10
CHAPTER
PRONE POSES
P
rone means lying in a facedown position. This is a position that everyone is able to
maintain at birth, but adults often fi nd uncomfortable. Sometimes the discomfort
is a result of restricted movement in the neck and upper back that makes it hard to turn
the head to the side. This position can also feel suffocating because the movement of the
abdomen is inhibited by the weight of the body, and the back of the body has to be more
mobile to breathe comfortably.
For some people this position has even more of a connotation of surrender than kneel-
ing. In many religious traditions, placing the entire front surface of the body on the fl oor
is known as a full prostration.
For others this position feels safer than being supine, because the vulnerable front body
and organs are more protected.
From a prone position the easiest movement is extension in the spine and limbs, which
uses the posterior musculature of the body. For this reason many back strengthening exer-
cises begin in this position. Although the center of gravity in this position is close to the
fl oor, poses that evolve from here are mostly brhmana (see page 20) because of the effort
needed to lift the body away from the fl oor.