Ground the tops of your feet strongly into the floor and roll your inner thighs upward as you firm your outer ankles in and lift your frontal hip points up toward your navel. Without touching your thighs or pelvis to the floor lower your pelvis and broaden and lift your chest to come right into upward facing dog. Protect Your Back In Upward Facing Dog Upward Facing Dog Iyengar Yoga Yoga Anatomy OORD-vah MOO-kah shvon-AHS-anna urdhva mukha face upward urdhva upward mukha face svana dog. Upward Facing Dog Anatomy . To accomplish this the thoracic region needs encouragement to bend backwards while the more mobile lumbar and cervical regions need to be stabilized. Upward facing dog is a yoga pose most often linked to a form of sun salutes that involve a flowing transition from chaturanga dandasana to upward facing dog before moving backwards into downward facing dog. Improve posture by stretching anterior spine and strengthening posterior spine. Modified Downward Facing dog at