Staff Pose (Dandasana)

Pronunciation and meaning

Dandasana: dun-DAHS-uh-nuh. Danda sounds like done-da, and the stress falls on DAHS.

Danda means staff or stick and asana means posture. You sit with the legs straight out in front and the spine upright, as straight and steady as a walking staff. It is the starting point for most seated poses.

How to do Staff Pose

1. Sit on the mat with your legs straight out in front of you, feet together or hip-width apart.
2. Reach under each buttock and move the flesh back a little so you sit on the front of your sitting bones rather than rolling back.
3. Place your hands on the floor beside your hips, fingers pointing toward your feet, and press down to lift the chest.
4. Flex your feet so the toes point up, press the backs of the legs gently toward the floor, and keep a soft bend in the knees if the hamstrings pull.
5. Stack the shoulders over the hips, relax the shoulders away from the ears, and keep the chin level.
6. Stay for five to ten breaths, breathing into the back of the ribs, then move into your next seated pose.

Make it easier

• Sit on a folded blanket or a block so the pelvis can tip forward and the lower back does not round.
• Bend your knees and rest them on a rolled blanket if the backs of the legs feel strained.
• Sit with your back against a wall to feel what an upright spine is like.

Pregnancy and after birth

Pregnancy. Adapt. Take the legs wider apart to make room for the belly, and sit on a blanket. Check with your OB or midwife.

After birth. Adapt. Once your doctor or midwife has cleared you, sit on a blanket and lean lightly on the hands. It is a gentle way to notice posture after long hours of feeding and carrying.

Expecting? Joahnna Lee Yoga has notes on adapting each trimester.

Common mistakes

• Slumping back onto the tailbone, which rounds the lower back.
• Locking the knees hard and hyperextending them.
• Lifting the shoulders up toward the ears while pressing the hands down.

Staff Pose looks like sitting still, but it is a working posture. It is the seated version of Mountain Pose, and most seated folds, twists and the Ashtanga seated series begin from it.

It suits everyone, and it is a clear way to find out how tight the backs of the legs are. If the lower back rounds, a blanket under the hips changes the whole pose.

What does staff pose prepare you for?

It sets up Seated Forward Bend, where the same long spine folds over the legs, and Head to Knee Pose, which folds over one leg at a time, and it is the base for Boat Pose, the seated core balance. The hamstring stretches routine is a good partner if sitting with straight legs feels hard.

How does staff pose show up in a class?

In a Hatha or Vinyasa class it is often the pose you return to between seated postures, a pause to sit tall and reset the breath before the next one.