Salabhasana — Interlaced Hands: A Complete Guide to Locust Pose with the Arms Clasped

Quick Intro

Salabhasana — Interlaced Hands (Locust Pose — Arms Clasped Behind Back in English) is a yoga exercise performed from Salabhasana (Locust Pose), interlacing the fingers behind the back and lifting the clasped hands up and away from the hips while the chest and legs stay raised.

Equipment Needed

No equipment is needed to perform Salabhasana — Interlaced Hands. A yoga mat is optional and softens the floor under the belly and hips through the sustained lift.

Why Salabhasana — Interlaced Hands Matters

The muscles along the spine (erector spinae) continue driving the backbend, and the seat (gluteus maximus) and back of the thigh (hamstrings, biceps femoris) hold the legs lifted. The addition here is the upper body: the upper back (rhomboids, trapezius) and rear shoulder (deltoid, posterior) now have to draw the shoulder blades together and lift the clasped hands against gravity, a demand the base pose’s loose arms never asked for.

Flexibility is the main demand, with strength and endurance through the back body both a step above the base pose.

When to Do It

Salabhasana — Interlaced Hands works well once the base pose’s full lift, chest, arms and legs together, no longer needs active correction, since clasping the hands removes the arms as a lever and shifts work onto the upper back. Most sessions that already include a steady Locust Pose hold can add this once the shoulders feel warm.

• A steady, controlled Locust Pose hold that no longer wobbles. This version adds a shoulder-opening challenge on top of a lift that’s already solid.
• Tight shoulders that rarely get tested in a backbend context. Clasping the hands behind the back asks something of the shoulders few other prone poses do as directly.
• Building upper-back strength alongside the posterior chain the base pose already trains. The rhomboids and trapezius do noticeably more work here.

For most people who already handle the base lift comfortably, this is the next layer, and it exists to add shoulder and upper-back demand to an already-controlled backbend.

Getting Ready

A few rounds of the base Locust Pose lift, along with a couple of gentle shoulder rolls, warm both the spine and shoulders before combining them under load. Sitting cross-legged and clasping the hands behind the back without lifting yet previews the shoulder position this pose depends on.

Draw the shoulder blades together and down before lifting the clasped hands. Shrugging the shoulders toward the ears to gain height reduces the exact rhomboid engagement this variation targets.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. The base. Lie face down, legs together and extended, arms resting at the sides.

2. The lift. Inhale and lift the chest and legs together, as in the base pose.

3. The clasp. Interlace the fingers behind the back.

4. The raise. Draw the shoulder blades together and lift the clasped hands up and away from the hips.

5. The release. Lower the hands, then the chest and legs, back down together with control.

How Many, How Often

Salabhasana — Interlaced Hands is dosed by breath count, since the sustained muscular effort of the lift, now including the shoulders, is what the hold is training.

Drawing the shoulder blades together matters more here than how high the hands lift away from the hips, since shrugging for height trades away the exact muscles this variation exists to train.

Modifications and Variations

Salabhasana — Interlaced Hands sits at the more demanding end of its own progression, with a clear easier step below it and no harder step beyond it.

For an easier entry point, Salabhasana keeps the arms at the sides or extended forward, without the clasp, removing the added shoulder demand.

Progression path: Ardha Salabhasana → Salabhasana → Salabhasana — Interlaced Hands

Build a steady, controlled hold of the base pose before adding the clasp, since the shoulders take on extra load once the arms join the lift.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Shrugging the shoulders toward the ears to gain height. This trades the rhomboid and trapezius engagement this variation is built around for a taller-looking but less effective lift. Drawing the shoulder blades down and together first is the fix.

Letting the chest or legs drop as the arms take on the extra demand. The added shoulder work sometimes pulls attention away from the base lift. Keeping the chest and legs just as lifted as in the base pose is worth checking throughout.

Gripping the hands too tightly instead of keeping the arms active. A white-knuckle grip adds tension without adding to the lift. A firm but relaxed clasp keeps the effort in the shoulders, where it belongs.

Holding the breath during the combined effort. The added shoulder demand on top of the base lift tempts bracing. A steady breath through the nose sustains the hold longer than tensing does.

After Your Set

Sitting back into a wide-kneed child’s pose, this time reaching the clasped hands forward, releases the shoulders that just did the extra work. A few slow shoulder rolls in each direction ease the upper back after the sustained clasp.

Going Deeper

This version is usually trained once the base Locust Pose lift feels controlled, adding shoulder and upper-back demand to an already-solid backbend. The most common way it stalls isn’t a lack of shoulder flexibility, but shrugging toward the ears to chase a higher hand lift instead of drawing the shoulder blades together first, which quietly trades away the strengthening effect this variation is built to provide. Lifting from the shoulder blades drawing in, every single time, is what makes the hand lift come naturally higher later.

Someone comfortable with the base pose generally manages a steady 3-breath clasped hold within the first two to three weeks, and reaches a controlled 6-breath hold somewhere in the six to nine week range.

How to Know You’re Improving

1. A 3-breath clasped hold with the shoulder blades staying drawn together
2. A chest and leg lift that stays just as high as in the base pose
3. A comfortable 6-breath hold with the hands lifting noticeably away from the hips
4. Shoulders that stay drawn down, without creeping toward the ears

Shoulder blades drawing together, not how high the hands lift, is what progress looks like here.

Muscles Worked

• Erector Spinae (the muscles running along the length of the spine, holding the lift while the arms add their own pull)
• Gluteus Maximus (the largest glute muscle, keeping both legs raised off the mat)
• Biceps Femoris (a muscle at the back of the thigh, working alongside the glutes to hold the legs up)
• Posterior Deltoid (the back of the shoulder cap, lifting the clasped hands away from the hips)
• Rhomboids (the muscles between the shoulder blades, squeezing the blades together behind the clasp)
• Trapezius (the broad muscle spanning the upper back and neck, holding the chest high through the hold)

FAQ

Why does my upper back feel more fatigued in this version than in the base pose? Clasping the hands adds direct demand on the rhomboids and trapezius that the base pose’s loose arms never asked for. That fatigue is a normal sign those muscles are being trained.

Is it okay if my hands barely lift away from my hips at first? Yes, a small lift with the shoulder blades drawn together trains the right muscles more than a higher lift achieved by shrugging. Height comes later.

Should I keep my legs together or is a little separation okay? Keeping the legs together preserves the full strengthening effect through the inner thighs and glutes established in the base pose, and that still matters here.

My shoulders are quite tight. Is this pose still appropriate for me? Building a comfortable clasp seated upright first, away from the backbend, is a reasonable way to check shoulder readiness before adding the lift.

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Next in this series: Salabhasana, the base pose this shoulder-opening progression builds from.