Recently I had a little bit of an epiphany. My brain doesn’t work the “typical” way. While I personally like watching short informative videos (usually on 1.5 speed) when creating content, especially tutorials, I want to spill out EVERYTHING about the subject. Time to reign in it, with shorter and more niched content. So today we’re discussing reverse purvottanasana for beginners. Just the basics modifications and progression variations.
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Purvottanasana for Beginners Modification
So before even thinking about doing your full reverse plank try this simple and quick test. Just to check your wrist, arm, shoulder and core strength. Come to seated, knees bent, and feet on the floor about hip distance apart. Place your arms comfortably behind you. Pushing down with the hands and feet can you lift the pelvis up level with the knees and shoulders?

Things to check here:
- Are your shoulders pulling back?
- Is your chest open or sinking?
- How do your wrists/shoulders feel?
- Where is your bum? Sinking? Or level with knees/shoulders?
- How long can you hold the pose?
If you can do this purvottanasana for beginners modification then you can start to work on progressions to make it more challenging. If this pose is already difficult, there are ways to provide ease using props. But that’s another post for another day!
More Variations for pose progression
So what to do if both knees bent seems easy enough, but you don’t feel ready for both legs straight? Simple! Just extend one leg. This also has the upside that you have to do both legs extended so you have to repeat it giving you a little more core work!

Mastered that but still don’t feel ready for both legs straight? Change the position of the bent leg! Easies is with the foot level with the opposite knee (or thigh). But work on gradually lengthening the leg by repositioning the foot level with the shin, and then the ankle.

Again work on BOTH sides. Gradually increasing the time spent in the pose. Until, you finally feel ready to explore the variation with both legs straight.

Remember a strong core is important, and hopefully these tips help you on that journey! If you have questions, just reach out in the comments or email me
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Questions
- Can you do purvottanasana?
- Which modification is more your level?
- Do you prefer shorter videos/posts?
Khushboo
This pose is new for me . I will like to try it too. Yoga poses are so good for overall body
Clarice
Thank you for sharing the tip! I find this a bit challenging so I truly appreciate the modification. This totally makes sense.
Amalia
Thank you so much for these tips, once a week I’m doing yoga all on my own and this will help me try new poses.
Lyosha
it is one of my favorite poses to do. It feels great on my body and I often add it to my personal practice. I find it an easy pose for my body but as it makes me feel light and happy I do it very often
Lori Bosworth
I like how you have provided the modification to test our wrist, arm and shoulder strength because I’m not sure if I have the strength yet to do the full pose!
Shar
It’s so important to know the dos and don’ts for a proper yoga posture. When practising at home on your own, as a beginner, going wrong can be an issue.
Michael
What a timely post since my back and shoulders are kind of aching from playing badminton a lot!