Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Limbed Staff Pose) is part of the traditional Sun Salute sequence and is found again and again in every class, and yet it’s one of the most challenges poses to get right.

Ideally, your bent elbows align in the same horizontal plane as your shoulders and in the same vertical plane as your wrists with a perfect 90-degree angle; but in reality, most students collapse as they rush through the pose.

Common misalignments include:

• a swooping arch in your back
• a humped upper back
• rounded shoulders
• elbows that are bent too deeply

This “half pushup” movement looks and sounds as simple as can be, but it demands the balanced strength of the entire body so it’s a tricky one to master.

• Don’t rush! Most people subconsciously blast right through this pose on their way to upward dog, but you won’t get better at this unless you take a moment to feel and practice the pose.
• Stay high! Most people bend way too deeply, beyond their ability to stabilize. It’s better to be too high with proper form than to collapse with bad alignment (you won’t make gains this way).
• Lower forward. Your weight needs to come forward, not backward, to keep your elbows over your wrists as you bend—so look and lean slightly forward as you descend from plank pose to Chaturanga.
• Use your legs. Outer rotate your legs to stabilize the spine and push down firmly into your big toe mound.
• Un-shrug your shoulders. Your shoulders will often creep up to your ears, so make a point to relax the shoulders and elbows back and away from your head.
• Gaze slightly forward. Your head can throw off your alignment very easily, so allow your neck to lengthen and gaze slightly forward on the floor/mat.

• Try using blocks. Place blocks under your shoulders to limit your ability to collapse.
• A mirror is a great teacher. Use a mirror from the side so you can see if your back is collapsing or if you’re losing your wrist/elbow alignment.

Be patient. Functional, balanced strength takes some time to develop, so make peace with the fact that you’ll need a month or two of consistent practice to find this posture. If you follow the above suggestions, you should notice huge improvements in your form and your strength.