骆驼式详解：后弯为什么让人害怕，又该怎么安全地进入

Published October 30, 2026 04:56AM

In Yoga Journal’s Archives series, we share a curated collection of articles originally published in past issues beginning in 1975. This article about Camel Pose first appeared in the September-October 2001 issue of Yoga Journal. You can find more of our Archives here.

When looking at the meanings of the names of yoga asanas, especially those named after animals, you can find clues—sometimes literal and other times only suggestive —about the nature of the pose. With Camel Pose (Ustrasana) it’s a little of both.

What was it about this pose that inspired yogis of ages past to name it after the camel? Only by strenuously stretching the imagination can we find any resemblance to a healthy backbend in the shape of this animal.

Anatomically a camel’s body appears to be an assemblage of odd, unrelated parts, and the hump—the most unique and obvious characteristic—looks almost like an afterthought. Although camel humps may appear to be part of the spine, they are actually sacks of fat used to store partially digested food for long journeys. Through centuries of Asian and African civilization, the camel has also had a reputation for being a stubborn, ill-tempered animal with a serious lack of intelligence. Since it’s doubtful that the ancient yogis aspired to the image of lifting the spine like a camel hump, and a camel’s temperament is not exactly something to emulate in one’s yoga practice, why is this posed called the “camel”?

Turning Upside Down

Traditionally the camel’s presence in the desert, one of the most inhospitable environments on our planet, has been one of the primary forces sustaining human life there. Though a camel’s eyesight is not keen, it relies on some inner compass to navigate its way through the desert. Used primarily as pack animals, camels instinctively know if a load is too heavy to endure over a long journey or if the weight is improperly balanced —and will refuse to move until the load is adjusted. Without a road map, in constantly changing surroundings of drifting sands, camels have the ability to read the signs and find the oases of green where water is present and food at hand.

Looking at the Camel Pose, we can begin to see a parallel. For many beginners, the “environment” in backbends is equally inhospitable. In general, beginning to bend backward is difficult and sometimes frightening, yet backbends are essential to maintaining a healthy spine. Generally we function in a forward-facing, right-side-up world, relying heavily on our eyes for our sense of identity and direction. In Camel, we must learn to cultivate another way of seeing. The shape of the pose places the head and one’s vision behind the body. It is an alien experience; our view of the world is literally turned upside down.

Our normal context for relating to ourselves and the image that sustains us is lost. For the beginner, a common reaction to the fear that comes from this loss of context is to shorten or hold the breath.

In addition, beginners often habitually contract the muscles of the buttocks and abdomen. The neck, if weak, becomes vulnerable as the shoulders grip for protection. When these reactions are present in the body, the movement in this pose does not respond well, especially if the student uses excessive muscular force. The pose feels out of balance, and the more we struggle, the less the pose responds. This only deepens the frustration, and we are likely to shut down or check out.

How to Practice Camel Pose

Basically there are two techniques for entering Camel Pose safely: dropping in from an upright kneeling position or lifting up from a seated position. Once you master these approaches in Camel Pose, a foundation has been laid for approaching the more advanced backbend Wheel Pose (Urdhva Dhanurasana) either by lifting up from the floor or by dropping back from a standing position.

Dropping In

I recommend dropping in from the kneeling position in Camel for your first attempt if your lower back or knees are sensitive. This approach also works with gravity to help you avoid the natural tendencies of the beginner to overdo muscular effort. Begin by kneeling on your mat with your torso upright and the thighs perpendicular to the floor. Place your legs hip-width apart, with the tops of the feet flat on the floor and your arms at your sides. If your lower back is weak, place your hands on your buttocks to give more support to the lumbar spine as you enter the pose. Let your shoulders hang from the sides of your neck and drop your collarbones away from your ears. Initially keep your head upright, with your chin drawn slightly in toward the center of the throat. As you inhale, feel the fullness of your breath feeding the back, rather than the chest.

With each exhalation, let the weight of your chest and abdominal organs sink, as you keep the spine engaged upward from the back of the skull. Visualize the energy of the pose looping down along the front of the body (from the chest down through the hips to the shinbones on the floor) and up along the back of the body (through the spine to the crown of the head). Slowly take your head back; keep the throat soft and the shoulders down and slightly forward, with the shoulder blades broad. Avoid hardening the buttocks or the abdomen. Keep the top of the hips pressing firmly down into the knees, and as you bend the spine backward, let your arms hang from your shoulders with your fingers reaching back to touch the heels.

If the stress is excessive in your lower back, inhale back to an upright position, and after resting for a moment, try the pose again. Once your hands reach your feet, maintain the downward pressure from the top of the hip bones pressing into the knees, continue releasing the chest and abdomen down, and feel the lift from the floor into the thoracic spine.

The head should hang freely, with the neck supported by the width of the trapezius muscle along the top of the shoulders. The breath should remain slow and rhythmic, and with each exhalation, the release of the frontal body will propel the lift in the back body. After three or four cycles of breath, inhale back to an upright position.

Lifting Up

Lifting up from the seated position can be more accessible when the neck is weak, but it tends to stress the legs and knees more intensely than the first approach, due to the fact that you are working against gravity. If your knees are weak, take care not to overstress them. And be patient—if your knees and groins are tight, you may not achieve full extension in the pose at first.

From an upright kneeling position, sit between your heels (use a block between your feet if necessary, with the palms of your hands placed on your heels, fingers pointing back. Slowly lean back, straightening your arms, taking your weight onto your hands, and lift your hips upward.

Press the shoulders forward, broaden the shoulder blades, and let the neck rest in the trapezius muscle as you take the head slowly back. As the hips lift upward and more weight is taken onto the lower legs, press the tops of the hip bones (ilia) down into the knees and lift the spine. Be careful to keep the abdomen and buttocks soft and the energy of the chest dropping.

Once you are in the pose, the release of the frontal body will propel the lift in the back body. After three or four cycles of breath, slowly lower your hips on an inhalation and return to the seated position. With Camel Pose, you begin to develop balance and strength in the spine, promoting flexibility in the shoulders and suppleness in the abdomen. By relying less on outer sight for your sense of identity and position in the world, you can cultivate an inner vision that expands into your more authentic, intuitive self.