Salamba Sarvangasana Question For Teachers

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

I have a question for fellow instructors (or students/practicioners. Anyone that has any input on this! ;)) I’ve been having a couple of students that are very new to yoga and have difficulty getting into shoulderstand. What I’ve noticed is they lack core strength (hence not being able to go into plow, either), so when I instruct the class to go into shoulderstand, I generally give the students who can’t go into it the option to go into something softer like Viparita Karani or to go into dolphin and start working arm and ab strength (or any other pose that works the abs).

My question is: is there a way to teach them to go into shoulderstand using the wall as support? I’m pretty sure I saw this variation somewhere on the internet, but I can’t find it. My instinct says to tell them go into Viparita Karani and walk the feet upwards on the wall until they can reach shoulderstand but still supporting themselves on the wall. Does this sound right? It’d [I]look[/I] like shoulderstand, but I’m not too sure it’d be working the right muscles to prepare the student to eventually go into full shoulderstand (that pose would be working more gluts than abs!) I promised my lovely students I’d look into it, so here I am. Hopefully someone out there has tips on this one!

Alright, time to go catch my yogic sleep to go teach early tomorrow! Thanks in advance. Blessings to all! :slight_smile:

#2

Hi, yes my teacher does a beginners variation similar to what you have suggested. She will start students in Viparita Karani, and then have them pivot their feet in place so that the soles of the feet become flat against the wall. The buttocks will lift off the floor, as the students push their hips towards the centre of the room. They will bring their elbows together behind their backs, while the hands support the lower back. Chin tucked. The feet are in line with the knees, so the shins are parallel with the floor. Hope that helps.

#3

In addition to the above, have your students practice Setu Bandha Sarvangasana and Purvottanasana. Shoulder blade squeezed also would be good.

On a side note, I always teach this pose with folded blankets under shoulders/arms. Head in entirely on mat/floor.

#4
  1. What kind of props do you have access to? There is a safer variation of sarvanghasana that can be done with a chair, mat, bolster, and blanket.
  2. Inversions are wonderful, but I would be very conservative about teaching them to students that are “very new” to yoga. As you probably know, if they’re not done with the proper strength and awareness of alignment, they can do more harm than good.
#5

My question is: is there a way to teach them to go into shoulderstand using the wall as support?

Yes there is.

…walk the feet upwards on the wall until they can reach shoulderstand but still supporting themselves on the wall.

If you mean the legs are straight (for beginners who cannot otherwise “come up”) and resting against the wall, it is not a good idea due to the vector angles involved. Best that those students keep the feet on the wall with the knees at 90?. For the effects to be maximized (safely) the torso and thighs should be perpendicular to the floor.

I would encourage you to determine if the students a) have enough shoulder opening to come up in the pose in the first place, b) are being propped appropriately so that over time they are not sustaining cervical spine injury, and c) have them bend their knees to come up in the pose if they are able.

By the by, in the full pose the chin should not be moved toward the chest. The chest, on the other hand, is drawn toward the chin. Frankly this is a challenging pose to teach and the teacher has to be incredibly well-versed in doing it, modifying it, and teaching it based respectively on their experience, practice, and training.