Saturday, November 20, 2010

The Queen of Poses

In yoga we say that the mother and queen of all poses is the shoulderstand.  Like with our mothers there are many reasons to appreciate it.  Done correctly the shoulderstand stimulates and rejuvenates your entire body. As an inversion it increases the blood circulation in the neck, chest, and back and due to the positioning of the neck against the chest it also stimultates the thyroid and parathyroid glands which in turn helps to regulate the hormones and weight glands. We call it the queen of poses (as opposed to the King which we reserve for Headstand) because shoulderstand helps to develop the feminine qualities of patience and emotional stability.  It cools or neutralizes the body and sedates the nervous system while releasing the muscles of the neck and shoulders.  The importance of this pose for someone with an advanced or intermediate yogi practice can not be overstated but for the beginner we must take extreme care.  Like any matriarch the pose can be extremely dangerous. 
Evidence of the care we need to take can be seen in popular yoga sequences such as the hot yoga sequence.  This sequence was designed by a master yogi for western beginners and does not include either the headstand or the shoulderstand.  In other traditions we are “given” poses when deemed ready or we are made to wait for years before inversions become part of our practice.  Alternatively we begin the pose with many props.   The shoulderstand can be particularly dangerous for the westernized yoga beginner because we tend to hold all of our tension in the neck and shoulders and this is just where we need to be open and relaxed in order to practice the pose effectively.  Another reason shoulderstand is especially dangerous for us is because more often then not we approach yoga as another performance sport and the desire to do a difficult and dangerous pose like shoulderstand will over ride every word of caution offered by your teacher.
But for those of you who are eager to practice the shoulderstand regardless here are some pointers to think about.
There are two ways to do shoulderstand.  The “proper” way is to create a vertical inverted line.  This is a very beautiful pose but depends on a couple of things.  First – in this approach we depend on the skeleton to help us support the weight of the body so that it is not thrust into the neck.  If you do not get into this totally straight line you are putting yourself at risk.  To get there you need neck flexibility, open shoulders, an open chest and a strong core.
The second way to do shoulderstand is more properly called viparita karini.  In this version the weight is on the back of the shoulders and on the hands so your neck and lower back is protected.  You look more like a sideways V rather than a candle.  This pose can also be practiced at the wall.
To determine which of these poses you should begin with first assess how flexible your neck is.  Can you press your chin to your chest without curling your upper back?   Also look at the openness of your shoulders – can you clasp your hands behind you and bring them halfway up your back?  If these are available to you and you have a strong core then you can begin to slowly work on this inversion.  If not I recommend that you focus on a standing yoga practice and on opening and releasing your shoulders.   A slow and steady approach will open all doors and eventually you will practice the queen of yoga in such a way that she bestows intense pleasure.
Namaste --

No comments:

Post a Comment