Hollow Body Hold

Execution

1. Breathe all the way out and press the lower back down, then keep that pressure for the whole hold.
2. Lift your shoulder blades and your legs off the mat together so the body makes a shallow banana shape.
3. Take the legs as low as the lower back stays glued down, because lower legs mean a harder hold.
4. Hold for 15-30 seconds with short even breaths and your arms still beside your ears.
5. End the set the moment the lower back pops off the mat instead of grinding on.
6. If you are new, bend the knees or keep the arms by your sides, which is much easier and still the same idea.

Quick cues

• Low back glued to the mat.
• Lower legs, harder hold.
• Arms beside your ears.
• Back lifts, set over.
• Curve like the hull of a boat.

Common faults

• Fault: The lower back arching up into a big gap

  Fix: Raise the legs higher until the gap disappears, then lower them week by week.

• Fault: The chin jammed into the chest so the neck fails before the belly

  Fix: Keep a fist of space between chin and chest and look toward your feet.

• Fault: Holding on until you shake and the shape falls apart

  Fix: Set a 15-second timer and do 4 short sets instead of one long ragged set.

• Fault: Going to the full straight-arm straight-leg version in the first session

  Fix: Bend the knees and keep the arms at your sides, extending only when you can hold 30 seconds there.