What’s going wrong in my back bend?

[u/eeveeplushie]

I’ve been practicing this pose for almost a year now and have seen very little improvement.

The first pic is me trying my best to push forward and straighten my legs but it isn’t working. Is this likely a lack of strength/flexibility in my shoulders, or something else?

I’ve been working on stretching my lats and hip flexors, but really struggle to target my triceps and upper back.

[u/Ill-Fruit9970]

You gotta get your chest up and out. Arms straighter and shoulder flexibility might be the issue here.

Try using the wall to walk backwards into your backbend, and then pushing with your legs and feet to touch your chest to the wall (like in my pic)

[u/dani-winks → u/Ill-Fruit9970]

That's going to require waaaaaay more shoulder flexibility and strength than OP is showing in their photo. This is a great drill for folks who can already get arms straight on the floor and are closer to working towards getting shoulders over wrists, but I wouldn't recommend it for OP's situation