal pose library, "Four-Limbed Staff Pose (Chaturanga Dandasana)"
2. B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga (1966), Chaturanga Dandasana.
3. American Council on Exercise (ACE) exercise library, "Four-Limbed Staff Pose".

Source: https://trainaq.com/exercises/chaturanga