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Chaturanga Dandasana (Sanskrit:चतुरङ्ग दण्डासन;IAST:Caturaṅga Daṇḍāsana) orFour-Limbed Staff pose,^[1] also known asLow Plank, is anasana in modernyoga as exercise and in some forms ofSurya Namaskar (Salute to the Sun), in which a straight body parallel to the ground is supported by the toes and palms, with elbows at a right angle along the body. The variationKumbhakasana,Phalakasana, orHigh Plank has the arms straight.

The name comes from theSanskrit:चतुर्IAST:catur, "four";अङ्गaṅga, "limb";दण्डdaṇḍa, "staff"; andआसन;āsana, "posture" or "seat".^[2]

The pose was unknown inhatha yoga until the 20th centuryLight on Yoga, but it appears in the 1896Vyayama Dipika, a manual ofgymnastics, as part of the "very old" sequence ofdanda exercises. The historian of yogaNorman Sjoman suggests that it is one of the poses adopted intoyoga as exercise in Mysore byKrishnamacharya and forming the "primary foundation" for hisvinyasas with flowing movements between poses. The pose would then have been taken up by his pupilsPattabhi Jois andB. K. S. Iyengar.^[3]

In Chaturanga Dandasana the hands and feet are on the floor, supporting the body, which is parallel to and lowered toward, but not touching, the floor. It looks much like the low position in apush-up, but with the hands quite low (just above the pelvis), and the elbows kept in along the sides of the body.^[4][5][6]

InAshtanga (vinyasa) yoga, Chaturanga Daṇḍasana is part of theSurya Namaskar (Salute to the Sun) asana sequence, performed on an exhalation. It is the fourth asana of Surya Namaskar A, and the fourth, eighth and twelfth asanas of Surya Namaskar B.^[7][8]

InIyengar Yoga, the posture is simply held for a period of time (for instance, 30 seconds) with continuous breathing.^[4]

Beginners can practise with the knees on the floor, or keeping the arms straight (in Kumbhakasana, also called Phalakasana or High Plank), before attempting the full pose. High Plank too is used in some forms of the Sun Salutation.^[9]

Purvottanasana, Reverse Plank, or Upward Plank, has the back straight but the front of the body facing upwards, the arms outstretched down to the floor, the fingers pointing towards the feet.^[10]

Another variation on Phalakasana, Forearm Plank, has the forearms on the floor, and the body straight as in Low Plank. The hands may be clasped as inDolphin Pose, or the palms can be placed flat on the floor.^[11]

• 
  Variation with straight arms (Kumbhakasana, Phalakasana, or High Plank)
• 
  Purvottanasana, Reverse Plank
• 
  Forearm Plank, Phalakasana variant

• Dolphin Pose – a preparation for Pincha Mayurasana
• List of asanas
• Plank (exercise)
• Vasishtasana – side plank pose

• Iyengar, B. K. S. (2005).Illustrated Light On Yoga. HarperCollins.ISBN 978-81-7223-606-9.
• Kaminoff, Leslie (2007).Yoga Anatomy. The Breath Trust.ISBN 978-0-7360-6278-7.

• Step-by-Step Instruction

• Reclining asanas
• Surya Namaskar
• Core strength asanas

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