Prone lying means lying face down and letting your whole body relax. Your lower back rests in a gentle natural curve while you breathe calmly. It is often the first position in lower back programs built around backward bending, before moving on to exercises such as propping up on your elbows.

How to do the prone lying

Lie face down on a firm bed, a treatment table or a mat on the floor, with your legs straight.
Put a small pillow or rolled towel under your lower shins, as in the video, so the fronts of your ankles are not pressed hard into the surface.
Rest your arms by your sides. If that is uncomfortable, fold them and rest your forehead on your hands or a small cushion.
Turn your head to whichever side is comfortable, and let your toes fall slightly outward.
Let everything go heavy, from your buttocks and legs to your shoulders. Breathe slowly and naturally.
When your time is up, roll onto your side and push yourself up with your arms rather than getting up in one quick movement.

What you should feel

A heavy, relaxed feeling. Your back may feel a little stiff at first, and that often eases as you settle.

Common mistakes

Keeping your buttocks or back muscles tight. The aim is to let go completely.
Staying with your head turned hard to one side when your neck is stiff. Switch sides, or rest your forehead on your hands.
Jumping straight up from face down at the end.

How often

Many programs use 2 to 5 minutes at a time, a few times a day. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Pain spreads out into your buttock or down a leg, or numbness or tingling comes on.
Your back pain gets steadily worse the longer you lie there.
Lying face down makes it harder to breathe comfortably.

From the clinic

If lying flat is uncomfortable at first, a pillow under your stomach can make it easier to settle. Your physio may take the pillow away later as the position gets easier. Once prone lying is comfortable, many programs move on to resting on your forearms, then to the cobra stretch. The prone back extension starts from this same position and adds a lift of the head and chest.

Check with your physio before lying face down if you are pregnant, have had recent stomach or spine surgery, or have a heart or lung condition that makes lying flat on your front hard. The same applies with narrowing of the spinal canal (spinal stenosis), where some people find lying flat on the front uncomfortable.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-25.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Prone lying