Hi all,
I thought I would make my first post a question.
Does anybody know why I would experience pins and needles during plough pose? I feel totally relaxed and comfortable in the posture, but wondering if I should perhaps ease off the pose if its causing such a sensation?
Namaste in advance 
My conservativism says stop - is the possible benefit worth the risk?
But others will not be so conservative and will need more information.
Where specifically? Everywhere?
Does it stop when you come out of plow?
Do you get it in any other postures?
I’m not actually sure how you can ease off in plough pose. If we are thinking about the same pose - then I can’t think of how you would ease off???
Best wishes.
Vic
Hello and welcome ,perhaps can you tell us more about yourself, do you attend class or practice at home ?,are you stiff/flexible? Do you use support for shoulders? what body type ? If you have instructor have you asked them?
plough pose can be amended/supported if appropriate.It sounds as though you are not
entirely relaxed or comfortable in the pose if you are getting pins and needles.Do you experience the sensations in the same place and every time?
Yours in yoga
Hi guys, thanks for getting back to me…
To give you a bit more information about myself:
I have been doing yoga for the past year, approx x3 per week.
I attend class and as I am still learning I do not do much yoga at home.
I am fairly flexible, less so in my hamstrings and hips.
Body type: tall/ slender, long legs and shorter abdomen, and I do suffer from neck problems caused by stress.
I do not use any yoga? support? apart from a yoga brick at times.
I only experience this in plough pose.
It stops when I come out of the pose.
I always feel the pins and needles around my neck/ shoulder area (even when my neck is not stiff/ painful).
I hope the additional info is helpfull, I should probably just ask my teacher but I thought I would get different opinions from a forum full of yogi experts :lol:
I crtainly would not call myself a yogi expert they would be very rare !,but speaking about it to your teacher sounds the best idea,I would try height or support under the shoulders and /or supporting your feet legs on hip height table or chair to see if pins and needles still come.Bear in mind alot of people cant actually get onto the tops of their shoulders and are actually on the top of the scapula/shoulder blades which is not a healthy place for the neck imho,halasana actually can help us to arrive on the tops of the shoulders but if their is undue pressure on the neck, your neck is precious, certainly over the internet I would advise you to back off, if the pins and needles were to continue.
Also the asana seems to be bringing mindfulness to stress tension in your life , which you are aware of ,this could be the most important area to adjust .
There are all sorts of instructions that may help you in halasana but your teacher should be able to help you as they can see whats happening.
shoulder stand is wonderful and important tool in the asana limb of yoga. Good luck with it.Id be interested what others on the forum felt ,I expect its been discussed at length before , you could try a search.
I would just like to interject here to agree that you should be using some support for your neck in plow pose. It is very likely it will alleviate the pins and needles sensation.
If you cannot easily touch the floor with your feet - you should be supporting your back with your hands. nonetheless, with or w/o hands, I call it the triangle of support. 95% of your weight should be triangulated through your elbows, triceps, and fleshy part of your shoulders. By pressing your shoulders into the floor, you lift the bony c-7 vertebrae safely away from the floor. chin should be relaxed and jaw released. You can use a blanket as in shoulder stand, I have even seen 2 or 3 blankets used. I have only ever used one and prefer not too. But I don’t experience what you are describing. Hope that helps. Be well!
i experienced pins and needles in my hands initially with shoulderstand and through advice recived on this forum found that it was due to a lack of support under the shoulders and part of the neck. Although many teachers teach shoulderstand and plough with no support (ie blankets) it does seem safer to do them with, esp if you are getting pins and needles. I certainly do not get the pins and needles anymore. I think this is due to there being less pressure on the vertebrae in my neck, which was registering as tingling in the hands.