Bow Poseधनुरासन

Lie face down, bend both knees and take hold of the outside of each ankle. Keep the knees roughly hip-width apart rather than letting them splay wide. Inhale and press the shins strongly back into the hands so the chest and thighs lift together. Keep the arms straight and passive — they are the bowstring, not the engine. Look forward, hold with the breath moving into the upper ribs, then lower on an exhale. Hold for 15–25 seconds, 2–3 rounds.

Primarily the quadriceps, spinal erectors, chest, with the glutes, shoulders, hip flexors assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: stretches the quadriceps and hip flexors under active tension while the back extends.

Pregnancy from the second trimester onward — the entire bodyweight rests on the belly. Disc injury, spondylolisthesis or spinal fusion — take Sphinx or Half Bow instead. Knee injury, since the knees are deeply flexed and pulled: use a strap and less depth. Recent abdominal or hernia surgery. Shoulder injury that makes reaching back for the ankles painful — use two straps. This is general information, not medical advice — if any of these apply to you, ask your doctor and learn the pose with a qualified teacher rather than from a page.

Not as a first pose. Bow Pose is rated intermediate here: it assumes a working base of strength and range, and a teacher who has watched you move. Build up through the backbends poses marked beginner first.

The honest answer is that nobody has measured a single asana. The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities publishes MET values for styles of yoga, not for individual poses. Bow Pose sits closest to Compendium code 02150, yoga, Hatha, at 2.5 MET — about 92 kcal for 30 minutes of that kind of practice for a 70 kg adult. Holding one pose for a minute is a rounding error either way.