How to do Shoulderstand
What’s Inside?
What is Shoulderstand
How to Do Shoulderstand
Benefits of Doing Shoulderstand
Situations You Should Avoid Doing Shoulderstand
Useful Tips for Your Practice
Just like Headstand is known as the king of yoga poses, Shoulderstand is known as the queen of yoga poses and is highly beneficial for health. This article details all you need to know about this challenging yet relaxing inversion.
What is Shoulderstand
Shoulderstand or Sarvangasana is an advanced yoga posture. The Sanskrit word Sarvangasana is a culmination of three words, ‘Sarva’ which means entire, ‘Anga’ meaning body part, and finally ‘asana’ means pose. As the name denotes ‘Sarvangasana’ is an ‘all body parts pose’ that caters entire body and mind as well. Sarvangasana is more fully Salamba Sarvangasana, with salamba meaning supported. In Shoulderstand, the entire body of yours should be supported by your upper arms and shoulders.
How to do Shoulderstand
• The Shoulderstand works on all the parts of the body but the primary focus is on the thyroid gland.
• You should lie on your back with your feet together, and your arms next to you.
• Lift your legs to 90 degrees with your head and neck lying flat on the floor. Breathe in while doing this.
• You should raise your hips toward the ceiling as you place your hands on your hips and walk your hands up toward your shoulder blades.
• Keep your back supported with your hands and make sure that your feet end up straight above your head. Lift your hips up as high as you can, bringing your chest toward your chin. Hold the pose for 60 seconds.
• Breathe deeply in this position. Concentrate on the throat area. You can hold this position for 30 seconds at first and then slowly increase the time to three minutes. Students should attempt to straighten their backs as much as possible. Bring the hands a little closer to the shoulders and the elbows a little closer together, if necessary.
There are chances for modifying the Shoulderstand pose in a few different ways to suit your level of fitness and needs.
Coming out of the pose: To come out of the pose, drop your legs slightly toward your head and place your hands on the floor. While keeping your head on the floor, use your hands as breaks and slowly roll down. Rest there for some time before sitting up, or roll over to one side to come up.
Benefits of Doing Shoulderstand
After regular practice of the Shoulderstand, one can release the tension and stress in and shoulder area. Practicing Shoulderstand can be a calming and relaxing experience and it even helps you to sleep better.
• Shoulderstand stimulates the Throat Chakra which results in the revitalization of your thyroid and parathyroid glands, improving their overall functioning and therefore balancing metabolism, digestion, and insulin Production.
• Lowers blood pressure, giving your heart a rest and reducing strain on your heart.
• Activates your parasympathetic nervous system, ensuring the proper function of all internal processes such as digestion and elimination as well as hormonal balance.
• Builds strength and flexibility as your entire core is used in the practice ( strength in the upper body, back, and legs)
• Encourages deep abdominal breathing (because the use of the top portion of the lungs is limited), it increases the effectiveness of each breath.
• It helps with reducing body fat, especially in areas like tummy, buttocks, and thighs
• Provides a gentle massage to the heart and lung region.
• Improves digestion and relieves constipation
• Increases energy levels and confidence
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Situations You Should Avoid Doing Shoulderstand
Shoulderstand poses include significant hazards, therefore it's critical to set up the position appropriately for the safest experience possible. Here is the list of people and situations prohibited from doing Salamba Sarvangasana.
• Hypertension and people with high blood pressure
• Cardiovascular and heart-related issues
• People suffering from neck and shoulder issues
• Arthritis or osteoporosis
• Brain injuries
• Severe back and spinal issues
• Acute migraine or headache
• Eye issues, such as a detached retina or glaucoma
• Recent surgery or inflammation in your head region (for example ears, eyes, nose)
• Asthma or other breathing disorders (Hold only for short durations. Skip all together if it causes too much discomfort, nausea, or shortness of breath.)
Read our blog post on yoga for strength and flexibility:
Useful Tips for Your Practice
People practicing inversion asanas like Shoulderstand should be aware of the various health risks and injuries associated with it. Check out these safety tips before engaging yourself in this pose.
1. You can use folded blankets to prevent your neck from being forced into an extremely flexed position.
2. While practicing Shoulderstand, if you feel any pain you should immediately stop the movement and come out of the pose.
3. You should be careful that you run the risk of putting too much weight on your neck or spine if you can't get your arms far enough un-derneath you.
4. Keep your core engaged during the entire pose and lift your hips fully. Proper distribution of your weight is very crucial in the asana. You should fully straighten your body, otherwise, you will end up giving more pressure on your neck and lower back.
5. During neck flexion, when your neck is moved as closely as your chin, proper neck support is needed, use of blankets below your shoulders helps to maintain the natural curve of the neck.
Conclusion
Shoulderstand is a relaxing pose with many benefits. But since it is an advanced asana, which demands at least an intermediate level of proficiency in yoga practice, it is always advisable to practice under the supervision of a teacher.