This question is not just about downward dog yoga posture. The enquiry can be expanded to question the practice of any pose.
Maybe we can ask what the purpose of any given pose might be.
For you. Not the general purpose. The general purported purpose you can look up in many available yoga books...

Upward facing dog was amongst the first yoga postures we practiced when I began taking yoga classes many years ago. With it came the spinal extension, the compressive feeling in the lower back and the instruction to tilt the head back and look up.

Over the years I learned this pose supposedly has...

Be careful with sharp knives. A sharp knife can injure you more easily.

Who remembers being told this when growing up? Or maybe you still hear it now?

For workplace safety, based on these cautions, wouldn’t it be advisable for cooks and chefs to have blunt knives? That would ensure more...

Any yoga posture is an adjustment of our posture. From a more generalized perspective that is.
The question if adjustments make your practice better or worse, we’ll leave for a different discussion.
Think of yourself standing somewhere, in line to get a beverage maybe. Would you be like a...

Balance is a two-way street.

We are coping with balance quite well so far. We are walking, running, and  standing for most of our lives. Keep in mind though, you practised this for years when you grew up as a little kid.

Further challenges we encounter in later life require physical and...

The movement we think we are doing, how we imagine our posture looks like, and the reality are often quite different.
This disconnect between perception and reality is based on the integration of specific nerve receptor information in our body.

Watch the video to learn how you can train these...

Our collarbones are easily visible structures on the front of the the body.

Their position and instructions on where and how they are supposed to be held vary.

In this video we take a look at the influences on collarbone positions to give you an informed perspective on how to hold and...

Tightness in the calves can be successfully addressed with fascia rolling.

Watch this video to learn the anatomical and physiological background for addressing the calves with fascia rolling.

Understand three types of forces and and the three modes in which fascia rolling can be applied best...

Do you still remember your first yoga class?  The challenges to your mobility, your balance, your strength? Don't you wish it could have been easier?

When I first went to yoga classes, I was so disappointed with myself. I thought I was fit and capable. I was running, cycling, surfing and...

As it turns out, not very much.
Alignment can look good.
Sometimes it makes postures and movements easier.
But what get’s us to a certain alignment?
It’s the actions and engagements of muscles.
Maybe let’s focus on that. Engagement is important.

Let’s take a step back to...

Oslo Yoga, www.osloyoga.no  hosted a panel discussion on yoga anatomy as part of their international yoga festival www.yogafestivalen.no on January 4, 2021.
On the panel were:

Mark Stephens www.markstephensyoga.com

Anna Kristina Kavli www.iyoga.no,

and me, Chris Kummer ...

Modern hips.

Modern hips are hips used to sitting on chairs. Or simply sitting a lot.

How many people have told you already that sitting too much can make your hip area tight? This tension can include the hip ligaments, the hip-flexor muscles and a lot of  other associated muscles and fascia...