Standing Backward Bendअर्ध चक्रासन
Ardha Cakrāsana — a beginner backbend that works the spinal erectors, chest, hip flexors.
2–4BREATHS HELD
One line on the timetable. Standing Backward Bend is held 2–4 breaths, 2 rounds, with the breath moving throughout — and no set practice here is built around it — it is held on its own.
स्रोत·YogaPath sequence data — stay times as taught·one breath ≈ 5 s at an even pace·पुनरावलोकन जुलै 2026
How to do Standing Backward Bend
Read all of it before starting, and read the cautions further down before starting at all.
Stand with the feet hip-width apart and the legs firm.
Place the hands on the back of the pelvis with the fingers pointing down and the elbows drawing towards each other.
Press the hips slightly forward and lift the ribs away from the waist on an inhale.
Arch the upper back over the hands, keeping the head in line or letting it tip back only a little.
Hold for two or three breaths, then come up by leading with the sternum.
Hold: 2–4 breaths, 2 rounds. Keep the breath moving throughout — if you are holding it, the pose is too much for today.
Muscles worked
Where the effort and the lengthening land. Primary groups do most of the work; secondary groups assist or are stretched.
What Standing Backward Bend does
Described mechanically — what the movement does to muscle and joint. Not a list of conditions it treats, because a pose does not treat conditions.
- Extends the thoracic spine in a standing position that needs no floor and no props.
- Opens the front of the chest and shoulders after long periods of sitting.
- Lengthens the hip flexors as the pelvis presses forward over the feet.
Standing Backward Bend is one of 43 backbends in this library and one of 88 poses rated beginner. Poses that extend the spine and open the front of the body — chest, hip flexors and abdomen.
Who should skip Standing Backward Bend, or change it
- Disc injury or spondylolisthesis — keep the arch minimal, or take a seated chest opener instead.
- Vertigo or balance loss, since the head moves back through space: stand near a wall.
- High blood pressure and glaucoma with the head tipped back.
- Neck injury — keep the chin level and the gaze forward.
- Late pregnancy, where the shifted centre of mass makes standing backbends unsteady.
General information only — not medical advice. Some asanas are unsuitable during pregnancy, injury or specific conditions. Learn from a qualified teacher and stop if anything hurts. If you are pregnant, recovering from surgery or managing any health condition, ask your doctor before starting a practice, and learn the pose itself from a qualified teacher who can see you move.
Common mistakes in Standing Backward Bend
What tends to go wrong, and the specific correction — not "engage your core".
MistakeThe whole bend hinging at the belt line while the upper back stays flat.
FixFirm the glutes, lengthen the tailbone down, and lift the breastbone up and back so the ribs do the arching.
MistakeHead dropped straight back before the chest has opened.
FixKeep the back of the neck long and let the head follow the sternum, not lead it.
How the energy figure on a yoga timetable is reached
- Nobody has measured a single asana in a metabolic cart, so no per-pose figure is published here — not by this site and not by anyone.
- The pose is matched to the nearest style of practice in the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. Standing Backward Bend sits at code 02150, योग, हठ, 2.5 MET.
- That MET value is put through the standard ACSM relationship for a stated reference adult of 70 kg.
- The result is the cost of a practice of that kind for as long as you practise — not the cost of holding this one shape.
- Scale it to yourself: the relationship is linear in body mass, so multiply by your own weight in kilograms and divide by 70.
kcal/min = MET × 3.5 × kg ÷ 200
= 2.5 × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200
= 3.06 kcal per minute
The same practice, hour by hour
Read it the way you would read a timetable: pick the length of session you actually sit down for, and that is the figure.
| Time practising | 10 मिनिटे | 20 मिनिटे | 30 मिनिटे | 45 मिनिटे | 60 मिनिटे |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 31 | 61 | 92 | 138 | 184 |
स्रोत·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·code 02150 · 2.5 MET · 70 kg reference adult·पुनरावलोकन जुलै 2026
The whole activity dataset, including everything that is not yoga, is at BurnLab.
Asked before class
How do you do Standing Backward Bend?
Stand with the feet hip-width apart and the legs firm. Place the hands on the back of the pelvis with the fingers pointing down and the elbows drawing towards each other. Press the hips slightly forward and lift the ribs away from the waist on an inhale. Arch the upper back over the hands, keeping the head in line or letting it tip back only a little. Hold for two or three breaths, then come up by leading with the sternum. Hold for 2–4 breaths, 2 rounds.
What does Standing Backward Bend work?
Primarily the spinal erectors, chest, hip flexors, with the shoulders, abdominals, glutes assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: extends the thoracic spine in a standing position that needs no floor and no props.
Who should not do Standing Backward Bend?
Disc injury or spondylolisthesis — keep the arch minimal, or take a seated chest opener instead. Vertigo or balance loss, since the head moves back through space: stand near a wall. High blood pressure and glaucoma with the head tipped back. Neck injury — keep the chin level and the gaze forward. Late pregnancy, where the shifted centre of mass makes standing backbends unsteady. 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.
Is Standing Backward Bend suitable for beginners?
Yes. Standing Backward Bend is a beginner-level pose on this site, which means it is learnable in a first class and has a version that works for most bodies. The cautions above still apply.
How many calories does Standing Backward Bend burn?
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. Standing Backward Bend 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.
The rest of the backbends on the wall
More backbends — first at the same level, then the rest of the family.
Asana names are traditional. Every step, benefit and caution on this page is written for YogaPath rather than reproduced from any book, studio or other library — see how this site is written आणि what it is written from. General information only — not medical advice. Some asanas are unsuitable during pregnancy, injury or specific conditions. Learn from a qualified teacher and stop if anything hurts.
स्रोत·Published asana references·asana names, alignment and cautions as taught·पुनरावलोकन जुलै 2026
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