Locust Pose Defined

What Is Locust Pose?

Salabhasana comes from salabha, meaning locust or grasshopper. The pose resembles a locust at rest, with limbs lifted behind and body extended. It's one of the fundamental prone backbends—appearing simple but requiring significant back strength to hold.

Unlike Cobra or Upward Dog, which use arm strength to lift the chest, Locust relies entirely on the back muscles. The arms extend behind rather than pressing into the floor. This makes it an excellent diagnostic: if Cobra feels easy but Locust is difficult, your back extensors need strengthening.

The pose is often taught as preparation for deeper backbends like Bow and Wheel. The back strength developed in Locust protects the spine as backbends intensify.

How to Practice

1. Start prone — Lie face-down with arms alongside your body, palms facing down or up (palms up deepens the shoulder opening).
2. Rest your forehead — Let your forehead rest on the mat, keeping the back of the neck long.
3. Engage the legs — Press the tops of your feet into the floor. Engage your thighs and glutes.
4. Inhale and lift — On an inhale, lift your head, chest, arms, and legs off the floor simultaneously.
5. Reach back — Extend your arms actively behind you, fingers reaching toward your toes.
6. Keep legs together — Legs can be together or hip-width apart. Keep thighs lifted and active.
7. Lengthen, don't crunch — Reach the crown of your head forward and your tailbone back. Create length, not compression.
8. Hold and breathe — Stay for 3-5 breaths. The breath will be shallower—let it be.
9. Release — Exhale and lower everything slowly. Rest with one cheek on the mat, then repeat.

Variations

Half Locust

Lift only the legs while keeping chest down, or lift only the chest while keeping legs down. This breaks the pose into more accessible components while building specific strength.

Arms Extended Forward

Reach arms forward alongside your ears (Superman pose). This shifts the balance point and challenges the upper back differently.

Clasped Hands

Interlace your fingers behind your back and lift with hands clasped, reaching knuckles toward your feet. This adds a shoulder stretch and deepens the chest opening.

Dynamic Locust

Flow with breath—inhale to lift, exhale to lower—for 5-10 repetitions. This builds endurance and warms the back for deeper work.

Benefits

• Back strength — Builds the erector spinae and deep back muscles
• Glute and hamstring strength — Engages the posterior chain
• Improved posture — Strengthens muscles that counteract forward slumping
• Chest opening — Stretches the front body while strengthening the back
• Shoulder mobility — Opens the front of the shoulders
• Prepares for deeper backbends — Builds the strength needed for Bow, Wheel, and more

Common Misalignments

Crunching the Neck

Keep the back of your neck long. Look down at the floor rather than cranking your head up. The lift comes from the upper back, not neck hyperextension.

Compressing the Lower Back

If you feel pinching in the lumbar spine, you're lifting too high or not engaging properly. Lengthen your tailbone toward your heels and engage your lower belly slightly.

Splaying the Legs

Keep legs together or parallel. The tendency is to let them fall apart, which decreases the work and can strain the sacrum.