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Asana · Practise on your own

Chaturanga Dandasana

Four-limbed staff pose

Four-limbed staff pose. The low plank that links the poses in a vinyasa.

Awaiting subject reviewWritten from our source material and not yet checked by a teacher of this practice. Read it as reference, and learn the practice from someone who teaches it.

Meaning
chatur = four, anga = limb, danda = staff, asana = seat or posture
Family
Linking
Level
Intermediate
Gaze
Nose

Take care

Keep the shoulders above elbow height to protect them. Go gently with wrist or shoulder injuries.

How it is done

  1. 1

    Breathe out

    From plank, shift forward a little and bend the elbows straight back, close to the ribs.

  2. 2

    Breathe freely

    Lower until the body hovers, shoulders no lower than the elbows, the body one straight line.

Holding it

One breath in a vinyasa.

Making it easier

Lower the knees to the floor first.

What the tradition says it does

  • Strengthens the arms, shoulders and core

As our source describes it. This is not a medical claim.

To prepare

Sources and tradition

  • YOG Union App Content Map, 2 November 2026, p. 4

Also known as Chaturanga, Four limbed staff pose.

Awaiting subject review · revision 1 · updated 5 November 2026