A Good Protocol?

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Sometimes I like to go into plough asana at the start of my practice before doing anything else.

What I like to do is just simply let the legs hang in the air where they will as gravity gradually stretches them out. I will just lie passively breathing for several minutes as slowly with time I feel my body limbering and stretching into the posture and eventually I will be able to put my legs all the way down and begin working on stretching out the spine.

It is a very fun process and I really like the pose as it is, in a way, very passive, especially when performed this way, yet greatly stretches the body.

Not that I need approval of anyone other than myself (right?) but it is a question I pose to see if anyone else does anything similar, or what they think.

If I wanted to show someone new to yoga this, assuming they are limber enough to get the legs in the air, is it a good move, in that they wouldn’t be “trying” to do anything rather they would just rely on gravity and stop if they want to?

#2

Re: A Good Protocol?
I would be reluctant to show this way of practicing to a new beginner. The contraindication would be flattening out the cervical curves in the neck. If it feels as good for you as you described and you are able to maintain comfort in the neck then there is probably no harm in you doing the asana. But I definitely would not extrapolate what works for your body to that of a beginner.

#3

Halasana is a great asana, that’s for sure. I usually incorporate it into every home practice I do. I also agree with Mangala and if I was going to introduce someone to yoga I’d keep it “by the book” as must as possible.

#4

It is one thing for a person to do as they see fit with their body. Whether it is yoga or not, whether it is “safe” or not is really no one’s business but their own - assuming they are not offering themselves into a group yoga practice with a teacher.

I would not, however assume that an “if it feels good let’s all do it” approach is appropriate. As I’ve said many times, if the protocol is “it feels good” most people would simply be drunk as that “feels good”. The reasoning has to be more evolved than one of hedonism.

More specifically to this question is the safety of the spine relative to the openess of the student’s hamstrings, the integrity of their spine (as individual segments, sections and as a whole), and the actions in the pose itself.

In the image I’m embeding, which I’ve taken from a google search, you can see the spine is rounding or rounded in Halasana. This is not an appropriate alignment relative to an Iyengar or Purna Yoga practice. The spine stays relatively perpendicular and relatively neutral (much like Sarvangasana).
It is the opening in the hamstrings that allows the toes to come to the floor. If that is not there then a prop under the shins or thighs IS appropriate (otherwise the demand of the pose goes into the spine). When the student does the pose, as it is being done in the photos or with the legs dangling there is a heightened risk for a) the doing to go into the weakest link in the spine b) a bulge or rupture of a disc to occur, c) over stretching of the nuchal ligament. Bouncing around with no root (or with the rooting done by a flattened cervical spine) coes with a heightened risk.

It is possible to do what is pictured with no ill effects. However, the possibility of injury to a Yoga student (beyond the inherent possibility of injury we all accept in moving in the outer world) calls for us to operate with a higher level of care.