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how to warm up and prepare the spine for yoga backbends

Do you enjoy practicing or teaching big backbends in yoga—like wheel pose (urdhva dhanurasana), bow pose (dhanurasana), or dancer pose (natarajasana)?

If so, you probably know that preparing the body beforehand with some targeted mobility work can make a world of difference. These preparatory movements help us warm up for backbends and progressively open up key areas like the spine, shoulders, and hips. Mobilizing these integral areas sets the stage for more spacious and easeful backbends later in your practice.

Even though backbends are all about spinal extension, I’ve found that moving the spine in other directions – like rotation, lateral flexion (side bending), and even flexion (rounding) – can make our backbends feel more connected, supported, and fluid. It might sound counterintuitive, but exploring all ranges of motion of the spine – not just extension – can enhance our backbends in significant ways!

With that in mind, here are 3 spine mobility ideas to prepare for backbends—designed to warm us up and move our spine in all the ways!

a reclined twist variation that's great for preparing for backbends

1) Reclined “Palm-to-Palm” Twist (prep for backbends)

This might just be my all-time favorite variation of a reclined twist!

In a traditional reclined twist, we typically come into our pose and hold it statically for a period of time. But this “palm-to-palm” twist variation takes a different approach by adding a dynamic movement element.

Another element that makes this variation so unique is how the twist is initiated. In a classic reclined twist, spinal rotation starts from the lower half of the spine, driven by the legs crossing the body to one side. But in the “palm-to-palm” twist, we flip the script: the rotation begins in the upper half of the spine while the lower half stays neutral (no rotation).

Here, the arm, shoulder, and rib cage actively move in and out of the twist – a dynamic movement that creates a new and different experience in a reclined twist.

The key in this twist is to think, “I'm going to reach one palm toward my other palm.” That simple instruction will naturally lead us to actively rotate our spine, with some light engagement of our obliques (rotational core muscles) coming along for the ride.

a dynamic side bend that helps prep the spine for yoga's backbends

2) Standing Dynamic Side Bend (yoga backbend prep)

This is a great way to actively mobilize our spine in the direction of lateral flexion (side bending).

We place one hand behind our head and the other arm by our side. Once again, the instruction is simple. Just think, “I'm going to slide my hand down my leg.”

And voilà! You will magically laterally flex your spine, engaging your obliques and warming up your core for backbends.

As you arc your spine down toward one side, try grounding through your opposite-side leg and foot as a counterbalance for the movement.

a down dog to plank move that preps the spine for yoga backbends

3) Down Dog Waves (prep for backbends)

In this move, we take the common transition of plank-to-down dog and layer on an extra emphasis of spinal mobility!

The usual strategy we use for shifting forward to plank and back again primarily involves movement at only our shoulders and hips. But in the down dog wave, we add on focused and intentional spinal articulation.

We first rise up onto the balls of our feet and posteriorly tilt our pelvis (a.k.a. tuck our tailbone under). Then we attempt to roll our way through our spine in a wave-like manner. We articulate through each vertebra and wake up new connections to the movement of our spine!

This can be a great way to tap into the power of active spinal flexion to help enhance and support backbends later in our practice.