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Boat pose is one of those yoga moves<\/a> that\u2019s as hard as it looks\u2026if not harder.<\/em> The exercise\u2014which involves balancing on your butt while you reach your arms forward and extend your legs, all while holding as still as possible\u2014is a serious core challenge. To do it correctly, you need to fire up essentially every muscle in your midsection, plus some in your legs, back, and arms too.<\/p>\n The level of strength needed to pull this off is pretty high, which is why mastering this move is no easy feat. But take the time to do it and you may see some pretty big payoffs, including decreased back pain, stronger hip flexors, and a priceless sense of empowerment.<\/p>\n To that end, we chatted with Candace Harding, PT, DPT<\/a>, a physical therapist and a registered yoga teacher in Arlington, to learn all you need to know about boat pose. From which muscles it works, to its awesome benefits, what makes it so damn hard, common form errors to avoid, and step-by-step instructions for doing it properly (plus a more beginner-friendly modification), here\u2019s your complete guide to boat pose.<\/p>\n People tend to think of boat pose as a core exercise<\/a>, Dr. Harding tells SELF. And they\u2019re not wrong: To get into the posture, you need to fire up your rectus abdominis (frontside abs), she explains. Then, once you\u2019re there, you need the strength of all<\/em> your abdominal muscles to hold steady, including the obliques<\/a> (muscles on the sides of your torso) and transverse abdominis<\/a> (deep core muscle that wraps around your spine and sides), Dr. Harding says.<\/p>\n But there are more muscles at work too. Your hip flexors\u2014specifically the psoas major and iliacus (which bring your thighs closer to your body)\u2014are firing to keep your legs hoisted and hold your torso in that upright position, Dr. Harding says. At the same time, players in your back\u2014including the erector spinae (muscles that help arch your spine) and lats (biggest back muscle)\u2014are pitching in to help you maintain an upright posture through your spine, she adds. And while it\u2019s definitely not<\/em> an arms exercise, those muscles are peeking into the party, too, since traditional boat pose has you holding them out straight in front of you, Dr. Harding says.<\/p>\n Given the intense core activation required to nail boat pose, it\u2019s no surprise this move is great for bolstering your midsection muscles. And that, in turn, can help alleviate back pain by fortifying the deep trunk muscles that support your spine. To maximize this benefit, think about subtly drawing your belly button in toward your back, Dr. Harding says. This will help activate more of your transverse abdominis, which stabilizes your back and can contribute to chronic pain there if it\u2019s not firing correctly.<\/p>\n Boat pose can also help with back pain<\/a> if you have weak hip flexors. Ideally, you want a balance between them and the opposing muscle group (your butt), but if your glutes<\/a> are way stronger, they can pull your back into a more rounded position, Dr. Harding explains. And that can trigger the aches. Enter boat pose: Since it\u2019s great for activating your hip flexors, it can bolster this muscle group so that it\u2019s more balanced with the glutes, potentially relieving related back pain.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A few caveats to all this. The first: Hip flexors that are too tight<\/em> can also contribute to back pain, since they can pull your pelvis forward, which puts your back into a more exaggerated arch, Dr. Harding explains. Similar to a back that\u2019s yanked into a rounded position, this can cause discomfort. With boat pose, you\u2019re holding your hip flexors in a shortened position, so if that muscle group is already too tight, then hanging out in boat pose is only contributing to the problem.<\/p>\n Beyond the back pain benefits, boat pose can hone your ability to breathe properly<\/a> while simultaneously engaging your core<\/a>. This is something a lot of people can struggle with, Dr. Harding says. But it\u2019s an important skill to have, since it allows you to keep a steady flow of oxygen coming in (which keeps your nervous system in a calm, happy state) while<\/em> bracing your core. This comes in handy in a lot of everyday-life scenarios where you want to fire up your abs but you also, uh, want to keep breathing\u2014like bending over to pick up a heavy object, for example.<\/p>\n Lastly, boat pose can imbue you with a pretty awesome sense of accomplishment, Dr. Harding says. \u201cDepending on how long you\u2019re staying there, it really is a challenge,\u201d she explains. And powering through that difficulty can leave you feeling strong and capable.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just you\u2014this pose is a doozy for a lot of people. One reason why? The challenge of breathing while your abs are braced, Dr. Harding says. \u201cWhenever we\u2019re focused really hard on something, we have a tendency to hold our breath,\u201d she explains. \u201cAlso, when we hold our breath, our muscles don\u2019t have as much oxygen to actually work.\u201d So the longer you hold your breath in boat pose, the harder (and harder) the move becomes.<\/p>\n Another reason it\u2019s so tough is that it demands a lot of strength from your spinal erectors, which help you hold a flat back in the posture. Unfortunately, a lot of people are weak in these muscles due to lots of time spent sitting with rounded posture. That habit, Dr. Harding explains, lengthens all your backside muscles and makes them harder to activate when you need them\u2014say, like in boat pose.<\/p>\n The good news: You can ease up the difficulty of boat pose with several modifications. The most common is bending one (or both) legs instead of holding them straight, Dr. Harding says. You can also place your hands behind your hips instead of reaching them out in front of you. With either of these tweaks, you\u2019re reducing the core challenge, which makes the posture less intense.<\/p>\n The most common boat pose error, according to Dr. Harding, is rounding your back instead of keeping a straight spine. This can happen when you don\u2019t engage the muscles on the backside of your body and instead just rely on your abs to do all the work. It can also occur if your abs aren\u2019t strong enough to hold your legs out straight, she explains. To correct it, think about lifting through your heart as you hold the posture; this cue can help straighten out your back. If that doesn\u2019t work? Modify the posture by bending your knees to return the strain on your abs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Another common mistake is not lifting your legs high enough. In this scenario, your body would look more like an L-shape than a V-shape. People often do this because they don\u2019t have the hip flexor strength to hoist their legs up high enough, Dr. Harding explains, but it\u2019s something you want to avoid since holding the legs too close to the ground can risk straining your hip flexors. If this is you, modify by bending both your legs.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s your breath\u2014tempting as it may be, do not<\/em> hold it. Not only does this limit oxygen supply to your muscles, ultimately making the move feel even harder (like we mentioned), but it also cuts out some of the awesome core activation, Dr. Harding explains. So remind yourself to breathe. If that doesn\u2019t work, think about relaxing your face and neck, as this can get oxygen flowing. Still having trouble inhaling and exhaling? Try one of the modifications mentioned above. If your body\u2019s working too<\/em> hard, then you\u2019re not going to be able to relax and breathe, Dr. Harding explains, in which case lowering the intensity of boat pose may be just the ticket.<\/p>\n Awesome as it may be, boat pose isn\u2019t for everyone. If you\u2019re pregnant and at the point where your belly is jutting into the area where your legs would normally be in this posture, then you should skip it, Dr. Harding says. People with osteoporosis or osteopenia (two conditions that cause bone weakness) should be careful with it, since they\u2019re at increased risk of compression fracture when flexing their spine. Form is extra crucial there: That\u2019s why she recommends folks in that category do boat pose with a mirror positioned to the side, so they can turn their head periodically to check that their spine is staying straight (instead of rounding it forward, which would be problematic).<\/p>\n If you have back pain related to stiff hip flexors, Dr. Harding suggests steering clear of this posture\u2014at least for now. It may be something that\u2019s helpful down the road, \u201cbut it would not be an early intervention,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n Along those lines, if your back pain feels worse<\/em> after boat pose, stop doing it and get checked out by a doctor or physical therapist. Also see a professional if your pain has been lingering for two weeks and it hasn\u2019t changed despite doing boat pose or any other core exercises, Dr. Harding advises.<\/p>\n Katie Thompson<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n Katie Thompson<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n Demoing the moves above is Natalia Perez-Segnini,<\/strong><\/a> a yoga teacher, certified functional and therapeutic breathwork practitioner, and strength and conditioning coach.<\/em><\/p>\n Related:<\/strong><\/p>\nWhat muscles does boat pose work?<\/h2>\n
What are the benefits of boat pose?<\/h2>\n
\nWhat makes boat pose so hard?<\/h2>\n
What are some form mistakes to keep in mind?<\/h2>\n
\nWho shouldn\u2019t do boat pose?<\/h2>\n
How to do boat pose:<\/h2>\n
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How to do modified boat pose:<\/h2>\n
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