Matsyasana (Fish Pose): How to Do It Step by Step

Matsyasana (Fish Pose) is a supine backbend: you lie on your back, lift your chest high, and let the top of your head rest lightly on the floor while the forearms carry the weight. It opens the front of the chest and the throat, and it is the classic counterpose after Salamba Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand). Traditionally the legs are in Lotus, but most classes today teach it with the legs straight.

Pose type: supine backbend, chest opener. Level: beginner with straight legs, intermediate to advanced in Lotus. Props: none needed, two blocks or a bolster for the supported version.

What Matsyasana means

Matsya is Sanskrit for fish and asana means seat or posture. In Hindu mythology Matsya is the first avatar of Vishnu. In the story a small fish asks King Manu for protection, keeps outgrowing every bowl and pond it is put in, and then warns him of a great flood. Manu builds a boat, ties it to the fish's horn, and is towed to safety. The shape of the pose, with the arched chest and the head tipped back, is often compared to a fish rising in the water.

Fish Pose is younger than many people think. It is not among the fifteen asanas of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. It appears in the Gheranda Samhita, usually dated to the 17th century, as a pose done in Lotus, lying back with the head held by the arms. The straight-leg version with the hands under the hips is a 20th-century teaching form, spread by Sivananda Yoga and by B.K.S. Iyengar's Light on Yoga.

How to do Matsyasana, step by step

This is the straight-leg version most classes teach. The Lotus version follows below.

1. Lie on your back with your legs straight and together. Press the backs of the thighs into the floor.
2. Lift your hips a little and slide your hands under your buttocks, palms down. Draw your elbows in toward your waist so the forearms lie along the sides of your body.
3. Press your forearms and elbows into the floor. On an inhale, lift your chest toward the ceiling. Draw the shoulder blades into your back, as if they were pushing the heart up.
4. Keep the chest high and let your head tip back until the crown touches the floor. Most of the weight stays on the forearms. The head only rests there.
5. Breathe slowly into the front of the ribs. Stay for 5-10 breaths, or 30 seconds to a minute.
6. To come out, press the forearms down, lift the head a few centimetres, tuck the chin and lower your back and head to the floor. Rest for a breath or two.

A simple test: you should be able to slide a finger under the back of your head without pain. If the head carries more than a light touch, lift the chest higher or lower the whole pose.

The traditional form, in Lotus

Sit in Padmasana (Lotus Pose), lean back onto your elbows, and lower yourself until the crown of the head is on the floor. Arch the chest, then take hold of the feet or the big toes. Iyengar teaches it this way. Only practise this version if you can already sit in Lotus without any pain in the knees.

Benefits of Fish Pose

Matsyasana is an extension of the upper back with the chest held open. What you can expect from it:

• Chest and shoulders: it stretches the pectoral muscles and the front of the shoulders, which get short from hours at a desk.
• Upper back: the muscles between the shoulder blades work to lift the chest, which builds strength for other backbends.
• Breathing: with the chest lifted, the ribs have room to expand, and many people feel they can breathe deeper in the pose.
• Front of the neck: the throat and the muscles at the front of the neck stretch as the head tips back.

In the Lotus version the hip flexors and the fronts of the thighs stretch as well. The old post claimed that Fish Pose stretches and stimulates the organs, and many sites say it regulates the thyroid. No study shows either. The pose opens the chest. That is enough reason to do it.

Who should skip or modify Fish Pose

The risky part of Matsyasana is the neck. When the crown of the head carries weight with the neck bent back, the load goes into the cervical spine.

• Skip the head-down version if you have a neck injury, a herniated disc in the neck, or feel dizziness or tingling in the arms when you tip the head back. Keep the chin toward the chest instead, or lie over blocks.
• Be careful with a sore lower back. Keep the lift in the upper back and the legs active, or choose the supported version.
• Choose the supported version if you have high or low blood pressure or migraines. These are listed as cautions in most yoga traditions. The evidence is thin, and the supported pose puts little strain on anything.
• Skip the Lotus version if your knees are not ready for Lotus. Straight legs give the same chest opening.

For more on practising without injury, read our 10 tips to avoid yoga injuries.

Common mistakes

• Too much weight on the head. The forearms hold you up. The crown only touches the floor.
• Turning the head while in the pose. Keep the head still. Come out first if you want to look around.
• Bending in the lower back. The arch should come from the upper back and the chest. Press the thighs down and draw the belly in lightly.
• Coming out head first. Lifting the head straight up from the crown strains the neck. Lift the chest a little, tuck the chin, then lower down.
• Shoulders creeping up to the ears. Draw them down the back before you lift the chest.

Preparatory poses

These open the chest and wake up the back muscles that lift you in Fish:

• Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose): a gentle backbend that teaches you to lift the chest with the back muscles.
• Salabhasana (Locust Pose): strengthens the upper back and the muscles between the shoulder blades.
• Dhanurasana (Bow Pose): opens the chest and the fronts of the shoulders.
• Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose): prepares the hips if you are working toward the Lotus version.
• Supta Virasana (Reclining Hero Pose): stretches the fronts of the thighs and the hip flexors.

Follow-up poses

In most classical sequences Fish Pose comes after Shoulderstand and Halasana (Plow Pose). Those poses flex the neck forward and Fish bends it the other way. In Sivananda Yoga the order is fixed: Shoulderstand, Plow, then Fish.

• Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose): another supine backbend, with the weight on the shoulders and feet.
• Ustrasana (Camel Pose): a deeper chest opener on the knees.
• Urdhva Dhanurasana (Wheel Pose): the full backbend, for when Fish and Bridge feel easy.
• Savasana (Corpse Pose): lie flat after the backbends and let the spine settle.

Matsyasana variations

• Supported Fish: place one block lengthwise under the shoulder blades and another under the head, or lie back over a bolster. The chest opens and the neck carries no weight. A good choice for beginners and for the evening.
• Bent knees: keep the feet on the floor, hip-width apart. Easier on the lower back.
• Padma Matsyasana (Fish in Lotus): the traditional form, with the legs in Lotus and the hands holding the feet.
• Arms raised: once the chest is lifted, reach the arms up over the chest with the palms together. The back muscles now hold the pose on their own. Only for a strong, healthy neck.
• Legs lifted (Uttana Padasana): from Fish, lift the straight legs to about 45 degrees and reach the arms parallel to them. Part of the Ashtanga finishing sequence.

Breathe through the nose the whole time. Ujjayi, the victorious breath, helps you keep the breath slow and even while the chest is open.

Lauren Matters' class Lean Back and Relax is 20 minutes of passive backbends on four blocks, the supported way to open the chest. For more supported poses, browse our restorative yoga classes.

Frequently asked questions

How do you do Matsyasana?

Lie on your back with straight legs and slide your hands under your hips, palms down. Press the forearms into the floor and lift your chest on an inhale. Let the crown of the head touch the floor lightly, with most of the weight on the forearms. Stay 5-10 breaths, then tuck the chin and lower down.

What are the benefits of Matsyasana?

Fish Pose stretches the chest, the fronts of the shoulders and the front of the neck, and it strengthens the upper back muscles that lift the chest. Many people find they can breathe deeper with the ribs lifted. Claims that it massages the organs or regulates the thyroid are not supported by research.

Who cannot do Matsyasana?

People with a neck injury or disc problems in the neck should skip the version with the head on the floor. Take the supported version on blocks or a bolster if you have high or low blood pressure, migraines or a sore lower back. Skip the Lotus version unless you can sit in Lotus without knee pain.

Why is Fish Pose done after Shoulderstand?

Shoulderstand and Plow bend the neck strongly forward and round the upper back. Fish Pose bends both the other way and opens the chest. In Sivananda Yoga and in the Ashtanga finishing sequence it follows them for that reason. Hold it for roughly half as long as the Shoulderstand.

Which pose is called the queen of yoga?

Salamba Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand) is traditionally called the queen of asanas, and Sirsasana (Headstand) the king. Matsyasana is not one of them, but it is the pose most teachers put right after the queen, as its counterpose.

How long should you hold Fish Pose?

Start with 5-10 slow breaths, about 30 seconds. With practice you can stay a minute or longer, as long as the neck feels at ease. The supported version on blocks can be held for several minutes.

Is Fish Pose good for beginners?

Yes, in the supported version or with the head kept off the floor. Beginners should learn to lift the chest with the forearms before letting the head rest on the floor. Leave the Lotus version for later.