Fun Pose Friday: Drop Backs

Happy Friday! So I like to post poses on "Fun Pose Friday" that I personally can do myself or am close to mastering or have at least tried. This week, I am posting about a pose that I have never achieved or even come close to. It is one of my goals to one day just try this one! But I’m not going to lie, it scares me! That’s the beauty of yoga, right?  So many poses to try and so many variations to tackle.

Drum roll please … this week’s pose is: the drop back… dun dun dunnnnnn (insert creepy/scary sound effect).

A drop back is basically the movement of falling backward in space between Standing/Tadasana/Mountain Pose and Wheel/Urdhva Dhanurasana/Upward Bow Pose. Sounds easy enough—but it’s not. This pose can take years to master and you must be warmed up before trying. This is definitely an advanced pose and I’ve actually only seen a few people ever do it. The other variation of this would be starting in Wheel pose and making your way up to Standing in a smooth motion (that has many juicy steps in between).

The best way to really imagine this pose is to watch someone do it. Check out these videos, give it a try and let me know how you do!

Quick demo:

Yoga Journal dropback demo—What it looks like.

How to:

Kino Yoga Standing Up and Dropping Back—A really great breakdown and steps in between to practice before actually dropping back.

Astanga Dropbacks Podcast—How to drop back and also stand up from starting in wheel

Asana Kitchen dropback video—A good example of what trying this pose looks like and ways to start to play with it (using props and help).

For more info and a drop back photo, check here. 

Enjoy, and see you on the mat!