Shoulder Stand

Shoulder Stand

How to do Shoulder Stand?

Sarvangasana | Shoulder stand yoga

Welcome to 365 inspired yoga classes. Today is day 85 and our class is about an inversion yoga pose called shoulder stand or sarvangasana in sanskrit.

It is important to take care of your body. If you have any injury to your neck this is not the pose for you, but I will give you an opportunity to build the foundation of the yoga pose shoulder stand with bridge yoga pose.

Once you master bridge pose without any pain, then you move into plow yoga pose and from there you may want to try shoulder stand yoga pose.

Shoulder Stand in Yoga

This is a beginners step by step tutorial on how to do sarvangasana or shoulderstand. Grab three blankets that will be used as a prop as we try shoulder stand yoga pose the Iyengar method as well as without the extra props.

Shoulder Stand Benefits

There are many benefits to getting your body turned upside down or in an inversion yoga posture. There are many inversion yoga postures. Shoulder stand is considered to be a foundation of other yoga poses.

Salamba in ancient Sanskrit and Hindu philosophy is to acquire freedom. Turning your body upside down in a shoulder stand yoga pose may lead you to experience a sense of freedom.

There are many benefits to inversion yoga poses such as the shoulder stand pose. One benefit is an increase in the circulation of the blood. Another is the reversal of the pull of gravity. In addition, inversions require core control. Moving in and out of the shoulder stand pose requires core awareness. Shoulder stand improves your perspective as you can see things from a different point of view when you are inverted.

Your core muscles include the abdominal muscles, back muscles, and pelvic floor muscles.

We begin seated with a sequence of neck movements and stretches in order to examine any discomfort and to determine if this is an appropriate yoga pose for you.

Advanced yoga students, as well as new yogis, will enjoy these gentle yoga pose stretches.

Next, we will move into a slow yoga flow to build on the base as we learn how to safely feel the body and be connected to sensation.

Awaken the ab muscles with core strengthening practices. In this segment of the exercise, we practice boat pose, boat twists, and leg lifts to get use to the action of lifting your legs into the air. This will help when we get to shoulder stand.

Next, we roll onto the stomach to work on our back muscle strength with the cobra pose, locust pose, and superman skydiver yoga back crunch.

It is great to practice easy core-strengthening yoga poses everyday.

Finally, we come to our back to practice shoulder stand yoga pose asana. We begin with an all important bridge pose to examine the correct alignment with your neck and upper back on the mat. Remeber as we prepare that this is shoulder stand, not back of the neck stand.

Feel the weight in your shoulders as we lift the hips in several variations of plow pose. Moving into plow pose be sure to support your body with your elbows on the floor and your hands on your back.

If your toes do not touch your back you must continue to keep your hands connected for safety.

As we get into shoulder stand I offer the use of blankets for supported shoulder stand. I will also teach you to use a wall for added safety and support.

Use the foundations we build as you advance your personal practice. Trust your body and respond to any mistakes you feel by backing off rather than risking injury.

We finish with legs up the wall to relax and wind down.

Shoulder Stand Pose

Learning from international yoga guide teachers provides a way to learn sarvanga or shoulder-stand.