Halasana

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hi,

Every morning I perform shoulderstand. A lot of books recommend that you should use halasana first, mainly because the flow of blood from your legs to your head can be a bit much. I find shoulderstand very comfortable but I find halasana a killer. I know a lot of people are very relaxed in Halasana. I have tried taking my legs over a chair, and even higher up on to a wall. I find halasana hits me in between the shoulder blades, like being stabbed with a knife. It is something to do with the head being tucked in and the arms working back. The moment my legs come past upright towards the floor/chair/wall, I no longer find it comfortable.

I can happily do a forward bend whilst extending my hands back over my head.

Anybody got any ideas?

#2

Only go to your limit. I used to struggle for ages in halasana, I could never get my feet to the floor, and then when I came out of the pose I would feel great pain in my upper back and even deep breathing would hurt until my body settled again. With practice I improved and now 6 months later it’s one of my favourite poses. My feet can reach the ground and beyond. I don’t feel pain, although first thing in the morning this pose is often hard, have to warm up properly.

#3

If Halasana does not feel great then I would recommend that you try it with several folded blankets under your shoulders. Often what is happening in this pose is that the natural curve of your neck is lost as the weight shifts into your shoulders and neck. You also need to ensure that your shoulder blades are coming together behind your back and not moving away from one another. You can encourage this by placing a pool noodle or rolled towel or mat between your shoulder blades, but not under your head or neck, and squeezing in towards the prop in the posture. If it still hurts, stop doing the asana all together.

#4

Sorry, I should have mentioned that I do use a stack of blankets [I started out practising Iyengar yoga and this was drummed into me!]